The Pathway to Growing in Holiness

[Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music] questions [Music] thank you [Music] music foreign go ahead this week thank you foreign good morning church it's like a few of y'all that are here good morning church it's good seeing y'all here praise the Lord are you all excited to be in the house of the Lord this morning amen hey we celebrated this week on Wednesday we had Taylor impressed and they had their little Graceland over and they're here this morning so woohoo brand new babies [Applause] is the Lord Taylor you feeling all right okay all right I'll try to shorten up my service for you miracles do happen hey actually we've got some where'd the ga girls go did they leave okay there was some information that was available for gas and are from our gas about women on Mission and women on mission is a group of wonderful Godly ladies that care about teaching about edu about missions and so if you are interested in being a part of women on Mission not only is it educational and not only is it fun and fellowship based and not only do they bring in outside

Speakers that talk about missions but you actually get Hands-On in missions and so if you're if you're a lady and you're just looking for a great godly group of women and you want to be a part of that there's information at each one of the entrances and there's some candy too so be sure to grab one of those you can talk to those wonderful ladies as they are leading in that direction now if you have a bulletin there's all sorts of stuff that's happening in our church and a couple of things I really want to bring attention to is next week immediately following service there's a youth camp meeting and the students are going to be going to World Changers up in Kansas City and so if you want to send your Rising seventh grader it's it's it's rising seventh grader right all right so and the bulletin it says grade 6 through 12. That is leaving sixth grade this year in Rising seventh grader okay through graduates they can go to camp and it's going to be a fantastic time they do things like painting and building wheelchair ramps and evangelizing neighborhoods and replacing roofs that's 16 and up that get to do that also next Tuesday in the gym we have I guess it's not this next Tuesday it's following Tuesday February 28th from two to seven we're going to be washing eyeglasses that helps get our team ready that's going down to Mexico in the fall to have eyeglasses to take with them to go to Mexico in the fall and so if you'd like to be a part of that's from two to seven you don't have to come for the whole time you get to you can come for an hour you can come for 30 minutes you can come on you know bring your family around dinner and sit down and clean glasses it's a great way even for little ones to be able to clean eyeglasses and at 6 PM if you're interested in going to Mexico this fall at 6 PM

There will be an informational meeting regarding that also and this will kind of wrap up everything for us and then we will have Linda gimme come up and give the testimony for our community groups on March 5th we've really enjoyed our fifth Sunday family worship times and we've gotten a lot of great responses from families about that and it's good for families to be in the habit of attending church together we love offering Kids Quest we're going to continue doing that except for on the first Sundays of the month okay so on the first Sundays those are going to be our family worship services and that's going to start March on March 5th we're going to have the service available for kids we're going to have those great kids packets that Nicholas puts together but we're also going to just have our family worship time we have the kids together the families together and we're going to do what we can to worship together as a family now I know a lot of you have been going through it recently Miss Chris we're praying for you we love you we love your mom and we are praying for you but also last night you guys might have heard that Harvey Harrison he did pass away and so pray for Miss Joyce as she continues to grief and has some good support in some local family here but also needs her church family as well they're pretty new to our area they moved here about two and a half years ago so they don't have the Deep relationships that they had in their previous community and so if you're a part of that community group or you just care about them it's a great way to just love on them by sending a card giving a call or things like that speaking of community groups I want to invite Linda where is Miss there she is she's right on the front row Linda she's going to share a little bit about Community groups and so if y'all would welcome her as she shares the testimony

[Applause] good morning my name is Linda gimme for those of you that don't know me or don't have a name to put with the face and I am a member of the odds and ends no comments okay but the odds and ends class and we're led by Chris Williams this is class is for women who are single married divorced or their spouse's don't attend and we have someone from each of those categories that fits in our class so you won't be alone for me I need some place that I feel comfortable because when I feel comfortable I pay attention when I pay attention I learn and when I learn I'm stronger in my faith I'm more confident in my knowledge of God's word and I'm closer to God in this class we pray we praise we laugh we cry and sometimes we do it all in the same hour so we celebrate each other and our friendships are strengthened relationships are enhanced this happens both on Sunday mornings and other times when we get together we do periodic things throughout the year just to be with each other and to develop those relationships and God is present through all of this I know that if I ever need anything that these women would be there for me and I consider them my friends so if you're looking for a class I strongly suggest this group of great Christian women that you'll just have a fabulous time and you'll learn a lot thank you [Applause] well now is the time as you probably are getting used to where we take a moment and distill our hearts and our minds and ask God to prepare us for corporate worship so I'd invite you to Bow your heads and close your eyes as we do that you know there are there are several of us here today who are suffering and really

