I was pondering what direction to take this Sunday, since Wednesday is Valentine’s Day…. And I felt to move in what some would think is a very romantic direction… I believe God is very romantic….
So, we’re going to be looking at what the Bible says about kissing. You know don’t you, that the Bible is just FULL of kissing… So my message today is “The Message Behind The Kiss”…
Scientifically, a kiss is the ovicular juxtaposition of the oral protrusion of the outer cavity. From the view of germaphobics, it is the mutual interchange of salivary bacteria.
More romantic is the view that a kiss is a secret told to the mouth instead of the ear. So, however you look at it, one thing is for sure, kissing is a pleasant reminder that two heads are better than one.
A man and wife were sitting in their living room when they noticed their neighbor across the street pull up in to his house. He stepped out of the car with flowers in his hand, met his wife at the door and laid a passionate kiss on her.
As they were watching all of this, the woman turned to her husband and wistfully said, “Why don’t you do that?” The man looked at his wife and replied, “Well, Honey, I’m really shocked that you would ask me that, I hardly even know that woman.”
I think we understand that she was really saying to him that she wanted to know that she had value to him as well…
That’s what kissing is all about in the bible …. It’s declaring that a person is important, that they have value, and they are a person of worth to you.
Scripture shows us, parents and children kissing one another often….When Elisha was about to follow Elijah, he asked first to return and kiss his mom and dad….Paul told the church to greet one another with a holy kiss…Peter said that we were to kiss those who were receiving charity as a symbol of their worth, 1 Peter 5:14 ….
We love best when we learn to copy God’s kind of love. The kind of love that gives value, worth and affirmation to your life. God is perfect and we’re not, God is Holy and we’re not, God is righteous and we’re not…. So when we receive the God kind of love, we are made to feel much better than we are, because He brings the best of everything into our life. We that are part of His church are called the bride of Christ…
When a couple get married, in the marriage vows, they express to one another that they now dedicate themselves to help one another to be the very best that is in them, and to be there in sickness and in health, for better or worse, richer or poorer, to move through it all together and come out better on the other side!
Who could complain or reject that kind of commitment and who would turn away from that kind of love!
Two old guys are playing golf. At one point, the ball rolls into some bushes and, when one of the players goes to retrieve it, he is confronted by a frog that claims to be a beautiful princess who has been turned into a frog by a terrible wizard. If the player will kiss her, the frog will revert to a gorgeous princess and marry him, and they'll both live happily ever after.
The player puts the frog in his pocket and returns to the game. After a while, the frog, inside the player's pocket croaks,“Ribbit, Ribbit” which in frogese means "Sir, did you forget about me? I'm a beautiful princess, if you kiss me . . ." and so forth, to which he replied, "Dear lady frog, I will be completely honest with you. I have reached the age where I would rather have a talking frog than someone who will spend the rest of her life trying to change me."
The Power of love is the power of change….And that’s exactly what true love’s kiss will do, it will change you in ways you never dreamed….it is futile to resist! The Lord is kissing frogs every day and transforming them with his redeeming grace!
In Psalm 85:9-10 it says “Surely His salvation is near those who fear Him, that His glory may dwell in our land. Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss one another.”
When God forgives our sins, His righteousness is satisfied and we receive His peace. That is the KISS of God who KISSES us with His righteousness and His peace.
Steve and Kathleen love baseball. It was a Tuesday night, they had seats in the first row of an upper deck along the third-base side of the field for a home game with Yankees against theMets.
The Judge hit a ball headed straight for Steve. Steve leaned over, extended his hands, and made a great catch. It was his first-ever catch at a game, ever! He exchanged fist bumps with people in his section, and put the newfound treasure in the hands of his three-year-old daughter Emily, she promptly tossed it over the railing to the fans below! Her dad’s arms went up, his face showed shock, and mom’s jaw dropped. At thatmoment, Emily’s joy turned to sadness and the look on mom’s face showed that she had disappointed her two heroes. Her face began to cloud with the guilt of having done a “bad thing”….Immediately, her dad grabbed her, spun her around, gave her a big kiss and said… YEAAAH… THAT’S MY GIRL!!! Her face changed, the situation was transformed and she had value and acceptance!
That’s what Jesus did from the cross… He threw you a big kiss, and said, WOW, DO I EVER LOVE YOU!!!
That’s what the story of the prodigal son is all about….
Luke 15:20 “… while the wayward son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”
Let God give you a big KISS right now!
