Restoring our hunger and our thirst for the Scriptures.

First Baptist Church Leominster

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Though you have not seen him, you love him. And though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

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Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the

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Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.

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It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preach the good news to you by the

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Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

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Therefore preparing your minds for action and being sober -minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

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As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, so you also be holy in all your conduct since it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy.

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And if you call on him as father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the feudal ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

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He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you, who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in God.

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Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart since you have been born again not of perishable seed but of imperishable through the living and abiding word of God.

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For all flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass.

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The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.

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And this word is a good news that was preached to you. And now we'll read the three verses that Pastor Jason will be addressing.

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So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.

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Like newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up unto salvation.

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If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. Let us pray.

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Our Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the word of your grace by which we are saved through Jesus Christ, our

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Lord, our Savior. We thank you, our God, that you both instruct us and inspire us through your word.

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And it is our desire to love you and to love you more and to love your word that is before us.

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And so we ask now that you would assist Brother Jason as he comes and declares your word to us.

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May you fill him with the blessed Holy Spirit and may the Holy Spirit use this word, Lord, to instruct us, inspire us and guide us that we might be better and able to live for you.

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For it's in Jesus' name we do pray, amen. Thank you, Jason.

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Well, good morning, everybody. It's very strange to be addressing a almost empty room.

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I think we have four people here. My wife was planning on coming, but she's been in her pajamas all week and she wasn't sure her church clothes still fit.

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So she'll join us hopefully when we return. Let's commit our time to the

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Lord. Our Father, we thank you for this time together. And Lord, we are indeed living in strange times, but we thank you for technology.

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We thank you that we're able to connect at least in some manner. And we just pray,

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Lord, that you would guide our study of the word of God today. We pray that you would teach us exactly what the text has to say.

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Help us, Lord, to have wisdom as we apply it. And we pray, Lord, that we would live these truths out in the power of the

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Spirit. So we pray, Lord, that our worship would be pleasing to you this morning. Thank you, in Jesus' name, amen.

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Authentic Christianity has always been marked by an intense love and delight in the word of God.

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And this is a recurring theme all throughout the scriptures. But especially, it is evident in Psalm 119.

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Psalm 119 .14 says, In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.

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Verse 16, I will delight in your statutes. I will not forget your word.

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Verse 24, your testimonies are my delight. They are my counselors. Verse 35, lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in them.

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Verses 46 through 48, I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame.

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For I find my delight in your commandments, which I love. I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which

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I love, and I will meditate on your statutes. In verses 69 through 70, the insolent smear me with lies, but with my whole heart

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I keep your precepts. Their heart is unfeeling like fat, but I delight in your law.

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Verse 77, let your mercy come to me, that I may live, for your law is my delight. Verse 92, if your law had not been my delight,

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I would have perished in my affliction. Verse 97, oh how I love your law.

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It is my meditation all the day. Verse 113, I hate the double -minded, but I love your law.

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Psalm 119, 119, all the wicked of the earth you discard like dross, therefore

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I love your testimonies. Verse 127, therefore

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I love your commandments above gold, above fine gold. Verse 140, your promise is well tried and your servant loves it.

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Verse 143, trouble and anguish have found me, but your commandments are my delight.

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Verse 159, consider how I love your precepts, give me life according to your steadfast love.

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Verses 162 to 163, I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil.

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I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law. Verse 167, my soul keeps your testimonies,

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I love them exceedingly. And verses, in verse 174,

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I long for your salvation, oh Lord, your law is my delight. King David loved the word of God.

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It was his meditation all the day. The testimonies, the statutes, the commandments, the precepts, and the law were his constant delight.

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To delight in something means that you feel great favor towards that something.

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It means that you are mindful of it. It means that you are attentive to it. It means that you take great pleasure in it.

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The word delight is often used in the scriptures to describe a man finding fulfillment in the woman that he loves.

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And in these verses, the psalmist makes it abundantly clear the word of God, the testimonies, the statutes, the commandments, the precepts, the law is to be our joy.

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The children of God are to exceedingly love and cherish the word of God. It is to be our pleasure.

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It is to be our treasure. It is to be our greatest and most fulfilling delight. Beloved, do these truths reflect the sentiment of your hearts?

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Are these truths reflected in your actions throughout the day? How do you really feel about the word of God?