We're probably all suffering in some sense of the word take a moment and just ask God to give you peace through the suffering to show you that he is Sovereign that he's in control maybe this morning was particularly hard for you to get out of bed to Wrangle the kids in the car to get here to church on time take a moment to ask God to just steal your heart Lord we come before you this morning asking that you would help to prepare us for worship together and Lord indeed we've already been worshiping you this morning as we've met and gathered and discussed your word and praised you for who you are and what you've done for us and even petitioned you for those things that are in our lives that we recognize that we need you in Lord we ask that you would help us to continue to worship together this morning because it's pleasing to you Lord help us to praise your name as we sing together help us to praise you and to worship you as we hear from your word and help us to continue to worship as we go from here it's in Jesus name we pray amen I'd invite you to stand come set your rule and reign in our hearts again increase [Music] our very Souls [Music] we are your church [Music] we seek your kingdom plans to waste our lives [Music] we lay down our lives foreign [Music] Nations [Music] foreign

[Music] your church [Music] Build Your Kingdom Here let the Darkness [Music] at your church fire with this [Music] [Applause] [Music] would I come I confess Ed and without you I fall apart you're the one that guides my heart Lord I come I can pass [Music] and without you I fall apart [Music] my heart [Music] Lord I need you all I needed [Music] my righteousness [Music] and free [Music] holyness is Christ in me Lord I need you [Music] you my this my righteousness oh God [Music] teach my son to rise to you when Temptation comes my way and when I cannot stand I'll fall on you [Music] when I cannot stand up all on you Jesus [Applause] [Music]

Lord I need you [Music] my right eousness oh God [Music] I need you [Music] I need you [Music] defense my ride just as you're my one defense my righteousness [Music] please this time I'd like to invite our ushers forward and as we prepare to take our offering it doesn't bother me whether you stand or you sit or you kneel or do what you need to do I only ask that you be engaged in worship this morning let's pray together dear Lord we thank you for the opportunity we have to give what would help us help us to give sacrificially and lovingly Lord help us to give of our money but also of our time and our talents because Lord everything we have you have given to us and it's all for your glory it's in Jesus name we pray amen for God Alone Oh My Soul wait in silence for my hope is from him he it only is my rock and my salvation my Fortress I shall not be shaken on God rest my salvation and my glory my mighty rock my refuge is God Psalm 62 5-7 [Music] thank you [Music] myself I trust in God alone my rock and my salvation a fortress strung against my foes [Music] I'll fix my heart on righteousness [Music] three

We've Everlasting never failing my demons [Music] standing Oh Praise Him Hallelujah [Music] thank you foreign [Music] to measure my King has crushed a curse of death [Music] give us foreign [Music] Hallelujah [Music] Elijah [Music] thank you [Music] worthy of every song we could ever see worthy of all the praise foreign [Music] holy there is no one like you there is none beside you open up my eyes [Music] foreign [Music] oh there is [Music] me foreign [Music] my life upon younger babies [Music] I am foreign [Music] I know [Music] me with your heart and Lead Me [Music] will build my life upon your love it is

