1 Pedro 2

1 Pedro 2:2

Ironside - MILK YOUR OWN COW "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby" (1 Pet. 2:2) Patrick was an Irish Catholic, who for years had longed for the assurance of peace with GOD. A visiting tourist, who fell in conversation with him, left him a copy of the New Testament. Through reading this, Pat was brought to a saving knowledge of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and from that time on, read and studied his Testament with eagerness, ever seeking a deeper knowledge of the things of GOD. The parish priest, who had missed him from the regular services, called on him and found him deep in the study of the Word. "Pat," he asked, "what is that book you are reading?" "Sure, your riverence," was the reply, "it's the New Testament." In horrified accents the priest exclaimed, "The New Testament! Why, Pat, that's not a book for the likes of you. You'll be getting all kings of wild notions from reading it and will be funning off into heresy." "But, your reverence," remonstrated Pat, "I have just been reading here -- it's the blessed apostle Peter himself that wrote it -- 'As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,' and sure it's a newborn babe in CHRIST I am and it's the milk of the Word I'm after. So I can't see the harm of reading the Testament." "Ah," said the priest, "It's perfect true, Patrick, that you need the milk of the Word, but the Almighty has appointed the clergy to be the milkmen. The clergy go to the college and the seminary and learn the meaning of the Word and then when the people come to the church we give it to them as they are able to bear it, and explain it in a way that they won't misunderstand." "Well, sure, your reverence," said Pat, "you know I kept a cow of me own out there in the barn, and when I was sick, sometime ago, I had to hire a man to milk the cow and I soon found he was stealin' half the milk and fillin' the bucket up with water, and sure it was awful weak milk I was gettin'. But now that I am well again I let him go and I am milkin' my own cow, and so it's the rich cream I am gettin' and not watered down milk. And your riverence, when I was dependin' on you for the milk of the Word, sure it was the blue, watery stuff you were given' me. But now I am milkin' me own cow and enjoyin' the cream of the Word all the time." We may well emulate Patrick and each for himself milk his own cow and thus get GOD's Word firsthand as He opens it by the HOLY SPIRIT. (See the best Bible Study method for "milking your own cow" so to speak - Inductive Bible study) Beloved are you milking your own cow? Have you read the Word of God today? Or have you instead read someone's devotional on the Word? There is nothing like milking the cow yourself!. Open Wide - Early in the spring, my wife and I watched a fascinating bird show outside our kitchen window. A couple of blackbirds with straw in their beaks entered a small vent in the house next door. A couple of weeks later, to our delight, we saw four baby birds stick their heads out of the vent. Mom and Dad took turns feeding their hungry babies. Seeing the babies’ wide-open mouths reminded me of how important it is for followers of Christ to eagerly desire spiritual food. In 1 Peter 2:2, the apostle Peter uses the analogy of babies longing to be fed: “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby.” The Greek word translated “desire” speaks of an intense yearning. It is a compound word meaning to “earnestly desire” or to “long after.” My hunger for the truth He satisfies; Upon the Word, the Living Bread, I feed: No parching thirst I know, because His grace, A pool of endless depth, supplies my need. —Sanders Neglecting the Word will famish your soul; meditating on the Word will feed it. Are You Starving… Spiritually Speaking? - Many of us live in countries where food is abundant and people are well-fed. That's why we may not be familiar with the symptoms of starvation. At the outset, victims have an insatiable craving for nourishment. As time passes, however, the body weakens, the mind is dulled, and the desire for something to eat wanes. In fact, starving people actually reach a point when they don't even want food that is placed before them. Spiritual starvation follows much the same course. If we have been feeding daily on God's Word, it's natural to feel "hungry" when we skip our quiet time. But if we continue to neglect it, we may lose all desire to study the Scriptures. In fact, we may be starving ourselves. How much time do you spend reading the Bible and meditating on its truths? Do you miss the Word when you neglect it? Thomas Guthrie wrote, If you find yourself loving any pleasure better than your prayers, any book better than the Bible, any persons better than Christ, or any indulgence better than the hope of heaven--take alarm. Break Thou the bread of life, dear Lord, to me, As Thou didst break the loaves beside the sea. Beyond the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord; My spirit pants for Thee, O Living Word. --Lathbury A well-read Bible is a sign of a well-fed soul How To Live For God - Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior? Are your sins forgiven? Does God’s Spirit bear witness with your spirit that you have passed from death unto life (Ro 8:16)? Have you been born again, and do you really want to live for God? If so, there are five things I would ask