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Do you delight in the testimonies of God? Do you delight in his statutes? Do you delight in his commandments?

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Do you love the law of God? Do you love the law of God exceedingly? Is the word of God more precious to you than gold, silver, or any other earthly treasure?

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Is the word of God sweeter than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb to your mouth? For the child of God, the answer to every one of these questions is a resounding yes.

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A child of God will love the word of God. A child of God will delight in the word of God.

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A child of God will value and treasure the word of God far above all else.

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But what if you don't? What if you really don't treasure or value the word of God?

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What if you don't delight in the word of God? What if you don't love the word of God? Maybe you did at some point,

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But what if you don't now? What if over the years your appetite for the Word of God has significantly decreased?

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What if your daily devotional time no longer takes place every day, but every other day, every three days, every week, every other week, or every month?

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At some point in life, every believer has found themselves lacking in their intake of the

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Word of God. The question is, how do we get it back? How do we revive our love and delight in the

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Word of God? How do we restore our hunger and our thirst for the

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Word of God? Please turn with me to the book of 1st Peter. 1st

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Peter 2 verses 1 through 3. Our passage this morning answers every one of these questions by directing us to remember, to remove, and to recognize.

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Now it's important to remember the context leading up to this passage. In light of our great salvation,

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Peter has given us a series of exhortations. He has called his readers to live in hope, to walk in holiness, to conduct their lives in the fear of God, and to earnestly and sincerely love the brethren.

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In 1st Peter 2, 1 through 3, Peter continues this exhortation, and he gives us three principles that will restore our hunger and our thirst for the

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Word of God. Let's read the text together. 1st Peter 2 verses 1 through 3.

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So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.

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Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation, if indeed you have tasted that the

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Lord is good. So how do we restore our hunger and thirst for the

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Word of God? Principle number one, by remembering our rebirth.

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Principle number two, by removing our sin. And principle number three, by recognizing our great need.

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Let's look at each one of these in more detail. Principle number one, our hunger and thirst for the Word of God can be restored by remembering our rebirth.

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What is the first word in 1st Peter 2, 1? The first word is so, and the word so can also be translated as accordingly, or consequently, or as therefore.

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Therefore, the word so is relating 1st Peter 2, 1 through 3 with the previous passage of 1st

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Peter 1, 22 through 25. So on the basis of what has just been said, 1st

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Peter 1, 22 through 25, now comes the conclusion. 1st

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Peter 2 verses 1 through 3. And what has just been said in 1st

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Peter 1, 22 through 25? Well, Peter writes, having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and abiding

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Word of God. For all flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass.

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The grass withers and the flower falls, but the Word of the Lord remains forever.

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And this Word is the good news that was preached to you. What is the single greatest event that has transpired in your life?

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For the Christian, the most important and most significant, the most meaningful event in life is our regeneration.

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It is our conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is your transformation from death to life.

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It is your transformation from being a child of the devil to becoming a child of God. It is your purification from your former manner of life, which is through the living and abiding

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Word of God, which was preached to you and by which you were saved.

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So how do we hunger and thirst for the Word of God? How do we restore our hunger and our thirst for the

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Word of God? By remembering our rebirth. Specifically, by remembering the means by which we have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and abiding

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Word of God. You see, our spiritual life began with the Word of God.

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The Word of God is the great means of our salvation, so faith comes by hearing and hearing by the

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Word of Christ, Romans 1017. Of his own will, he brought us forth by the

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Word of Truth, James 118. The Word of God is also our great sustainer.

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The Word of God is the source of our spiritual transformation. It is the source of our continued spiritual transformation.

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In other words, the Word of God is transformative. The Word of God changes us.

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Turn with me to Psalm 19. Psalm 19.

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In Psalm 19, verses 7 through 11, David writes this.

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The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The testimony of the

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Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.

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The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.

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The rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. Now notice the format of these verses.

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There are six statements, and each statement contains three elements, a title, a characteristic, and a benefit of Scripture.

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And as you go through these six statements, one at a time, you begin to see just how authoritative and powerful and sufficient is the

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Word of God. The Word of God revives the soul. It makes wise the simple.

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It rejoices the heart. It enlightens the eyes. It endures forever. It is righteous altogether.

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Where do you go to find salvation? Where do you go to find encouragement?