[Music] and I will not be shaken [Music] hope there is no one like you there is none beside you open up my eyes [Music] me who you are and fill me with your Lead Me In Your surround me [Music] and Lord we ask this morning that you would fill us with your heart Lord that we would love like you have loved Lord that we would seek you that we would recognize that you are holy and you have called us to be holy God help us to run after you to glorify you in all that we say and all that we do with every breath that we breathe Lord let it be to your glory it's in Jesus name we pray amen foreign well if you have your Bible and I hope that you do please turn with me to First Peter that's a dangerous song to sing I don't know if you know how dangerous that song is to sing there is no one like you there is none beside you open up my eyes and wonder we can't see God in our own strength and our own power but we do we Melt Away in the light of his glory we can't stand in his presence and in our own goodness and thanks be to God that He sent Jesus Christ which empowers us to be able to stand in his presence for all of eternity amen you know we sang in that song that we would know God and that's been just a recurring theme not just on our Wednesday night Bible studies but also in my personal prayer life and for the last year or so has been that question knowing God you know do you know God and today through this series

We've been talking about Holiness be holy for I am Holy and we're concluding this little part in the series and got a new series in First Peter starting up next week but we're talking about the pathway to Holiness and you know growing up I grew up in the mountains of Virginia in the Blue Ridge Mountains and some of y'all know that I'm from Virginia not West Virginia although a lot of my kin folk live there and there I go to my family reunion there's more people than teeth at those family reunions you know what I'm saying and some of y'all go hey I think I'm related to those people too but God bless my family I love them they are wonderful people but I grew up hiking in the woods walking in the woods being in the woods that's one of the things that I did in Clifton Forge it backs up right next to George Washington National Forest and I started thinking about these different Pathways different trails that I walked on and it was actually a really scary situation I was in because I don't know if you see this is the northern part of Clifton Forge that's called The Heights that's where the rich folk lived I had friends up there and there was this water tower right there that you see there's a little trail that goes down and it just goes into the Wilderness and that little dot right there is the water tower okay and me and my friend will and my friend buddy we got lost somewhere in here somewhere in there I don't know we were gone for hours I mean and I mean like you know we had left early that morning probably about 8 A.M and I would say probably around three or four o'clock we're still wandering around in the woods and you're starting to get worried at that point right we came across this Creek that runs

Somewhere in there you'll see that there's a little Reservoir right there but thankfully we came across this little plant right here and so we just said well okay I guess that we kind of know the direction of town what happened was that we lost the path you know we saw this Creek we said let's go into the creek and we started playing in the creek walking down the creek next thing you know we're at the where where'd the trail go where'd the path go how did I get here you're walking around trying to find that same direction you think that you're in the same spot that you came off at or not it was very easy to lose our path thankfully we found we got back on the right track and traveled on back to town but today we are talking about the pathway that we are to be on as Christians as Christians we have been redeemed and Peter he is going to instruct us who are in danger of losing our way okay not in a salvific sense but sometimes as Christians we might be tempted to stray off of that narrow path and so Peter he is going to instruct us here he is going to give us directions on how to remain in holiness this is an exhortation and how we are to remain on the Narrow Path the Bible it deals with issues very black and white right because God is light and there is no Shadow or variance or change with the Lord Jesus himself taught that there are two roads that every single person is on there is a broad Highway that leads to destruction that's where AC DC got the song title from and then there's and then there's a narrow path that leads to eternal life and it's difficult to navigate and so with that thought in mind as believers who are on that narrow path this is a

An exhortation for you to make any corrections today to remain on that narrow path and so if you would stand with me in honor of God's word as we read First Peter chapter 2 verses one through three God's word says this so put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander 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 Lord is good let's pray so God we do thank you for this wonderful day we thank you for your word we thank you that there are many people in here who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good and even right now in churches all across this country all across this world Believers are gathered together to sing praise to you because you were good Lord for brothers and sisters that are experiencing Revival Lord we thank you for that and we pray that Christians would have a greater sense of your goodness and your kindness and your gentleness and your faithfulness and your love and just all those good things God but also to know your Justice and your wrath and your Holiness God Lord we pray that we would today see a little bit more of who you are that we would experience the fullness of Who You Are that our hearts would not be drawn to dark corners and dark areas God Lord we deal with that enough in our own hearts and so I pray that we would gain a bigger picture of who you are a clearer picture of Who You Are that we would love you more and walk with you on this path in Jesus pressures me all right well

