The Power of God’s Word!

 Text:  Hebrew 4:12: For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Men’s writing sometimes stirs the emotions, search the conscious, and influences the human will, but in a manner and degree possessed by no other book.  But the Bible, the written Word of God convicts men of their guilt and lost estate.  It’s a divine mirror.  For in it, man see the vileness of his own evil nature and reads the secrets of his own evil nature and reads the secrets by his own guilty soul.

The power of God’s Word is why we will do the greater works.  Bishop Wilson told us in 2011, that “We must work the Word, so that we can work the works”, and Apostle Huntsman told us four years ago that “We must work the works and work the works NOW”!

We the body of Christ must work the works now, because many are in spiritual darkness.  The darkness that rests upon the human soul, the spiritual darkness that gives the heart a bias toward evil prejudices, against holiness, fettering (to chain; mangle; restrain) the will so that it never moves Godward.

What does Matthew 6 say about this darkness?  Vs 22: The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.  Vs 23: But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

So great is the power of darkness, that all who are under it love darkness rather than light.  Why are men so prone to believe religious lies?  It’s because of the darkness!  What darkness?  The darkness spoken of in Genesis 1:2, And the earth was without form, and void: and darkness was upon the face of the deep. Darkness in this verse is from the root word choshek’, meaning misery; destruction; death; ignorance; sorrow; wickedness; obscurity.  Who wants to continue to live like that, especially when there is a way to escape.  There’s a way out and it’s by and through Jesus the Christ.  Colossians 1:12: Giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet (enabled; fit) to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: vs 13: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated (transferred) us into the kingdom of his dear Son.  Vs 14: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.

What is the deep in Genesis 1:2?  It is an abyss, a surging mass of water, especially the deep (the main sea or subterranean water supply); depth; deep places.  Remember, God uses the natural things to relate to spiritual things.  The sea in the Bible becomes the allegory of the “sea of humanity” in which the deep, or abyss, or bottomless pit is contained composed of Satanic workings.  It is contained in the confines of religious systems, because it is only in the confines of religious systems that people have spiritual torment.  Let’s look at what John saw in Revelation 18 in relation to the woman (religious church system), MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS, as she is referred to in Revelation 17:5:

·       Revelation 18:1: And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.  Vs 2: And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become (present tense) the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird”.

This is a description of the Church today in relation to religious order.  But we know that the power of God’s Word can deliver us from this terrible darkness!  And if the devil had his way, we would be doomed forever.  John 10:10, The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 

But our Heavenly Father has shown mercy!  Mercy said NO, I’ve given the plan of refuge!  I’ve given the plan of escape!  I’ve given the plan of salvation!  I’ve given the plan to bring all to the light of life, because the light dispels darkness!

·       Isaiah 9:2: The people that walked in darkness (cho’shek) [misery; destruction; death; ignorance; sorrow; wickedness; obscurity] have seen a great light:  they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

·       Ephesians 5:8: For you were sometimes darkness (skot’os) [shadiness; obscurity; error], but now are you light in the Lord; walk as children of light.  Vs 14: Wherefore he said, “Awake thou that sleep and arise from the dead (spiritual death), and Christ shall give thee light”.

Our Savior, Deliverer, Redeemer said, “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth (pisteu’o) [have faith; entrust their spiritual well-being; commit unto; trust] on me should not abide in darkness (John 12:46).

I’m talking about “the power of God’s Word”!!

We the sons (males/females) of God must work the works now, because the power of God’s Word will deliver all who will accept and believe, and receive the Word of God! 

There is nothing, absolutely nothing more powerful than the Word of God!  Philosophy fails in comparison.  Science, with all its concepts and fundamental beliefs, does not measure up.  In fact, there has never been an individual or group whose words carry more authority than God’s Word.

Many of us today have seen and experienced the power of God’s Word.  We know His Word has the power to heal.  We know His Word has the power to turn situations around to our favor.  We know His Word has the power to change lives.  We know the power of His Word will bring comfort and peace to grieving hearts and minds.  No other words written or spoken has the same effect as the power of God’s Word!