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Where do you go to find wisdom? Where do you go to find joy? Where do you go to find peace?

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Where do you go to find a permanent resource that never changes? Where do you go to find the truth?

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Beloved, you go to the Word of God. Psalm 19 verses 10 through 14.

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More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

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Moreover by them is your servant warned. In keeping them there is great reward.

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Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins.

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Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless and innocent of great transgression.

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Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my

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Redeemer. Beloved, there is no spiritual need that is not met in the

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Scriptures. There is no necessary resource that is not supplied in the Scriptures.

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There is no right teaching, reproof for correction, or training with regard to spiritual matters that is possible apart from the sufficient

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Word of God. Every spiritual blessing, everything pertaining to life and godliness has been given to the child of God.

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And this is Peter's point. The Word of God is just as authoritative, it is just as powerful, it is just as sufficient, it is just as transforming today as it was when you first believed.

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Beloved, your hunger and thirst for the Word of God can be fully restored by remembering your rebirth and by remembering the means by which you were reborn, the living and abiding

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Word of God. Principle number two, our hunger and our thirst for the

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Word of God can be restored by removing our sin, by removing our sin.

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1st Peter 2 .1, So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.

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So in light of the previous message, since we have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, we must remove our sin.

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The phrase put away means to lay aside, it means to cast off. The term was often used to describe someone removing dirty clothes, the process of taking off a soiled or filthy garment.

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And the intent of this phrase is clear. Just as you would rid yourself of dirty, stinky clothes, you must rid yourself of sin.

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You must cast off your sin, you must lay aside your sin. You must put it away, eliminating it, mortifying it, removing it from your life, just as you would remove a dirty and stinky garment of clothing.

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You know, it's very difficult to desire the Word of God and to desire the sins of the flesh.

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In fact, it's more than difficult, it's impossible. You cannot long for the spiritual milk of the

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Word of God and long for the milk of the world. Oil does not mix with water, nor does that which is holy mix with sin.

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Your desire will either be for the one or it will be for the other, but it will not be for both.

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In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus Christ said this, Matthew 624, no one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.

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You cannot serve God and mammon. You cannot serve God and money. You cannot serve

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God and the flesh. You cannot serve God and yourself. You cannot serve

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God and your sin. What's the first commandment?

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Exodus 20 verse 3, you shall have no other gods before me. You shall have no other gods before my face.

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You shall have no other gods in my sight. Nothing is to be placed before the

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Lord our God. No person, no thing, no ideology, nor purpose. You cannot serve the

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Lord God and serve something else. It is either one or the other. It is either all or it is nothing.

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Beloved, those who find satisfaction in the things of the world will not have an appetite left for the things of God.

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But conversely, those who find satisfaction in the things of God will not have an appetite left for the things of the world.

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If your desire is for the Word of God, then you must destroy your yearning for other things, the things that get in your way, the things that compete for your attention, the things that distract and weigh you down in your devotion to the

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Lord God. Hebrews chapter 12 verses 1 and 2, therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

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In order to run this race, we must lay aside every weight, we must lay aside every sin, and we must run the race that is set before us with endurance.

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Now, what is the difference between a weight and sin? What do you think he means by using the term weight?

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Let us lay aside every weight. Well, the word translated weight refers to something that is bulky or a burden or a mass of something, and it refers to anything that slows you down, anything that hinders your ability to run the race, anything that diverts your attention, anything that drains you of your energy.

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A weight is an encumbrance. It is something that trips you up. It is something that slows you down.

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It is something that renders your running ineffective. And the term weight is not necessarily a negative term, nor is it a positive term.

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It's a neutral term. Good things can weigh you down just as easily as bad things.

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Take, for example, money. Money is neither good nor is it bad. Money can be used for good, or money can be used for bad.

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Money can assist you in your race, or money can hinder you in your race. It all depends on the hold that money has in your heart.

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And some of the best things in life are the things that can hinder us in our walk with God. But not only does added weight hinder our performance in running, so does our sin.

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The term sin refers to a falling away or a missing the mark of perfection.

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It refers to the slightest departure of absolute obedience to God. If perfection is the bullseye, then sin is everything outside of the bullseye.

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And sin clings very, very closely. Sin easily entangles us.

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It encircles us. It entraps us. In order to run the race that is set before you, you must deal with your sin.