The ESV it begins with this phrase well I'll go back there it begins with that phrase so and other translations little Young's literal translation it actually puts it best having put aside having put aside the call of Christ is death to ourselves that is the call of Christ amen it's a daily work it's a daily work trust me you know we don't have any holier than thou Christians they're they're we shouldn't have them but we are called to put aside these different sins to put away not tuck it away like put it in the corner of the garage just in case you want to get it out later it literally means to Barry to put to death to kill to slay put it away put it away put it away and those sins that so easily ensnare us and entangle us they are so willing to come back day after day after day and so we make it our daily Habit to kill those things to put them away to cast them aside almost like putting something in a garbage can to intentionally throw it out you don't want it anymore and this is the act of repentance repentance is the changing of the heart and the mind to change your outlook toward what was once something that you delighted in that sin and now you choose to hate it to despise it to put it away to kill it this is a constant habit and so Peter he's going to instruct us here firstly that we are to correct our path on the pathway to Holiness it's correcting our path in the book of Zechariah we read about this high priest as high priest who is being accused by Satan and the prophet Zechariah he sees this high priest this High priest's name is Joshua and it says this it says now Joshua was standing before the angel clothed with filthy garments okay those are the sins

That's a that's a picture of the things that we come into church with the things that we come to the throne of grace with we come with our filthy rags that's all that we come to God with and the angels said to those who were standing before him remove the filthy garments from him and to him he said behold I have taken your iniquity away from you and I will clothe you with pure vestments that is salvation that is being made clean being made pure being made holy we are born again to a Living Hope this is what's happened to you and I when we come to the throne of grace when we come to the Cross of Christ God he takes away our iniquities our souls are purified by our obedience to the truth of the Gospel message and we've been made clean we've been made holy now and now as a result of that Peter he instructs us to put away these five things and you can just list them out there right there for you this isn't an arbitrary list though it's not like he just you know wrote down the things that come into his mind at that moment Peter he has in mind still as we talked about last week the brotherly love that we experience they talked about in verse 22 and this is how we are to love one another earnestly from a pure heart and so these sins that Peter is going to talk about here these five things these are sins that will destroy a local church body there are things that will sow seeds of division this is in the first century in Asia Minor remember that this is the where the letter is sent to and we know that there was this natural division between cultures between backgrounds and religious heritages and things like that but these sins they will tear away from the bonds of Love That unite a church and so he tells Believers to put away firstly all malice all malice put it away put it away

He starts out with malice here because it's a general term for evil wickedness in general but it's also ill will that you might have towards a brother or sister in Christ ill will that you might have towards brother or sister in Christ you know when Believers willfully sin against God what happens is that naturally leads to division among brothers and sisters it's a lot like a rebellious child we don't have any of those in our church I know that but let's say that you do have a rebellious child and that child is being disobedient to parents and they're they're they're they're not doing their chores they're not doing the things that you've told them to do that automatically spills over into the relationships between the siblings too doesn't it there's a natural division that occurs because that's what sin does it spreads it's a cancer it's an infection malice it's it's the desire for harm to come to someone you ever hope that someone would fail at something just because you didn't agree with it I don't mean that they were attempting to sin I'm just saying that you had a preference and they didn't go along with your preferences so you're kind of like well I just hope they fail that's malice it happens and as Christians we must change our minds about that and that is the act of repentance secondly here is deception remember Jacob he deceived his brother out of this Birthright it wasn't righteous neither was Esau foolishly selling his Birthright to his brother

But you look throughout the Old Testament I mean just looking at the Book of Genesis we see deception after deception after the deception you see Abraham lying about his wife saying that she was his sister we look at that we go that's that's very foolish we will look at that deception that Jacob had with his with Esau and Esau was looking to kill his brother right away it broke a Father's Heart when Jacob got that coat of many colors and his brothers they lied to their father and said well your son died when in actuality they had sold him into slavery remember that deception divides half truths and dishonesty they destroy trust and trust is slowly gained and quickly destroyed that word deceive it's it's also a the same word that contemporaries back in this koine Greek time that they would use to talk about the bait that they would use to catch fish it's deceptive it's lying it's evil it's treacherous and it destroys the third sin is hypocrisy it's a phrase used to describe when an actor would wear a mask and play in the plays it's the sin of Judas the betrayer he was filled with evil and yet he was numbered among the twelve he said one thing and he did the complete opposite and it is a sin that must be put away put aside repented of fourthly is envy it's when you look at a Christian brother or Christian sister and go man if I only had what they had if my husband would lead me like that one did then I would be content if my if my kids behave like those kids then I could be content if I had those financial resources then perhaps maybe maybe I wouldn't be so bogged down

