Desiring the Word
I heard of a story about a woman who had to do a lot of flying for her work. Air travel made her extremely nervous (I can relate to that), so she always took her Bible along with her to read since it helped her relax on long flights. On one flight, she found herself sitting next to a man who chuckled and then smirked when she pulled out her Bible.
After awhile, he turned to her and asked, “You don’t really believe all that stuff in there, do you?” The lady replied, “Of course I do. It is the Bible.” “Well, what about the guy who was swallowed by the whale?” he asked. She replied, “Oh, Jonah. Yes, I believe that. It is in the Bible.” Still smirking, the man asked, “Well, how do you suppose he survived all that time inside the whale? The lady replied, “Well, I don’t really know. I guess when I get to heaven, I’ll ask him.” “What if he didn’t make it to heaven?” the man asked sarcastically. To which the lady answered, “Then you can ask him.”
It is impossible to grow in your relationship with God without growing in your relationship with God’s Word.
Longing for the Word of the Lord
Our passage today is found in 1 Peter 2:2: “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.” Job 23:12: “I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” Similar to what we learned last week, you and I must take decisive action to intensely crave the Word of God. We must be intentional because it won’t happen automatically. Too many Christians are spiritually malnourished. We must know the Word of the Lord if we want to grow in the Lord of the Word. And like newborns, we’re to go after God’s Word fervently and frequently.
It is impossible to grow in your relationship with God without growing in your relationship with God’s Word. Ok, that’s what we’re supposed to do. But for many of us that’s a struggle. We know the “what” but we struggle with the “how.”
Before you just check out and start feeling guilty because you don’t really crave God’s Word, I want to spend the rest of our time together on the how question.
This passage gives us three ways to start craving the Word.
1. Remember your salvation. 1 Peter 2:1 starts with the word “Therefore.” That means we need to go back a few more verses to see what Peter said in 1 Peter 1:23-25: “Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because all flesh is as grass and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away but the word of the Lord endures forever. Three times in these verses we read of the primacy of the Word.
* We are born again through the living and enduring word of God.
* The word of the Lord stands forever.
* The word was preached to us.
Friend, if you’re feeling dry, travel back and remember your new-birth day. The Word that changed your heart is the same word that helps you grow. The Word that saves is the Word that sustains. If you’ve not been born again yet that might be why much of the Bible doesn’t make sense to you.
2. Remove sin from your life. Check out the rest of verse 1: "Therefore laying aside all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking.” These are “growth stoppers.” It’s quite possible that the reason you’re not craving God’s Word is because there’s too much of the world in you. It’s kind of like filling up with so much junk food that you get a stomach ache and then you’re no longer hungry for healthy food.
Peter knows that that some of the believers are on the bench because of some junk in their lives so he tells them to get rid of it. The word picture is of someone taking off and discarding soiled clothing. One commentator said it means to “cast it away with indignation.”
* Malice. This is a general word that means “evil-spiritedness” and the desire to harm other people.
* Deceit. The picture here is of “catching with bait” and refers to a deliberate attempt to mislead others.
* Hypocrisy. This means to pretend to be someone you’re not.
* Envy. This is not only wanting what someone else has, but hating that person for having what you want.
* Evil Speaking. This includes all kinds of unkind speaking and literally means to “run down” someone. The sin of backbiting is way too prevalent among believers.
Friend, it’s quite possible that the reason you are not growing spiritually is because you have some sin in your life that you have not been willing to get rid of. According to the REVEAL survey, the main reasons behind why people are stalled spiritually are “gossip, judging others, gambling, alcohol, pornography and inappropriate relationships.” As someone has said, “God’s Word will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from God’s Word.” James 1:21 puts it this way: “Therefore,lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”
Do you want to crave God’s Word? First, remember your salvation. Second, remove sin in your life. That leads to the third way to increase your appetite for the Bible.
3. Refocus on the goodness of God. I Peter 2:3 "If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious." God wants to meet with you more than you want to meet with Him. He loves you more than you know. He is good and gracious…have you tasted Him lately? Taste a little of the Lord and you’ll want a lot more of Him. If you’re struggling to read Scripture, refocus on His grace and goodness and then start small and read just a little. When we taste His goodness, we’ll eventually want to gulp God’s Word.
Have you tasted that the Lord is good?
Ps. 34:8 "Oh taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!"
Practical Helps for Devotions.
1. Start out with what you know you can do.
2. Spend time in reading the Bible, prayer, and worship
3. Have a specific time and place for your devotions
4. Do not allow interruptions
5. Have a pen and paper as the Lord brings things to mind
Practical ways to read the Bible
1. Read through the Bible in a year - Bible plan or 4 chapters a day
2. Read a passage until you get something out of ti to take throughout your day
3. Read 3 chapters in the O.T. and 1 in the N.T.
4. Read 3 chapters in the O.T. then take a passage and read it everyday for an entire month. Example of I Peter
Something done for 3 weeks straight becomes a habit!
Then when we read the Bible we become imitators of Christ