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You must deal with all your sin, even the seemingly insignificant ones. The sooner that you turn from your sin and turn to God, the sooner you can start running the race.

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J .C. Ryle comments that sinful habits have long roots. Sin, once allowed to nestle in your bosom, will not be turned out at your bidding.

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Habits are like stones rolling downhill. The further they roll, the faster and more ungovernable is their course.

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Habits like trees are strengthened by age. A boy may bend an oak when it is a sapling.

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A hundred men cannot root it up when it is a full -grown tree. Custom is the nurse of sin.

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Beloved, don't take your sin lightly. Don't take your little sins lightly, because little sins, if allowed, will slowly and most assuredly become bigger sins, which are not easily turned out.

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Late repentance is seldom true, so don't develop a peaceful coexistence with your sin, because it will restrict you in running the race.

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It will hinder you. It will put you at odds with the Lord God. Back in 1

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Peter 2 .1, Peter mentions five specific sins that we must put away. Malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.

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Well, what is malice? Malice means wickedness. It describes a vicious intention, a feeling of hostility and strong dislike, which comes from within a person.

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It refers to wickedness of every kind, but is especially of having it in for someone.

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Malice often breeds further evil in and of itself, and it is pleased with someone else's harm.

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Harm by words and harm by deeds. Charles Spurgeon comments, be careful.

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Do not count your natural resolve to accomplish the supernatural. Your old self might even voice words like,

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I forgive you and I will forget, but the seeds of malice still lurk within, because they were not, as it were, pulled up by the roots.

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Surrender to the Spirit. Allow him to enable you to walk by the Spirit, and you will absolutely not carry out the desires of the flesh.

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There is simply no other way for victory over malice, a victory that supernaturally enables one to freely forgive and wholly forget.

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The second sin that must be put off, deceit. And deceit literally means to bait the hook.

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It refers to a fishhook, or a trap, or a trick. And deceit is a deliberate attempt to mislead, to trick, or to snare, or to bait other people by telling them lies.

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You bait the trap in an attempt to catch the victim by flattery or false promises, suggestive talk, off -color suggestions, enticing words, and outright lying.

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Deceit is a desire to gain advantage or to preserve your position by deceiving other people, to get the better of them by cunning and deception.

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The third sin that must be put off, hypocrisy. The word hypocrisy comes from the

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Greek theater, and originally the word referred to putting on a mask and playing a part on stage.

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It was a positive word that described the actor's artistic abilities. In the

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New Testament, the word is used with a negative connotation. Hypocrisy refers to someone who is insincere, someone who hides behind a mask, someone who hides under a false pretense, someone who disguises their thoughts and feelings in an attempt to mislead others.

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A hypocrite is a phony. It's someone who is not real, someone who is not sincere, someone who is a pretender.

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It's someone who is play -acting, someone who gives the impression of having certain purposes or motives while in reality having quite different ones.

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Beloved, how does your behavior on Sunday compare with your behavior

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Monday through Saturday? If you're inconsistent between how you behave at church and how you behave at home, at work, at school, etc.,

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then you are guilty of the sin of hypocrisy. The fourth sin that we must put off is envy.

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Envy is the feeling of displeasure produced by witnessing or hearing of the advantages or the prosperity of other people.

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The term actually describes pain felt at the sight of someone else's affluence or someone else's happiness.

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It means not just wanting what the other person has, but also resenting that person for having it.

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Envy is an attitude of ill will and jealousy that leads to division and strife and even murder.

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The envious cannot bear to see the prosperity of others because they are so discontent and dissatisfied with their own lot.

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Envy begins with the desire to possess what another has, but it often merges into resentful discontent.

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Matthew Henry comments that malice and envy are both roots of bitterness, whence many evils spring.

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Evil thoughts and speeches, tongues set on fire of hell, detracting from and impairing the just and due praises of others.

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Their words are swords, wherewith they slay the good name and honor of their neighbor. This was the sin of Satan and of Cain, who was of that evil one and slew his brother.

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For why did he slay him? But of this envy and malice, because his own works were evil and his brother's righteous.

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These are some of the sins in which we lived in our natural state. The fifth sin that we're to put off is slander.

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And slander refers to evil speech or evil speaking or an evil report.

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Slander refers to backbiting, to lies, to defamation, to disparagement. It means speaking evil of others in such a way as to belittle them or to defame their character.