If I had that spiritual gift or if I had that blessing remember that Envy is ultimately dissatisfaction with the gifts that God has given to you that's what Envy ultimately is the final sin that Peter writes about here is slander slander it's it's not only in this context it's not only just speaking ill about a brother it's also having low opinions of them remember that your brothers and sisters in Christ have been redeemed by the same blood that you have their co-heirs with you in Christ their sons and daughters of the king and when there's disparaging comments made I mean how can we say that we have a genuine authentic Brotherly Love from a pure heart if there's slander if they're disparaging one another if there's deception and making derogatory comments about Christian brothers and sisters and the source of all these sins is a lack of love for God and for their brothers and sisters in Christ now this love it can be expressed in Fellowship on Sundays right amen and but it's found in the context of relationships that's why we that's why we have been emphasizing so much the importance of community groups Community groups is the number one indicator on whether or not people endure in a local church it doesn't matter what church it is if you find Community whether they call it Sunday school or life groups or cell groups or whatever they call it get in a group it's the number one indicator on whether or not you endure in a local church now Peter he uses assembly here and he says like newborn infants now this is a continuation of a thought earlier in the passage look back at verse 23 it says that since you have been born again okay and so he's directly continuing a thought from the previous chapter

Telling us that we have been born again and like newborn infants okay this doesn't mean that these are new Believers or they're immature Believers but he is telling us something about the nature of how we are to grow and not just grow in some arbitrary way but that God has a goal for our growth and that goal is for our holiness you know as a parent I'm becoming more and more aware of the fact that I need to have a plan for my parenting you know it's not like I have you know a schedule and a rule book and things like that but what kind of sun what kind of daughter do I want to raise and in that same way that I have certain things that I want my child to become God he has said sovereignly that he wants us to grow up into holiness and he has a plan and so Point number two here is growing on the right path growing on the right path like newborn infants now Preston Taylor I didn't know that you guys were going to be here today but I got a picture of your baby up here because she's adorable there she is she's cute she's born on Wednesday we look forward to dedicating her to the Lord also you know take a meal to him I'm sure they would greatly appreciate that now I got I got a little bit of experience around babies okay but I started to ask myself all right if it says like newborn babies then I kind of ask well what are newborn babies like and so firstly is that they are completely dependent I mean they can't even scratch niche it can't do anything they're completely helpless and harmless they don't have the ability to protect themselves they don't have the ability to provide for themselves or anything they're completely at the mercy

Of their parents that's that's how a newborn baby is like they're also hungry all the time constantly eating okay I remember David he was fresh from the womb and you know the first concern aside from like that newborn cry is also latching in skin to skin contact you want them to start to nourish because they've just went through something pretty traumatizing I'm sure for a baby and so they're they're latching and you're cheering them on hoping that they start to nourish and latch to the mother's breast and any delay leads to the baby crying because that baby's hungry and yet there's a deep delight and a joy when that baby starts to nourish from the mother babies are also they're needy they need to be held they need to be loved they need to be changed they need to be cared for they need to be fed there's hundreds of things that you got to do for a baby making sure that they're that they're not too hot that they're not too cold that they're being comforted that they're safe that you know there's all these things that we do as parents as grandparents to love on these babies they are needy and yet this is the example that Peter uses for us to long for Pure spiritual milk and so you could even say that they long for their mother they long for milk it means and what this means is that as the Lord he has provided sustenance for the babies and there's something within a mother that longs to nurture that longs to care for the baby and pleads for the baby to latch well and to drink deeply so that way it can drink its filled but I have to ask this question what are we longing for as Believers like newborn infants

