Preparation
Prepare a fill-in-the-blank sheet for worship which contains the message outline. Also, on the back of the sheet, include a section which says “A Believer’s Menu.” List the following items: Malice, Deceit, Hypocrisy, Envy, Slander, God’s Word, Prayer, Fellowship, Worship, Bible Study, LIFE Group, Witnessing, Ministry, and Missions. Congregation members will interact with the menu during the sermon, marking some items off and circling others.
Opening Illustration
Show video segment, The Diet, from Shockwave Video 4, Group Resources.
Debrief
Most of us can definitely relate to that guy. Many of us have a great desire to lose weight and become more healthy, but we find it so difficult to deal with the stress of dieting. I truly understand the stress involved in that carton of “Whoppers!” Without a doubt, sticking to a special diet is a very difficult task.
Transition
Of course, the people on Survivor don’t have a problem with it. They simply don’t have anything to eat. All of their temptations have been removed. Unless they are tempted to eat tree bark or sand, they pretty much have to deal with it. I think they may have found the secret to dieting! Totally remove yourself from the possibility of food, and you will definitely lose weight! Now, there’s a diet!
But, you know, as Christians we must be on a diet. Ours is a spiritual diet. We must carefully watch our intake of those things which will draw us nearer to God or lead us to stray from Him. Like any other diet, there are things that are good for us and things that are bad. There are things that we can enjoy without fear or guilt, and there are things that we must totally avoid. And, in the end, our balanced spiritual diet will lead us to spiritual growth and good spiritual health. As followers of Jesus, we have to seek spiritual nourishment at God’s table. That is the place where we must seek to stay healthy and well-fed.
Peter dealt with this subject of spiritual diet. In his first letter to the scattered, persecuted church, he used vivid language to show a good spiritual menu. Let’s look at what God led Peter to write in 1 Peter 2:1-3.
*** Read 1 Peter 2:1-3***
Interesting words! We see words like crave, milk, growing, tasting … sounds like a diet, doesn’t it? So, as we work to remain spiritually nourished and fed, what are some specifics that we need to remember about our spiritual diet?
Bible Truths
1. There are some cravings that we absolutely must resist.
Scripture: Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. (1 Peter 2:1)
You know, there are just some things that have no place in the life of a Christian. Just like there are some foods that are just plain bad for us … foods that we should never eat. The behaviors listed in this verse have no place in the spiritual diet of a follower of Jesus Christ.
Illustration
Have you ever gotten into something just plain nasty that messed your clothes up? Something that got your clothes so nasty you didn’t want them to touch you when you pulled them off? That has happened to me before. I had to work underneath a house one time, and it was so nasty under that house. I had coveralls on, so I was pretty protected. But when it came time to take them off, I didn’t want to touch them. They were so nasty! So, I just had to take a deep breath and strip them off as quickly as I could … then I ran for the shower!
Now look at what we are told to do with this unpleasant list of activities and sin ... we are told to “rid ourselves” of them. The word translated here as “rid yourselves,” is a very vivid word. It is the word for stripping off a piece of clothing. It simply means to “strip off!” Just as if you were stripping off a set of stinky, nasty clothes.
But what are we instructed to strip off? What are some menu items that don’t belong in the diet of a believer?
• Malice – That’s just a good old desire to harm people. It means that you want to do evil to someone even if they have done nice things for you. This word is talking about being just plain mean. And lots of times malice can be hidden behind good actions. Do you know any people like that? Any in the church? I sure do! I know a woman from my former church just eat up with malice – she has turned her back to me and my family in public … and we have never done anything to harm her. I just can’t stand it when supposedly Christian folk act just plain evil … like the world. Christians, malice has to be removed from our menu.
• Deceit – This means to deliberately trick or mislead someone by lying. We all know what deceit is. Does it happen in the church? Sure it does! But is shouldn’t! It is not on the Christian spiritual diet plan. Mark it off of your menu.
• Hypocrisy – Oh, my! Now God is getting into our business. This is the great witness-killer and church-killer. Hypocrisy is saying one thing and doing another. It is acting like one thing but really being another. Hypocrisy is rampant in the church today. It is believers out in the world living a godless lifestyle for six days a week, then putting on their Sunday best, painting on a righteous smile, and filling a seat in church on Sunday. Hypocrisy destroys the credibility of the church in our culture and it cripples our witness. We need to mark it off of our menu.