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Metaphorically speaking, slander may be expressed as shooting people down with your words, harming others by whispering, spoiling someone's honor with evil words, throwing someone under the bus.

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Again, Spurgeon comments, guard with careful diligence that dangerous member, the tongue, lest it utter evil.

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For that evil will recoil upon thee and mar the enjoyment of thy life. Men cannot spit forth poison without feeling some of the venom burning their own flesh.

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Deceit must be very earnestly avoided by the man who desires happiness. A crafty schemer lives like a spy in the enemy's camp in constant fear of exposure and execution.

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Clean and honest conversation by keeping the conscience at ease promotes happiness, but lying and wicked talk stuffs our pillows with thorns and makes life a constant world of fear and shame.

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These five sins, malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander, each one of these must be put away.

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Each one of these must be taken off, removed like a filthy garment, and tossed away.

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These sins must be utterly destroyed in our lives.

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If not, make no mistake, these sins will wreak havoc in your life. They will wreak havoc in your personal relationships, and they will destroy your sensitivity to the

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Word of God. In the context leading up to our passage this morning,

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Peter writes in 1st Peter 122, having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sense of sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart.

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It is impossible to obey this command to love with a heart of malice, with a heart of deceit, with a heart of hypocrisy, envy, and slander.

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Obedience to the command to love one another earnestly must come from a pure heart.

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So put away all of these things. Remove your sin.

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Principle number three, our hunger and our thirst for the Word of God can be restored by recognizing our great need.

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1st Peter 2, 1 and 2. So put away all malice, and deceit, and hypocrisy, and envy, and all slander.

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Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation.

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The primary admonition of this passage is for believers to long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation.

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The term translated long is describing an intense yearning for something, an intense and strong yearning.

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It describes an intense and strong desire for something. To long for something is to intensely crave something, with the implication that the one longing recognizes their lack and their need.

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And using figurative language, Peter paints us a great picture comparing to the longings, the longings of a newborn infant to the longings of a

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Christian. Now anyone who has been around a newborn baby knows how vocally and how ardently they express their desires, especially their desire for food.

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Newborn infants will cry, they will scream, they will kick, they will grab, they will throw their heads back, arch their backs, they will thrash around and do everything in their power to get your attention.

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Newborn infants long for milk. And why do you think that newborn infants are so demonstrative and ferocious in their quest for milk?

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Because to a newborn baby, milk is their greatest need. It's their most profound need.

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Newborn infants recognize their need for nourishment and that can only be fulfilled and satisfied by milk.

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There's no other substitute. To give a hungry baby a cracker or a toy or your keys is an exercise in futility.

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If a hungry newborn infant doesn't get milk quickly, they will get as violent as a little life can get.

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But the moment that baby is placed upon its mother's breast, what happens? The need is satisfied and the baby is at peace.

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Now do you see Peter's point? It's very simple and yet very profound. A newborn infant's desire for milk should characterize your desire for the

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Word of God. It should characterize your longing for the Word of God. It should characterize your craving for the

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Word of God. Beloved, recognize that just as a newborn infant needs milk to survive, so do you needs

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God's Word to survive. It is your greatest need. It is your most profound need. There is nothing that can take the place of the pure spiritual milk of the

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Word of God. I think one of the biggest problems in the church today is substitution.

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The church is filled with weak and malnourished Christians because many churches have substituted diluted and watered down milk for the pure spiritual milk of the

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Word of God. And rather than going to the Word of God and diligently taking time to think and pray and study and meditate upon the

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Word of God for answers, many travel the path of least resistance and they look for a quick fix or a quick solution.

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Beloved, there are no shortcuts to godliness. There are no shortcuts to your spiritual growth.

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You will not grow spiritually by periodically sampling the Word of God. A verse on love here, a verse on comfort there, maybe a couple of verses on victory.

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Beloved, you need the whole counsel of God. Revelation, every paragraph, every sentence, every single word.

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There is no growth apart from the steady intake of the pure spiritual milk of the

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Word of God. The Word of God must be heard, it must be read, it must be reread, it must be studied, it must be memorized, and it must be meditated upon for there to be spiritual growth in your life.