We are to long for the pure spiritual milk do you have that desire I came across a story of Socrates you know Socrates he's well known not only as a philosopher but as a really buff philosopher he believed that it was incumbent upon men to take care of their bodies and for them to be like cut and chiseled right that was one things that he believed and so there was this guy that came up to him he was very proud young man and he came up to this philosopher and he said oh great Socrates I want to come to you for knowledge and so Socrates he was very wise he could tell that this guy he was just an idiot right he didn't want knowledge he just kind of wanted to be in socrates's Inner Circle he didn't really hunger for knowledge he just hungered for status so he asked the man he said what do you want he said I want knowledge so they walked the city and they go down through the streets and he's taking them down to the coastline and they walk about chest deep into the water and he says what is it that you want young man I want knowledge oh great Socrates and so Socrates take some and dumps them under the water and holds him there for like 30 seconds and he brings him back up and he's sputtering he goes what do you want he says I want wisdom Socrates I really want wisdom I need wisdom and so Socrates puts him back under 30 35 40 seconds brings them back up what do you want he's like I just want some knowledge knowledge he's just coughing and gasping between great gasps severe I want knowledge and so he holds them under the water 30 40 45 50 seconds brings them back up and he's coughing and he's sputtering and he's choking out what do you want he goes air I need air

And Socrates looks at him he says when you want knowledge in the same way that you want air you'll have it in the same way A.W Tozer he said you can have as much of God as you like in fact you already do that was my reaction too what is it that you desire do you really desire God do you really long to know God do you do you really want God I mean for many people they want Jesus the Savior without Jesus the Lord they want the Salvation from wrath without the sanctification from wickedness they want to avoid hell but also want to avoid his presence what do you long for what is it that you desire our hearts our hearts determine what our desires are if your heart is saved then you know God and the result of that is that naturally you will want him more but if your heart is lost and you don't know God as Savior and Lord then naturally what you will do is you will avoid him what do you long for and more importantly you need to ask that question why I think we also need to ask that question of what is the milk that Peter is talking about here that milk is the word of God and we know this because in chapter in chapter 1 verse 25 look at what it says it says but the word of the Lord remains forever and this was the good news that was preached to you and so it's within that context because of that salvation that we have in Christ through his word that we can put away all of these sins to rightly love our brothers and sisters and we grow through the pure spiritual

Milk now there's two descriptors of milk right firstly it's pure what does that term pure mean it actually originated in the markets in that time it means 100 percent it means authentic it means genuine the opposite of pure is diluted or contaminated in our nation right now in the town of East Palestine in Ohio there is a tremendous worry about the water being contaminated as a result residents they're refusing to drink the water they're refusing to bathe in it they're doing whatever they can to buy bottled water and to filter it and things like that and they're being especially careful if they have children and there's something special about that protecting children isn't there because loving parents they don't willfully expose their children to harm and dangerous chemicals because we know that the damage can be severe and the reason is because contaminants can kill God's word is undiluted it is whole it is genuine and it's exactly what Christians need to grow in Christ to desire anything else is to take a path of malnutrition in delayed development do you desire God's word then drink deeply from the well that he has offered to you there is no reason no good reason why we shouldn't spend some time studying God's word it refreshes the soul and since it is pure it brings life it brings growth because it alone truly nourishes the soul now David he says this in Psalm chapter 12 verse 6 the words of the Lord are pure words like silver refined in a furnace on the ground purified seven times the second word that Peter uses to describe God's word here is spiritual