• Envy – This means desiring something possessed by someone else. It causes discontent and resentment, especially when believers compare themselves to one another. Envy makes us unable to be thankful for the good that comes to others. Even churches can be envious of other churches … their growth or the nice buildings that they have. We have to mark envy off of our menu.
• Slander – Slander is simple. It is lying, gossiping, and rumor-spreading. It destroys another person’s reputation. Many times the attitude of malice comes out through words of slander. This behavior is the great destroyer of churches. Christians are notorious for attacking and destroying one another through our words. We simply cannot treat one another, or anyone else for that matter, the way the world treats us. We must mark slander off of our menu.
Now, those are bad things that we need to get rid of … but is there anything in this diet that is good for us?
2. We must grow in our faith by craving and drinking the Word of God.
Scripture: Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation… (1 Peter 2:1)
Illustration
How many of you have ever seen a hungry baby? It’s been a while for me, praise the Lord! But I remember! But what does a hungry baby do? That’s right! It screams and it cries! It wants to be fed. So, you feed it, right? So what does the baby do if you stick an apple in his face? He cries louder! What does the baby do if you hand him a slice of pizza? He wails! What does that newborn baby want? Milk!
So when you give that baby his bottle, or hold him to his mother’s beast, what effect does that have? The baby becomes satisfied. He gets quiet and he drinks. And, eventually, he grows up and starts eating apples, and pizza, and all sorts of other foods. But, the key to growth and health is eating the right food.
This verse reminds us that, if we want to grow, we need to crave pure spiritual milk, just like a newborn baby craves milk. But what is pure spiritual milk? The word for pure here means perfect, untainted, and unpolluted. What is the one perfect, unpolluted source of spiritual food that we have? It is the Word of God. So, you need to circle that and put stars by it on your menu. The Word of God is our primary source of spiritual food. We have to crave it, drink it, and grow. Because without it, we will remain spiritual babies.
Sadly, so many churches are full of spiritual infants. They accept Christ, take a seat in a pew, and never do anything to grow.
But friends, this spiritual journey with Christ must be a constant “stairway” of growth. (Utilize steps going onto the stage as a living illustration.) We begin at salvation, but we grow to maturity, service, ministry, and missions (take steps upward with each word of growth). But it all begins with a diet consisting of the pure, unpolluted milk of God’s Word.
Lead-In Illustration
You know, as we grow, our appetites change. I do not eat the same things that I did as a baby. If someone were to invite me to lunch and serve me a menu of strained peas, rice cereal, and Similac baby formula, first I would gag and then I would leave. My appetite and my needs have changed.
3. The more we taste God’s goodness, the more tasteless the world’s diet will become.
Scripture: …now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:3)
When Christ comes into our lives, our very nature changes. Our appetite and our needs change. The same old menu of sin and selfishness that the world has to offer just won’t do. We have tasted of the goodness of the Lord, and the old diet will no longer satisfy.
Closing Illustration
As you can tell, I have not missed many meals. I have been truly hungry only a handful of times in my life. One of those times was back in my Army days … when I was in the field phase of NCO school. We had been in the field for days, doing squad patrols and ambushes. We had just a couple of MRE’s to hold us for two days. Finally, on the last night, we were able to come back into the base camp to dig in and sleep. I was hot, nasty, tired, and really hungry. I was so hungry that I was almost sick. Then, out of nowhere, the most wonderful surprise arrived. A man came down the line with a black trash bag. I only heard one word … food. He finally got to my position with the bag. And inside I found the most wonderful surprise. The bag was full of cold fried chicken and apples. I grabbed all I could take and I ate and ate and ate. It is still the very best meal that I have ever had in my life. I was so satisfied by that perfect food … because I was so hungry.
Friends, we all have an insatiable hunger in our lives. It is a spiritual hunger, and it can only be satisfied by Jesus Christ. I want to encourage you, taste and know that the Lord Jesus is good. Taste and se how he can satisfy.
Closing Challenge
*Encourage non-believers to taste the goodness of Jesus.
*Encourage believers to leave their old appetites behind and get on God’s diet.
Life Applications
How to stick to a healthy spiritual diet:
1. Begin a regular time of prayer and Bible study.
2. Take part in both personal and corporate worship.
3. Enjoy regular fellowship with and encouragement from other believers.
4. Find a place of personal ministry and missions and start witnessing (sharing your faith).
5. The best opportunity you have to enjoy all of the items on this menu is through a LIFE Group!