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In my experience, hearing and reading the Word of God are fairly common amongst those in the church. Slightly less common, because it takes more time and effort is studying and memorizing the

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Word of God. But I think the least common discipline of Bible intake is meditation.

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It is the least common, but it is the most beneficial. Psalm chapter 1, verses 1 and 2, blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the

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Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. The man who walks in the path of righteousness, the man who is blessed, is the one who delights in the law of God, is the one who delights in the

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Word of God. Again, to delight in something is to feel great favor towards something.

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It means to be mindful of it, or to be attentive to it. The word delight is often used in the

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Bible to describe a man finding fulfillment in the woman that he loves. The blessed man is the man who is mindful of, or attentive to, the

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Word of God. The object of the blessed man's pleasure, the object of his delight, is

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God's Word. And we see this in the fact that day and night, continually, constantly, the blessed man is meditating upon it.

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Donald S. Whitney, in his book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, defines meditation as deep thinking on the truths and spiritual realities revealed in the scriptures for the purpose of understanding, application, and prayer.

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And he uses a helpful analogy to describe the benefits of meditation, and the analogy is of a cup of tea.

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You are the cup of hot water, and the intake of scripture is the teabag.

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Hearing God's Word is like one dip of the teabag in the cup. Now, with one dip of the teabag, some of the tea's flavor is going to be absorbed by the water, but not a whole lot.

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It's going to be a pretty weak cup of tea. So what do you do to get more flavor from the teabag?

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Well, you dip it in again. Reading God's Word, studying God's Word, and memorizing

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God's Word are all additional dips of the teabag into the cup. But meditation is different.

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Meditation is not just a few dips of the teabag in the cup, it is completely submerging the teabag in the cup and letting it sit over time so that all the flavor is extracted from the teabag.

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Have you ever spent time reading or studying the Word of God and come away feeling cold?

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You were able to check off your reading for the day, but you really didn't get much out of it. Thomas Watson remarked that the reason we come away so cold from reading the

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Word is because we do not warm ourselves at the fire of meditation. So how do we do this?

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How do we warm ourselves at the fire of meditation? How do you actually meditate on the

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Word of God? Let me give you some practical suggestions. Here are four helps to assist you in your meditation of Scripture.

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Number one, repeat the passage different ways, emphasizing each word or each phrase.

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So 1st Peter 2, 2, like newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation.

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So you emphasize each phrase, like newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation.

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Like newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation.

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Like newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation.

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Like newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation.

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Like newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation.

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Like newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation.

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Like newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation.

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Like newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation.

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You see how this works? The purpose is not to just vainly repeat each word but to deeply think about each word.

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Deeply think about each phrase as it is emphasized and pray through what that means in its context.

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Another suggestion, number two, is to rewrite the passage in your own words. Now this means you're not just going to rearrange the word order but really think through what the passage is saying and then reword it appropriately.

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Again 1st Peter 2 .2 Like newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation.

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In your own words, if you want to mature your knowledge of God, if you want to strengthen your relationship with God, then you must intensely desire and consume the

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Word of God just like a newborn infant consumes milk.

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Rewriting the passage in your own words will give you a greater understanding of the passage and I also find that it helps me remember the passage much more clearly.

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Number three, pray through the text. Go line by line through the passage and offer up a prayer to God using the words and the phrases of Scripture.

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Heavenly Father, you are good. You are the highest good. You are the greatest good and you do good.

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Thank you for revealing yourself in the Scriptures. Thank you for giving your Holy Spirit to help understand the

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Scriptures. Lord God, I confess my malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander.

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Help me to put away all these things. Help me to hate them as you hate them. Lord God, help me to long for the pure spiritual milk of the

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Word of God. Help me to increase my love for the Word of God. Help me to increase my desire for the

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Word of God. Help me to greatly desire and consume the Word of God as a newborn infant desires and consumes milk.

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Help me to give priority to hearing, reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating. Lord God, keep my understanding of the

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Scriptures pure to your praise and glory. Amen. So praying through the

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Scriptures is a great way to meditate because it involves two people. The one meditating on the

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Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. Praying over a passage of Scripture is an invitation for the

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Spirit to illuminate your study and to show you what cannot be seen without him. Always remember the

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Holy Spirit is your resident truth teacher. To study the Scriptures without him is without any advantage.

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Number four, apply the passage to your life. Ask specific questions.