Spiritual this is the Greek word locaikos which means it shares that same root word as word which is logos in the Greek and it's actually a little bit of a play on words because not only does it can it be translated as spiritual but it can also be translated as reasonable or irrational we look in Romans chapter 12 verse 1. It says I beseech you therefore Brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a Living Sacrifice holy acceptable to God which is your reasonable service it's the same word there and so spiritual growth it's not accomplished through some type of Eastern mystical stuff right but our spiritual disciplines are reasonable and rational we are commanded to love the Lord Our God with all our mind as well as our heart our soul and strength but our growth is empowered by knowing and rightly applying God's word to our lives and we accomplish this not simply by reading God's word although that's beneficial but also by studying God's word and so we go to God's word and we ask questions about it you know God where do I See You In this passage what is something new that I learn about the Lord right here where I'm reading is there a command for Me In this passage is there an area where I'm walking in Disobedience here it do I need to change my mind about a sin or a habit or a priority that word look icos is it the spiritual reasonable word that was preached to the Believers in Asia Minor but it was also the Gospel that they heard and when the Gospel is being shared it always results in growth this is why I practice and I encourage you to practice preaching the Gospel to

Your own soul every day reminding yourself of your desperate need for Christ but also the hope that we have that he has redeemed our souls now this putting away of evil and getting fed by the word leads to growing in up into salvation that's the natural result of it and it's it's this process that God has sovereignly ordained the means of our spiritual growth because there's not a secret sauce to spiritual growth okay it's it's not like you have to get a second baptism of the spirit it's not like you have to perform these spiritual acts and then you become more mature it's simply by abiding in the word of God in that slow process of growth and you look throughout Scriptures and what do you see you see this example over and over again you know that Moses he knew that he was the promised deliverer according to the book of Hebrews he knew it that's why I took actions into his own hands and killed that Hebrew slave and then at the age of 80 after 80 years of preparation finally he was able to be that deliverer who was promised it took 80 years young David not only did he have to deliver the his Lambs from the mouth of the bear and from the Lion but after he was anointed as king he still learned how to thrive under and respect and love King Saul who was slowly losing his grip on Israel it wasn't until David had run from Saul for years maybe even as much as 20 years after his anointing that he finally became king the Apostle Paul he disappeared for three years into Arabia after coming to know Christ you can read about that in the book of Galatians and then 14 more years after that he went on his first missionary journey with Barnabas to preach the Gospel to the

Gentiles 17 years of preparation the Son of God spent 30 years total as a relative unknown in Nazareth we know a little bit about when he was 12 years old what was he doing he was in the temple sitting among the teachers listening to them and asking questions that's what we know about teenage Jesus the next 18 years of his life are summarized in one verse and Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and with men we grow up into salvation in the same way that a newborn grows up into maturity constant complete nourishment we don't we don't not feed our kids for six seven days right I mean if we do we call that severe neglect and yet oftentimes that's what believers do to ourselves like you know we read a little verse of the day as kind of a little snack to get us by but is that really really studying God's word is that really a deep longing for God's word I mean we don't stop eating for days unless there is a serious medical issue and even then we know it's not good to do and yet oftentimes a in a Christian spiritual walk there can be Seasons where drinking the pure spiritual milk of God's word is neglected and if you're in that season let me encourage you to change your mind and repent about that to change your mind and devote yourself to knowing God better by getting into his word now this verse doesn't mean that your salvation is dependent upon the study of God's word okay don't want you walking out here thinking about that we have been saved and it is that salvation that enables us to lay aside these evil Deeds that Peter has instructed us to do and it's that enables us to drink deeply from God's word this is the

Ongoing work of Salvation where we become more and more like Christ and so we come to the Lord through his word and the word Comes To Us by the Lord it works both ways we can't love the Lord and hate his word neither can we reject the Lord and love his word takes both and it's what causes us to grow and that growth that Peter writes about here is the evidence that you know the Lord God look at verse three it says if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good and Peter he quotes Psalm 34 8 here and he continues quoting this psalm throughout the rest of the book of First Peter in Psalm 34 Verse 8 it says this o taste and see that the Lord is good blessed is the man who takes refuge in him so why doesn't Peter quote that part why does he just say taste that the Lord is good why doesn't he say taste and see that the Lord is good well you just go back to First Peter chapter 1 verses 8 9 it explains that though you have not seen him you love him 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 see they didn't receive the Gospel by seeing Jesus they received the Gospel through the preaching of the word and when the Holy Spirit Drew these people who were Exiles and sojourners in this world got the Gospel pricked their hearts and caused them to consider how can I be saved see when they heard about Jesus of Nazareth the Messiah they trusted in him and they believed in Christ now this is the last of Peter's extra exhortations that he opens up with it started in verses in chapter 1 verses verse 13 just to summarize Christians are called by God to be holy

