Keith Battle - Falling In Love Again

Father, please speak to us now. Make us better, we pray. Empower us, enlighten us, inform us, transform us, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Listen to these words from the New Living Translation of the Song of Songs, chapter one, beginning at verse two. The woman—actually, this story is written like a play. It’s like one scene; the man will be talking, and then the woman will be talking, and there are other characters in the book who speak as well. I have a secret: when Vicki and I first got married, we used to read this book and role-play it. I’m the Shunammite; I’m Solomon; you’re the Shunammite woman. So she read her lines, I read my lines, and we tried to do what they did too. I was trying, amen. I’m going to see if she’ll role-play this this evening, amen.

Verse two: «Kiss me; this is the woman. Kiss me and kiss me again, for your love is as sweet as wine. How fragrant your cologne! Your name is like spreading fragrance; no wonder all the young women love you.»

Verse 15: The man responds, «How beautiful you are, my darling! How beautiful your eyes are, like doves.» The young woman replies, «You are so handsome, my love, pleasing beyond words.»

Chapter 2:3: The woman speaks, «Like the finest apple tree in the orchard is my lover among other young men. I sit in his delightful shade and taste his delicious fruit. He escorts me to the banquet hall; it’s obvious how much he loves me. Strengthen me with raisin cakes; refresh me with apples, for I am weak with love. My, my, my! His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me.»

Verse 14: The man responds, «My dove is hiding behind the rocks, behind an outcrop on the cliff. Let me see your face; let me hear your voice, for your voice is pleasant, and your face is lovely.»

Chapter 3:1: The woman responds, «One night, as I lay in bed, I yearned for my lover; I yearned for him, but he did not come. So I said to myself, I will get up and roam the city, searching all the streets and squares. I will search for the one I love.» So I searched everywhere but did not find him. The watchmen stopped me as they made their rounds, and I asked, «Have you seen the one I love?» Then scarcely had I left them when I found my love. I caught him and held him tightly; then I brought him to my mother’s house and to my mother’s bed, where I had been conceived. Careful, careful!

Chapter 4, verse one: The young man responds, «You are beautiful, my darling, beautiful beyond words.» Verse seven: «You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way.» Verse nine: «You have captured my heart, my treasure, my bride. You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes.» There’s some rap right here.

Verse ten: «Your love delights me, my treasure, my bride. Your love is better than wine; your perfume is more fragrant than spices. Your lips are as sweet as nectar, my bride. Honey and milk are under your tongue.»

Watch out! Let me turn over to chapter seven—there are kids in here. Chapter seven, verse ten: «I am my lover’s, ” the woman says, „and he claims me as his own. Come, my love, let us go out to the fields and spend the night among the wildflowers. Let us get up early and go to the vineyards to see if the grapevines have budded, if the blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates have bloomed. There, I will give you my love.“

That’s deep right there, y’all. Talking too much back here; you should have seen their faces. It is clear that these two people are in love, and that’s my topic today. I want to talk about falling in love again.

For some of you, it’s going to be about falling in love again with the person you’re in a relationship with; for others of you, that may not be possible anymore. It may require you to find somebody else to fall in love with. I don’t know your situation, but I want to talk about falling in love again. How many of you remember when you fell in love? How many had Luther’s album, „The Night I Fell in Love“? You ain’t had an album if you ain’t had Luther’s album, „The Night I Fell in Love.“ Do you remember when you were on the phone with the person you loved all night? Y’all would be on the phone on a landline, and that phone would be clicking and beeping. Other people would call, and you wouldn’t even answer it. They’d say, „Isn’t that your phone?“ „Don’t worry about that. I’m on the phone all night talking about nothing, ” like two eighth graders just in love.

You’d be on the phone: „I would get in bed and show you, but this bed’s too low; I might not be able to get back up. I’ve been on the phone since 9:00; it’s now 3:00 in the morning. You got class in like four hours.“ „It don’t matter; we’re in love.“

3:00 in the morning after being on the phone for six hours, he says, „So what are you doing?“ And she says, „I’m talking to you.“ „I know that! What else are you doing?“ „I’m looking at this car you bought me and looking at this picture.“ „You’re so sweet.“ „Yes, yes! So you like that? You like that card I got you?“ She likes it.