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How should I respond to this passage? Is there a sin I need to confess? Is there an example

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I need to follow? Does malice characterize my life? Does deceit? Is there an area of my life that is hypocritical?

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Am I envious of other people or other people's things? Do I participate in slander?

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Do I long for the for the pure milk of the Word of God? Do I long for the

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Word like a newborn infant longs for milk? If I don't, then what is it I tend to long for?

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What is it that competes with my longing for the Word of God? And how do I eradicate these things from my life?

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Meditation is never complete until there is a specific personal application.

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Like chewing food without swallowing, meditation is incomplete without specific personal application.

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And not just a general application. You know, I know I shouldn't be deceitful, but be specific in your applications.

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I shouldn't be deceitful in exaggerating certain things with my neighbor. You know, really make it the things that you are struggling with.

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I think that one of the main reasons that why meditation has fallen by the wayside amongst Christians is because it's a real discipline.

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Meditation is hard. It's hard to take time and think and reflect upon the

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Word of God, especially when there are so many distractions around us. But, beloved, meditation is not an optional exercise, especially if you want to restore your longing for the

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Word of God. The more time, effort, and energy you spend on meditation, the more your longing for the

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Word of God will increase. Meditation upon the Word of God has really enhanced my walk with God.

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It's enhanced my understanding of Scripture, and it's given me a greater hunger and a greater thirst for the

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Word of God. If you want to grow in your knowledge of God, your knowledge of sin, your knowledge of self, your knowledge of the gospel, then you must long for the pure spiritual milk of the

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Word of God. And to long for the Word of God, you need to remember your regeneration.

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You need to remember the means by which you were born again, by the imperishable, living, and abiding

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Word of God. To long for the Word of God, you need to remove your sin. You must put away all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.

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You must lay aside all the sins that are hindering you in your walk with the

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Lord Jesus Christ. To long for the Word of God, you need to recognize your great need.

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You need to be nourished by the Word of God every day through hearing, reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating upon the

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Word of God. Beloved, you will not grow in your walk unless you remember, you remove, and you recognize these things.

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So, 1 Peter 2 1 through 3, put away all malice, all deceit, and hypocrisy, and envy, and all slander.

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Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation. Verse 3, if indeed you have tasted that the

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Lord is good. Peter concludes this section by likening our present knowledge of salvation to tasting.

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To taste means to partake of something by mouth. Figuratively speaking, it means to come to know or to experience something firsthand.

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Those who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ have tasted the grace of God firsthand in their new birth, in their regeneration.

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They have personally experienced that indeed the Lord God is good. The great reformer

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Martin Luther said, whoever has not tasted the Word, to him it is not sweet.

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It has not reached the heart, but to them who have experienced it, who with the heart believe,

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Christ has been sent for me and has become my own. My miseries are his and his life mine.

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It tastes sweet. Psalm 34 8, O taste and see that the

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Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. So how do we revive our love and our delight for the

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Word of God? How do we restore our hunger and our thirst for the Word of God? By remembering your rebirth, by removing your sin, and by recognizing your great need.

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Many of you have time, extra time in the upcoming weeks, and I would encourage you to spend time in the

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Word of God. Read through the book of 1st Peter, read through the book of James or Romans, or take some time to reacquaint yourself with the book of Deuteronomy.

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Spend time in these passages and meditate upon them. Study them, write down verses, write down words, think about them throughout the day.

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And remember your rebirth, remove your sin, and recognize your great need.

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This is your nourishment. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank you for the

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Word of God and we thank you for its truth. We thank you that it is nourishing, that it has the power to completely transform us from darkness to light.

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We pray, Lord, that we would live in that light. We pray that we would look to you, that we wouldn't be distracted by the allurements of the world or just the complexities and difficulties of life.

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Lord, help us to go to the Word of God because that is where our heart resides, that is where our greatest desire resides.

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And Lord, we pray that you would speak clearly to us through the Scriptures. In the power of your Spirit, Lord, help us to walk in obedience to all of these things.

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We thank you, Lord, for the truth of your Word. We thank you that you revealed yourself to us.

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We thank you that you've given us your Spirit to help us understand these things. We thank you, Lord, that you've given us everything we need for life and godliness, every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

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Lord, help us to utilize these things in our lives. Thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name.