Confusing Words Series

“Outed”

Confusing Words

Pt. 2

Introduction:

Last week I challenged you that God does indeed want to make us uncomfortable. He desires for us to have a nest to which we can retreat every so often for comfort and revitalization. However, He absolutely refuses to leave us here or allow us to become satisfied with a spiritual experience that is “nested”. He “outs” us and requires us to go to the lost! We are too comfortable here! There are too many empty seats and no urgency to do anything about it. I challenged you to think about who isn’t here and what are you going to do about it? I have been praying that you would be very uncomfortable this week.

I want to continue “outing” us this week. If you missed I remind you that “outed” is the idea of exposing you for who you really are. It is basically tattling or jerking your chain. Pulling back the covers and letting others get a glimpse of the real you.

This morning I want to talk about confusing words. Many folks say that English is the hardest language in the world to learn because words can have multiple meanings and because so many words are so similar. For instance the very title of today’s message exemplifies this truth. When I say confusing words you think about words that you don’t understand. They confuse you. However, what I mean by the statement confusing words is when we use one word mistakenly thinking we are using a different word. We confuse their meanings. Like the words: reigns/rains; pail/pale; tail/tale; fairy/ferry. Homonyms. These words are confused because they sound the same.

However, there are words that are confused because we believe they mean the same thing.

I am convinced that there are two words that we have certainly confused. The first word that we rely on is the word love. We throw it about glibly and without much thought. We love our house. We love our car. We love our spouse. We love Jesus. May I suggest to you this morning that we have castrated the word by overuse. We can say it and it means absolutely nothing. You can tell me you love me and then your manifestations tell me the truth. “I love you”, but I talk bad about you, I mistreat you, I avoid you, I won’t touch you. Then the truth is you don’t really love me. Think back to dating days for just a moment. How many people told you they loved you, but their actions told you something else? Remember the one who won your hand in marriage – did you say yes because they told you they loved you (if that was the standard you would have said yes to everyone you dated) or because they showed you they loved you? I know we need to hear it – spouses tell each other right now – mom and dad tell child right now. I love to hear those 3 words. Julie and I have a pact that we won’t go to sleep without telling each other that. So I want and need to hear it, but the truth be told I would rather see it. Isn’t that true with our children? Tell me you love me but clean your room. Tell me you love me, but take out the trash. It takes both. Our actions either validate or invalidate our words. Emerson “outs” us when he said, “What you do thunders so loudly in your ears that I can’t hear what you say!”

I want to “out” you this morning and suggest that the word we should be using because it has more meaning, is more revealing, and more accurate is the word serve.

I want to “out” us this morning and our misuse of these words!

TEXT: John 1:1-2, 13:1-5, 21:15-17

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.

1It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. 2The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.