In the gospel of Luke, Simon the Pharisee had a problem with the prostitute who poured costly perfume on Jesus’ feet and dried them with her hair, all the while, kissing his feet. Simon said, Luke 7:39 “...if he truly were a prophet, then He would have known..." Simon couldn’t understand why a sinful woman would be acceptable to Jesus? Jesus went on to tell Simon a parable on forgiveness. Simon had not properly honored Jesus when He came into his house; but this “sinner" had never stopped honoring Him. True salvation brings a great difference into our life. A prostitute who only used men, was now honoring a man…..
This woman was expressing her salvation belief, with a kiss. Scripture indicates that those who have been forgiven much, should be grateful for much. And she was expressing her gratitude as a soul set free and released from a sinful past.
Our attempts to honor Him are like kisses to Him. Friend, have you “kissed your Saviour” lately? Do you honor Him in your life with your kisses of worship and your kisses of obedience?
Psalm 85:10 “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed one another”.
How amazed we should be that the unbending and uncompromising truth of God, which cannot be negotiated, and which no person could measure up to…. Was blended with the mercy of a savior who was willing to take our judgment, and bear our penalty. Mercy and truth met together in Christ, so that we could obtain mercy to help in our great time of need. And instead of judgment we receive the kiss of His righteousness and peace. Instead of condemnation, we receive value and worth!
I might add that the more we strive to receive His truth and His righteousness, the more we will feel the kiss of his mercy and grace….
There was a couple who decided to break off their engagement. Having made the decision, the woman, said “I suppose that we give back all the letters we wrote to each other." He agreed and said, "I suppose we should return each others kisses." And by the time they had finished giving back all the kisses, they had agreed to stay engaged”. There’s just something about a kiss that does more than merely bring about a joining of the lips. It has the power to also bring about the joining of hearts and lives.
Song of Solomon 1:2 “Let Him kiss me with the kisses of Hismouth, for your love is better than wine”.
There is a direct parallel in this romantic longing to the realm of the spirit. Many times the believer's soul feels a longing for more of the presence and the touch of God, and longs for the good old days of close and loving communion. We sing, everyday with Jesus is sweeter than the day before, but in reality we know this is not always so. Many days we can look back and long to return to a former day when our love seemed sweeter and stronger, and when we sense the presence of Christ more intimately in our lives.
Believer's, are like this lonely shepherd girl, in Solomon’s song, who cannot be happy and satisfied until they experience the kiss of the Shepherd. This was true for the Old Testament saints who looked for the coming of the Messiah. They looked at this loverscry and said, that is us, Israel crying out to God to come near. We have seen the relationship that Abraham, Moses and the prophets had with Adoni, but we want the kiss of salvation and atonement by Messiah Himself, for this would be the very kiss of God.
A lady took her nephew to her church one Sunday. He had not been in church before, and was watching everything. When the service was over, he was bursting with excitement. He said, "Auntie-did you see God's kiss?" "Whatever do you mean?" she asked. "I saw it- it’s God's kiss-on the window of the church. I make my kisses in the shape of a heart and draw an arrow through it, and God does the same thing”. Then she realized he was referring to the heart which was placed over a cross on the stained glass. The cross was indeed the kiss of God. A kiss is a means of reconciliation, and an expression of closeness… God has given us the symbol of His kiss, His desire to draw close to us, and it’s in the shape of a cross! The cross has been called love's greatest weapon, and by the kiss of the cross our Divinelover defeated the plan that Satan had set in motion, to separate us from our God and He bridged the gap between man and his fellow man and man and God.
If we do not kiss the true Lover of our souls, we will end upkissing some deceiver. Idolatry is simply kissing a false lover. Idolatry is about giving of your heart’s affection to something, or someone, who cannot sacrificially love and save your soul.
When it comes to giving our loyalty and affection to the wrong things, we need to be like the guy and the girl who kissed, and she said “Kiss me again and I’ll be your’s forever”…. hearing that, he said “thanks for the warning”!!!
I Kings 19:18, "Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him." To have kissed Baal was to have submitted to him as Lord. And so, to have kissed Christ is to have submitted to Him as Lord. I recall years ago, at the end of the service when the committal was shared, a fellow came to the altar to get his life right with God. When I looked over at him, he was throwing kisses o God, in appreciation for the forgiveness of sin and the peace in his heart which he had received.
The bible is also replete with accounts of the kiss of betrayel…Judas was the most famous betrayer of all, when the kiss he gave Jesus was to identify the one they had come to take and crucify.Jesus took the sting of betrayal, so you could be free of it’s pain and it’s sting. You may have been betrayed, but it doesn’t have to be part of who you are or where God is taking you…. He paid the price so you don’t have to. Jacob betrayed his brother by pretending to be Esau and getting the kiss of blessing which rightfully belonged to Esau….