In Hebrews 4:12, the first thing written about the Word is that it is quick:  meaning its alive, it is active, it is piercing, discerning and sharp!  It is not some fabricated fairy-tale story.  It has stood the tests of time.  It is so powerful, God said in St. Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away”!

God’s Word is powerful!  God can speak and man will die.  God can speak and man will live again!  The power of God’s Word is so powerful it can shift the atmosphere.

2^nd Kings:6, there is a famine in Samaria, for it had been sieged by Benhadad, king of Syria and all his host.  An ass’s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver [80 shekels of silver @ 64 cents each) totaling $51.20]: and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver [a cab was a dry measure of about two quarts, making ¼ cab about one pint, selling for 5 shekels of silver (@ 64 cents a shekel) ($3.20)].  They were eating human bodies and unclean animals.  But in 2^nd Kings 7, you’ll find that Elisha the Prophet spoke the words of the Lord, talking about the power of God’s Word: 

·       Vs 1: Then Elisha said, “Hear ye the word of the LORD”, thus saith the LORD, “Tomorrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria”. 

In your spare time please read 2^nd Kings chapter 6 and 7, and you will see in 2^nd Kings 7:3, how four leprous men were at the entering in of the gate:  and they said one to another, “Why sit we here until we die”? Lepers were those with leprosy and considered a symbol in impurity and sin and were often isolated from the rest of the community (Leviticus 13:45-46).

·       Vs 4: If we say we will enter the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also.  Now therefore come and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians:  if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.  Vs 5: And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians:  and when they had come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there.

The power of God’s Word had shifted the atmosphere already and the shifting made the footsteps of those four leprous men sound like a noise of chariots and horses, even the noise of a great host.

·       Vs 6: For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host:  and they said one to another, “Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us”.  Vs 7: Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life.  Vs 8: And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it: and came again, and entered another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it.  Still talking about the power of God’s Word!

You will find that Elisha’s prophecy of plenty was fulfilled all by the power of God’s Word!!

God’s Word is just as potent now as it was then.  God’s Word is sharper than any two-edged sword!  God’s Word cuts with accuracy and surgical precision!  God’s Word cuts going in and it cuts coming out.  God’s Word knows every motive and intent of the heart.

When God’s Word goes forth and you accept, receive and believe it, that Word will cut off from you all the bondages of the enemy, but when and if you fight against God’s Word, that same Word will cut you up along with the bondages.

We have everything we need to go forth and work the works now, because of the awesome power of God’s Word that is in our mouth’s. 

·       Deuteronomy 30:11: For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.  Vs 12: It is not in heaven, that thou should say, “Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it”?  Vs 13: Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou should say, “Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it”?  Vs 14: But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou may do it.

This tells us that even the words we speak are powerful, whether negative or positive.  Proverbs 16:24 says, “Pleasant (no’am) [agreeableness; delightful; suitableness; sweet] words (something said), are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones”.  So, if we’re not saying something good, we need to keep our mouth shut.  Proverbs 18:21: Death and life are in the power of the tongue:  and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Even Jesus reiterated this Himself, when He said:  Matthew 12:36: But I say unto you, “That every idle (inoperative; inactive; lazy) word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement”.  The day of judgment is not a coming event, because it’s going on right now.  Vs 37: “For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned”.  The moment words go forth out of someone’s mouth, the justification or condemnation takes effect, beginning right then!

EXAMPLE:  Numbers 14:1-19 (the Israelites rebellion): vs 2: And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron:  and the whole congregation said unto them, “Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt!  Or would God we had died in this wilderness!  Vs 3: And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? Was it not better for us to return into Egypt?  Vs 5-9 (Joshua and Caleb said to the people]: vs 8: If the LORD delights in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which flows with milk and honey.  Vs 9: Only rebel not you against the LORD, neither fear you the people of the land; for they are bread for us:  their defense is departed from them, and the LORD is with us:  fear them not”.  Vs 10: But all the congregation bade, stone them (Moses; Aaron; Joshua; Caleb) with stones.  And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.  Vs 11: And the LORD said unto Moses, “How long will this people provoke me”?  And how long will it be before they believe me, for all the signs which I have shown among them?  Vs 23: Surely they shall not see the land which I swore unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:  vs 24: But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him, will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.