you to do: First, be sure of your own salvation. How can you know you are saved? By God’s Word. The blood makes you safe, and the Word makes you sure. “These things have I written unto you… that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life (1 John 5:13). “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). Have you come to Him? Then where are you, out or in? He says He won’t cast you out. Then He must have taken you in. You see, it depends on God’s Word not on your feelings. Believe what God says. Second, take a public stand for Christ. Don’t try to be a secret believer, for it won’t work. Confess Christ at every opportunity. “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words… of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed” (Mark 8:38). If you want to grow rapidly, confess Him openly. Third, turn from all you know to be wrong. He gives you a new nature, a nature that loves righteousness and hates iniquity. You can now overcome. “Sin shall not have dominion over you” (Rom. 6:14). But you must choose righteousness and forsake sin. Turn your back on it. Put it away. “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body” (Rom. 6:12). Come clean. Be through with sin. Fourth, spend much time in Bible study and prayer. The more you read the Bible the more you will want to read it. If you want to grow in grace, meet God every day. Have a place and time for prayer and Bible study. Be a Bible Christian. Never let a day pass without spending time alone with God. “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). Fifth, keep busy in God’s service. Satan always finds mischief for idle hands to do. Therefore find something to do. Give out gospel tracts. Get into a soul-winning church. Sing in the choir. Help in the young people’s work. Attend the prayer meeting. Put first things first. God to church where people are being converted and where the message is, “Ye must be born again.” If you follow these simple steps, you will be a bright and happy Christian, God will use you in His service, and you will be a blessing wherever you go. - Oswald J. Smith In his conclusion of his excellent message on this section of Peter, Pastor Steven Cole has the following story… J. I. Packer (A Quest for Godliness, pp. 47-48, 97-98) tells of a Puritan preacher in the 1620’s named John Rogers who bore down on his 500 hearers for neglecting the Bible. First he personated God to the people, telling them, “I have trusted you so long with my Bible … it lies in such and such houses all covered with dust and cobwebs; you care not to listen to it. Do you use my Bible so? Well, you shall have my Bible no longer.” And he took the Bible from the pulpit and seemed as if he were going to carry it away from them. But then he spun around and personated the people to God. He fell on his knees and pleaded earnestly, “Lord, whatever you do to us, take not your Bible from us. Kill our children, burn our houses, destroy our goods, only spare us your Bible! Don’t take away your Bible!” Then he personated God again to the people: “Say you so? Well I will try you a while longer; and here is my Bible for you. I will see how you will use it, whether you will love it more, observe it more, practice it more, and live more according to it.” At this point, according to Thomas Goodwin, who was there and who later became a powerful preacher in his own right, the entire congregation dissolved in tears. Goodwin himself, when he got outside, hung on the neck of his horse weeping for a quarter of an hour before he had the strength to mount, so powerful an impression was upon him. If you don’t have a craving for God’s Word, there could be several reasons. Maybe you’ve never tasted the Lord’s kindness in salvation. You need to believe that He died for your sins and that He offers His salvation to you as a free gift. Take it! And start feeding on the Bible. You may not have a craving for God’s Word because of sin in your life. Someone has said that God’s Word will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from God’s Word. Confess and forsake it! And get back into the Bible. You may have ruined your appetite by feeding on the junk food of this world. “Hunger makes a good cook,” as the saying goes. If you don’t sense your great need for God and His Word, it may be because you’ve filled up on junk like television. Shut it off! Or, maybe you’ve been filling up on the junk food being sold at Christian book stores under the label of Christian, but which waters down the pure Word of God with modern man’s wisdom. Such junk food makes you feel full, but it doesn’t nourish the soul. Don’t waste your time reading it! There are some excellent Christian books that will help you to understand and apply God’s truth. They’re well worth reading. But above all else, read your Bible! Hunger for God’s truth. Drink it in like a nursing infant. You’ve got to have it above all else if you want to grow in your salvation. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. How can a person know if a preacher is giving out pure or watered down milk? 2. Must every Christian become a student of the Word in order to grow? What if a person just isn’t a reader? 3. How can these relational sins (2:1) hinder desire for God’s Word? 4. Should we read the Word only when we’re motivated or even when we don’t feel like it? Why? (1 Peter 2:1-3 Getting Into The Word - Steven Cole