Samson was sold down the river by Delilah’s kiss of betrayal in order to learn the secret of his strength so she could deliver him over to the Philistines for a price….. We need a whole lot less Judas kisses and a whole lot more Jesus kisses!
I mentioned that There was a lot of kissing going on in the Bible, which is still a practice in some cultures. Jacob and Esau kissed when they met after a long separation. The father of the Prodigal Son kissed him when he returned. The kiss that expresses love and acceptance and places value on another person, should never be out of style. We need a lot more of those kisses!
And yes, some folks still kiss in the church. If you give Mae a hug, count on it, she’s going to give you a kiss. But usually we do a lot of kissing at weddings, and even there you had better be careful.
One guy said to another guy, "How did you get that black eye?" He said, "I kissed the bride after the wedding." "Why everyone does that," the other guy said. "Yeah," responded the injured man, "But this was two years after the wedding."
Studies show that if a man comes home and does not kiss his wife, she unconsciously wonders if she looks terrible andstruggles with whatever it is that has come between them. And of course the man doesn’t have a clue!
Kissing is the fuel that keeps the flame of love burning, and true lovers never get tired of it.
Beecher said, "God pardons like a mother, who kisses the offense into everlasting forgetfulness."
Bret Harte wrote, “Never a lip is curved with pain, That can't be kissed into smiles again”.
We have been talking about kissing in the bible, but what we’re really referring to is healing, affirming, validating love….
I love You, can mean many things…Most of us have known the 3 levels of love, which are
Eros love…that is sensual and physical attraction to someone….
Theleo love…. Which is influence, the desire to be in prominence, or to have power, position and be respected.
Phileo love… which is emotional love, affection and care for another as long as it is returned.
But the soul of every person, longs for Agape love…. Which is God like love, and is vastly superior to any other form of Love. In essence "Agape" is a permanent commitment to love God and our fellow man, without any conditions placed on it. All the other forms of love need, reciprocation in order maintain their passion and motivation, while Agape flows through us from God and it does not need confirmation from others, for it is satisfied with simply loving.
In the conversation between Jesus and Peter, Jesus challenges Peter to love with Agape John 21:15 “So when they had dined, Jesus said to Peter, Simon, [son] of Jonas, do you (Agape) me more than these? He answered, Yes, Lord, You know that I (Phileo) You. And He said unto him, Feed my lambs. v16 Again He said to him, Simon, [son] of Jonas, do you (Agape) me? And He answered him, Yes, Lord, You know that I (Phileo) You. And He said unto him, Feed my sheep. v17 Again He said unto him, Simon, [son] of Jonas, do you (Agape) me? Peter was grieved because He said unto him the third time, Do you (Agape) me? And he said unto him, Lord, You know all things, You know that I (Phileo) You. Jesus said unto him, Feed my sheep”.
Peter was at the Phileo level, but Jesus was loving him into the Agape level, so that he could fulfil his destiny as one chosen to be in the world but not of the world. To love with Godly love, which keeps giving when nothing is given back through those around him, that’s Agape.
In this regard, Agape in us, comes through faith, but faith works by love. Agape is not a feeling, it is a belief… it loves based on what it cannot see. And it is always activated through faith. If you only love based on what you see and feel, then it is not by faith. But because it is faith, doesn’t mean it is blind, brain dead, or stupid!
I believe one of the best definitions given to us, of Agape is found in 1Corithians 13:4 “Agape has patience, is kind, Agape is not envious; Agape is not vain, is not puffed up, v5 does not behave indecently, does not pursue its own things, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil, v6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth. v7 Agape quietly bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. v8 Agape never fails. v13 And now abides faith, hope, and Agape , these three things remain; but the greatest of these is Agape” .
Our will governs our emotions. Out of control emotions are really a problem with will power. Certainly it’s OK to be emotional. We are emotional creatures. But our emotions at some point need to be programed by God’s truth. Love, and hate are both part of our will. Our redeemed will is the track which our emotions are to run upon. Unless the path of the will is charted by the discipline of the spirit of truth, our life will be a roller coaster of hurts, disappointments and unmet expectations.
I want to close this by having everyone give God a kiss….that’sright, the kiss of praise… Or like the guy who was throwing God kisses from the altar….just lift your hands and praise Him for loving you, with His Agape love…..
Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”.
The kiss of God is the kiss of power, the kiss of love and the kiss of a sound mind….