Remember, the judgment begins when negative or positive words come out of one’s mouth.  Look at what God said in Numbers 14:26: And the LORD spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying:  vs 27: How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me?  I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.  Vs 28: Say unto them, “As truly as I live, said the LORD, AS YOU HAVE SPOKEN IN MINE EARS, SO WILL I DO TO YOU”:  VS 29: “Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me”.  Vs 30: Doubtless you shall not come into the land, concerning which I swore to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son on Nun.  Vs 31: But your little ones, which you said should be a prey them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised.  Vs 32: But as for you, your carcasses, they shall fall in this wilderness.  They spoke their own demise in verse 2-3.  Our words are powerful!

Even the revelation of God’s Word is powerful.  The revelation being the apokal’upsis, the disclosure, revealing, enlightening, manifestation, coming, appearing, the knowing that we don’t have to wait for Jesus Christ to come because He is come (present tense) and lives in us, and we are in Him, and we are all ONE right NOW in our Heavenly Father!  Look at Jesus’ prayer to His Father in John 17!

·       Vs 9: I pray for them, I pray not for the world (system), but for them which thou have given me; for they are thine: vs 10: And all mines are thine, and thine are mine: and I am glorified in them.  Vs 20: Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word: vs 21: That they all may be ONE; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be ONE in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.  Vs 22: And the glory which thou gave me I have given them:  that they may be ONE, even as we are ONE:  vs 23: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in ONE:  and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and has loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Therefore, the apocalypse is not a coming event, it has been going on since the book of Genesis.  That’s because it is a continuous revelation (apokal’upsis) disclosure, revealing, enlightening, manifestation, coming, appearing, of Jesus Christ in His people, and it will continue forever!!

So now, the revelation of our “oneness” with God the Father, let’s look at what John wrote in the first epistle of John:

·       1^st John 4:1: Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God:  because many false prophets are gone out into the world (religious system).  Vs 2: HEREBY KNOW YOU the Spirit of God:  every spirit that confesses (agrees; covenants; acknowledges) that Jesus Christ IS COME in the flesh is of God:

This “coming in the flesh” is not just that Jesus came through the womb of the virgin Mary, but this is “His coming, manifestation, or appearing, IN YOUR (OUR) FLESH”!!

·       2^nd Corinthians 5:16: Wherefore henceforth (from here on) know we no man after the flesh:  yea, though we have known (past tense) Christ after the flesh, yet now hence forth (from here on) know we him no more!!  [We must know Him by Spirit]!

·       2^nd Corinthians 6:16: And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?  For you are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell (enoike’o) [inhabit; live in; occupy] in them and walk in them:  and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

·       Ephesians 5:30: We are members (mel’os) [limbs; parts] of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 

Jesus told His disciples in John 14:16, “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter” (parak’letos) [intercessor; consoler; advocate].  Jesus knew that He wouldn’t be with them much longer in the flesh body that He was in as Jesus.  So He said to them in vs 18: “I will not leave you comfortless (orphanos’) [bereaved (orphans); parentless; fatherless]: I will come to you”!   The word “come” is the root word er’chomai (in the present tense), meaning come; accompany; appear, and He came to them as He said, and it was at Pentecost.  He came in another form as Spirit in the power of the Holy Ghost, as a universal gift, not just to those in the upper room, but to all who will receive Him, and this “coming or appearing” is continuous and forever.  Therefore, people must stop looking for His flesh body to return, because He has returned in Spirit, and He is IN YOU AND ME!  1^st John 4:17b: As he is, so are we, in this world.  We the body of Christ  is the flesh He is appearing in now in the earth now.  Ephesians 5:30, "We are the members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones"! That’s who the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit is, God the Father, and Jesus Christ the Son, all living in us, to make us all ONE, in and with them!!

·       1^st Corinthians 12:13: For by one SPIRIT (not in water) are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one SPIRIT.

We don’t preach and teach that Jesus IS COMING BACK, we preach and teach that HE IS COME, He IS ALREADY HERE, manifested in His people!!  1^st Corinthians 12:12: For as the body is one, and hath many members and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body:  so also is CHRIST!

