Now That You've Tasted The Lord Series

INTRO.- ILL.- Someone said: According to a recent article I just read on nutrition, they said eating right doesn’t have to be complicated. Nutritionists say there is a simple way to tell if you’re eating right. Colors. Fill your plates with bright colors. Greens, reds, yellows. In fact, I did that this morning. I had an entire bowl of M&M’s. It was delicious! I never knew eating right could be so easy.

ILL.- A wife said: I have my changed my system for labeling homemade freezer meals. I used to carefully note in large clear letters, "Meatloaf" or "Pot Roast" or "Steak and Vegetables or "Chicken and Dumplings" or "Beef Pot Pie."

However, I used to get frustrated when I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner because he never asked for any of those things. So, I decided to stock the freezer with what he really likes.

If you look in my freezer now you’ll see a whole new set of labels. You’ll find dinners with neat little tags that say: "Whatever," "Anything," "I Don’t Know," "I Don’t Care," "Something Good," or "Food." My frustration is now reduced because no matter what my husband replies when I ask him what he wants for dinner, I know that it is there waiting.

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

ILL.- Little Johnny and his family lived in the country, and as a result seldom had guests. He was eager to help his mother after his father appeared with two dinner guests from the office.

When the dinner was nearly over, Little Johnny went to the kitchen and proudly carried in the first piece of apple pie, giving it to his father who passed it to a guest.

Little Johnny came in with a second piece of pie and gave it to his father, who again gave it to a guest. This was too much for Little Johnny, who said, "It’s no use, Dad. The pieces are all the same size."

What’s your favorite dessert? And what’s the best tasting food you ever had? We Americans are blessed with good food everywhere, at home and in restaurants.

Our text talks about a different kind of taste; a taste of the Lord’s goodness. And have you tasted of His goodness? Wow! Who hasn’t tasted of the Lord’s goodness? Even if a person didn’t know the Lord personally they have still tasted of His goodness. However, we who are in Christ should be quick to admit that we’ve tasted of the Lord’s goodness. HOW SO?

Have you counted your blessings lately? Both material and spiritual blessings? Have you looked around lately?

ILL.- A certified public accountant did something that maybe all of us should do. He decided to open a journal with God. He wanted to write down everything that God gave him and everything that he gave to God. He started keeping a debit and credit book with God.

If someone did him a favor, he put it down as God’s gift to him. He credited God with the sun, his food, his health, his friends and relatives, and a thousand other benefits he received.

On the other hand, he put down what he did for God. Finally he gave up saying, "It is impossible for me to balance the books. I find that God is indeed my creditor and what I have done for Him is next to nothing." YOU CAN’T OUTGIVE GOD!

We all have been given more than we have given back to God. We have indeed tasted of the Lord’s goodness! And it may well be pay back time. At least, we should be trying to giving back to God for what He’s done for us.

PROP.- Because we have tasted of the goodness of the Lord, what should we do? Here is some of our pay back to Him.

1- We should rid evil

2- We should crave good

3- We should grow spiritually

I. WE SHOULD RID EVIL

1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.

ILL.- A grouchy husband came to breakfast. His wife had prepared two eggs - one fried and one scrambled. He said, "Yep, just like I thought, you’ve done it again." "Now what’s wrong?" she asked. He replied, "As usual, you fried the wrong egg."

It could be that she married the wrong egg! Often, in marriage and in all of life, we are quick to point out wrong in others. We may be completely blind to our own short comings, but we can see the errors of others very easily. And we may even be quick to point them out.

Matthew 7:3-5 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ’Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."