So we follow Christ on this pathway because he has given us a new life and in verses 22-25 we see that part of our Holiness is directly related in how we love one another we also learn here in this passage that we continue to grow in our desire of knowing the Lord through his word and so my question is when you trusted the Lord wasn't that good when you trusted the Lord was that good oh yeah did you taste and see that the Lord is good maybe you haven't I want to encourage you to trust in the Lord today maybe you have and you've never shared that you're a follower of Christ today's a good day to do it God is always so good and maybe you need salvation listen to me there is no greater thing that you can settle in your heart and your mind than to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord it's nothing more important and why do you need to it's because you have broken God's law you have sinned against a holy God and Justice must be served and the Bible says that God sent his only begotten son as a human veiled in flesh to pay the death penalty that you will pay unless you're repent of sin and you come to Christ and you can't earn your salvation you can't be good enough for it you can't I tried it doesn't work you can't can't come to church enough you can't give away enough money can't do enough Good Deeds there's nothing that you can do to be saved except to confess with your mouth Christ Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead and you

Will be saved and you can do that right now you can do that because God he is good and if you've tasted and seen that the Lord is good then you know what you must do based upon this passage we know that we are to know God better through his word head hand heart head I want you to know that God is always good God is always good his plans are good his ways are good everything about him is good amen and so for us perhaps that might cause us to tremble at least it should because oftentimes there are things in us that aren't so good because God is a lover of good he wants to root that out hand I want you to not be discouraged on the path that God has you on what I mean is that because God is good and he loves you this is for Christians he has redeemed you might be struggling with the sin or fighting an addiction or Temptation you might see some area that you are maybe losing a battle in I want you to take heart because that same Christ that has saved you will see you through to Victory he will as you draw close to him so study his word so that you might grow up into salvation and heart I want you to believe that your heart will determine your desires perhaps you don't have any desire to study God's word whatsoever maybe you've attended our church for literally years or decades and you don't have any of that desire at all you don't desire really to know God at now listen to me here because this is very important and I love you too much to just let this go if you have no desire to study God's word or to know him better then it may be because you're not saved my friend on that day many will say to the Lord did we not prophesy in your name

Cast out demons in your name and do Mighty works in your name and then Jesus Will declare to them I never knew you depart from me you workers of lawlessness and I don't want that said to you on that last day I don't want you to have a false Assurance I want you to know God and to have a real assurance that he knows you and that you know him and I want you to do it God's way and I pray and I hope that you would consider these words and respond as the Lord works in your heart if you would stand with me as we respond in prayer and worship God we just thank you so much for this wonderful day we thank you for your abundant mercies and we thank you that you were good that you love us that you have provided a way for us not just to be saved but to grow in our salvation God you have called us to know you and to walk Faithfully before you and God you as Believers you've called us friends foreign there are those who maybe they don't know you [Music] your word says that even while we were yet sinners you still died for us and that you are not willing that any Shall Perish but that all should come to repentance and so God I pray that there's anyone here today that they need to repent that today would be that day that they would that they were repent even right now and trust in you Lord and that they would make that decision public God that they would share about what you're doing in their lives we thank you for your kindness and as we respond in worship may you be glorified today Jesus name amen [Music]

Without you I fall apart [Music] that guides My Heart Lord I need you Lord I lead you foreign [Music] foreign [Music] Lord I am free Holiness [Music] is Christ in me Lord I need you every me I want defense my righteousness oh God how I need Lord I need you oh I need you [Music] my one defense my righteousness oh God how I need [Music] foreign with me heavenly father thank you today and thank you for a church that believes in preaching the word a pastor that believes that and for a church that cares about one another when we're sick or death comes or whatever it is it's hard stuff we got a church that cares about and I pray today that we'd all keep that in mind and we'd serve one another in Jesus name amen