Feeding On The Word Series

Feeding on the Word

Sermon Series: The Manual

1 Peter 1:22 – 2:3

Last week we learned that the Manual, God’s Word, is useful for

- teaching

- rebuking

- correcting

- training

It has a very solid purpose in preparing each and every Christian to do the work which God has called us to do. By spending time in His Word, it enriches our lives and helps us to grow.

That’s what we are going to look at today. How feeding on the truth of God’s Word can make a tremendous difference in each of our lives, if we commit ourselves to eating from it daily.

Turn if you would to 1 Peter 1:22ff

1Pe 1:22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.

1Pe 1:23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

1Pe 1:24 For, “All men are like grass,

and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;

the grass withers and the flowers fall,

1Pe 1:25 but the word of the Lord stands forever.”

And this is the word that was preached to you.

1Pe 2:1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.

1Pe 2:2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,

1Pe 2:3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Many people think that the Word of God (the Bible), does not apply to them these days. They assume since it was written so long ago, that it was only useful for those it was written to in the past.

Well, that brings to mind a question. If it was only important for the people in Jesus’ time period, why is it still the most popular selling book on the market, year after year and why do so many people read and study from it?

The Answer: Because people are hungry for TRUTH. The truth found in God’s Word still applies to our lives today.

- That which was truth back then is still truth today

- That which changed a heart back then changes hearts today

- That which challenged people back then challenges people today

- That which taught people back then teaches today

- That which made people familiar with the characteristics and attributes of God back then, still makes us familiar with His characteristics and attributes today

While reading the passage from 1 Peter, did any on you notice the two main descriptive words about God’s Word. They are Living & Enduring. What do they mean?

I looked up what Webster’s had to say about it:

LIVING:

1 : to be alive (Not dead, but alive & active)

2 : to continue alive (to not die, to prosper, to live without ending)

3 : to remain in human memory or record (Not to be forgotten)

ENDURING:

1 : to undergo (as a hardship) especially without giving in

(the Bible has been criticized for years, insulted, torn apart, but not finished)

2 : to continue in the same state/to last

(to last, God’s Word does not change, although people have tried to change it)

3 : to remain firm under suffering or misfortune without yielding

Let me use the following the illustration to help bring it home:

- True or False?

On the Internet, there is a news group in which readers post “Urban Myths” and discuss whether or not they are true, false or unanswerable. Let me share a couple of them with you. (Little Audience Participation)

Raise your RIGHT HAND = TRUE

Raise your LEFT HAND = FALSE

- A penny dropped from the Empire State Building will embed itself in the pavement. (False)

- The bubbles in bubble wrap (the packing material) contain a toxic gas. (False)

- You can send a coconut through the mail without wrapping it. (True)

- Welding while wearing contact lenses will cause the lenses to stick to your eyeballs. (False)

- Unless marked “DAIRY”, fast food shakes aren’t milk, but mostly carrageen gel. (True)

- Albert Einstein did poorly in school. (False)

- A woman adopted a stray dog in Tijuana, Mexico and later discovered it was a sewer rat. (False)

- Some Oregon highway workers blew up a whale and showered the town with blubber. (True)

- A mime had a heart attack during his act. The audience thought it was part of the act and did nothing. (False)

- Bubble Yum bubble gum is made with spider eggs (False)

In today’s world it is sometimes difficult to tell the truth from the false. Some things may sound true, but they are only myths. Other things seem hard to believe, but they are true. Many times, there is no way to know the difference either way.