·       1^ST John 4:3: And every spirit that confesses NOT that Jesus Christ IS COME IN THE FLESH, is NOT of God:  and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof you have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world (religious system).

These are they that preach and teach the “one of these days messages”: “One of these days Jesus IS COMING BACK and take us up to heaven where God is!  God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Ghost are ONE in us (John 17).  We are already in heaven, being in Christ!!  Heaven being ouranos’, meaning the idea of elevation; the abode of God; happiness; power; eternity; the Gospel.  This elevated or high place is not out in the sky, but in the Spirit. 

·       Ephesians 2:5: Even when we were dead (past tense) in sins, hath quickened (made alive) us together with Christ, (by grace you are saved); vs 6: And hath (already) raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly (high; elevated; lofty) places in Christ Jesus!

God is Spirit and He is the HIGHEST (MOST HIGH) GOD!  Acts 7:48: Howbeit the Most High dwells not in temples made with hands.  That’s because He dwells in us, we are His dwelling place!  So being in the Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, by the Holy Ghost puts us in heaven now!

·       1^ST Corinthians 6:19: What!  Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own?  Vs 20: For you are bought with a price:  therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

So don’t even try to make anyone accept this revelation truth.  Don’t’ even get angry and upset with them if they don't accept it.  Our job is to witness God’s Word to them because they like ourselves, must hear it and the Holy Ghost will do the rest.  1^st Corinthians 3:6, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase”.

Believe this, once we hear the proclamation of God’s Word, we will never get away from it.  That’s because it is going to turn over repeatedly, in our minds and in our hearts, and it will accomplish that which God pleases, and it shall prosper in the thing where to God has sent it, for it will not return unto Him void or empty (Isaiah 55:11).

But in God’s timing, the power of His Word is so powerful, the waves of immortality have lashed out against it.  Howling winds of persecution have blown against it.  The sharp axe of the Atheist has tried to hew it down.  Yet, the powerful Word of God remains. 

God spoke His Word into the womb of a virgin, and the Word became flesh and gave His life for you and me.  That same Word saved and delivered us.  That same Word is working in and through us right now!  That same Word has empowered us to go forth with the sharp sword of the Spirit to smite the nations.

·       Luke 10:19: Behold, I give unto you power, to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Therefore, walk in the power and live in the power of God’s Word today, because “You are of God little children (darlings), and have overcome them:  because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world (system)” (1^st John 4:4).  Then, His powerful Word goes on to say, in 1st John 4:17b: “For as he is, so are we in this world”!

Evangelist Mary Perry

IT'S TIME TO GROW UP

 TEXT: 1^st Peter 2:1: Therefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speaking:  vs 2: As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby:  vs 3: If so be you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.  [New Spirit Filled Life – KJV]

"GROW" defined is to increase, become larger, develop, expand, also to thrive.

Human growth and development is a multifaceted process spanning from conception to adulthood, encompassing physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes, influenced by genetic, hormonal, and environmental factors. When you look at the stages: infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, growing up is a never-ending process from birth to adulthood. We are not meant to remain as infants. God want you to grow up naturally and spiritually. Our Father's goal is for you to mature and develop the characteristics of Jesus Christ. In the natural, if retarded growth is noted after birth it’s viewed as a problem.

We hear a lot of talk today about church growth, building bigger and bigger churches with more and more people. Church growth is good, but more important than that is individual growth, personal growth, and spiritual growth.

In Matthew 4:19 Jesus called out to Simon-Peter, Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, saying, "Follow Me, I'll make you fishers of men". Scripture said, "they straightway left their nets and followed Him." I dare say, it's not optional, but you are commanded to go and grow in God.

Sadly, millions of Christians grow older but never grow up. They are stuck in spiritual infancy, remaining in diapers, and booties. Spiritual growth is not automatic. It takes an intentional commitment. You must want to grow, decide to grow, make an effort to grow, and persist in growing.

Apostle Peter took a very practical approach to dealing with two major problems that his readers were facing in the letters of 1^st and 2^nd Peter:

(1) Sporadic persecution taking place against Christians:  (2) The challenge of false teachers arising within the church.

Let me call your attention to an issue the Apostle is addressing with Christians in our text from 1^st Peter 2:1-3.  He is writing to Christians and having told them in 1^st Peter chapter one, "Therefore, because you have been begotten/born again by the power of God:  because you've been made a new person, because that Word of God is eternal”:  therefore, he presents them with a challenge telling them, saying, "Put aside all malice and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speaking's, like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby."

Why therefore? In chapter 1:1-3, the Apostle's main subject is clearly about new birth and conversion of the people. He speaks of Christians as "begotten by God the Father to a lively hope" to stir them up to walk worthy of their high calling.

In our text, the Apostle is talking about "sins," in fact he gives them a sin list. Sin is and has been the greatest problem to mankind since the beginning of time.  It's serious, because it soils the soul, scars the conscience, and separates you from God (Isaiah 29:1-2).  Let's not forget, we all have sinned and fell short of God's glory (Romans 3:23).  But God calls on us to confess, repent, and turn from our sins.

Here, Peter is not talking to unsaved people.  He's talking to believers, born again people.  His challenge to them is to grow -- undergo a natural and spiritual development by increasing in size and changing physically, as they progress to maturity.  In other words, "It’s time to grow up."

The Apostle uses the following terms to issue three commands:

the first IS SPURN:

SPURN:  meaning to reject with disdain or contempt, or to refuse.  Simply put, just say no to things not of God. 

Peter instructs the believer to spurn “malice”.  This is one who gets enjoyment when something bad happens to another person; one whose heart secretly smiles at someone’s hurt.  Peter says, to "put aside" this old dirty garment.

Put aside means taking off a garment in order to put another garment on. That dirty garment is that old nature, that old self that belong to your former life.

Spurn Guile - This dirty garment is deceitful, trying to pull a fast one over on people, for your own profit and gain. Ananias and Sapphira, a married couple tried to keep up with the Joneses: sold some property and instead of giving the full proceeds to the apostles as they had promised, they kept some of the money for themselves. The big lie cost them their very life. How many know the big lie remain alive and well in today’s society, but Proverbs 12:22, says, “Lying lips is an abomination (towebah') [disgust; an abhorrence; idolatry; an idol] to the LORD.”

When confronted by the apostle, they pretended to have given all the money. How many know God hates a liar and their fate for lying to Peter was death because that was lying to God as well. They both fell dead. It's time for the church to grow up!  Honesty is the best policy because Jehovah Elroi, the All-seeing God, hears, and He knows all (Acts 5:1-11).

Spurn Hypocrisy - This is just one of the many forms of deceit. Giving compliments, but not really meaning them---that’s hypocrisy.  You’re being one person in public, and another person in private.  Making promises but not really planning to keep them. It’s an inconsistency between what you say and what you do. It’s fake and counterfeit. You sing in the choir and serve on the church committee and make yourself look really good, yet your worship is not authentic. You are full of dead men bones. It’s time to put aside that dirty garment and walk in the light of God.

Spurn Envy – This is resentment toward someone because they have something you want. This garment is dangerous because when it takes root in your heart, it leads down a dark road of you looking proper and respectable outwardly as a Christian while harboring evil poison inside.

Proverbs 14:30 says, "A tranquil (sound) heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot."  This is because envy, has a way of spiraling your heart, into a pit of bitterness.

Cain was envious of God's favorable response, to his brother Abel's, sacrifice, and he killed him out of anger (Genesis 4).  Saul's envy of David's success and anointing from God led him to try to kill David (1^st Samuel 18).  If you are wearing this garment, it’s time to put it aside.

Spurn Slander – this garment is a little more progressive and it’s not internal. It moves beyond wishing harm and actually brings it. Slander seeks to put someone down or ruin someone’s reputation by speaking against them. We are instructed to spurn "all evil speaking's" against others, as in, backbiting.

Matthew 18:3 lets us know that a man that is characteristically deceitful, cunning, and crafty, cannot be a Christian. "Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven".

Those who are born again are called to be different.  Now, that you are in Christ (in union with Him; identified with Him; in covenant with Him; one with Him), sin is no longer your "Master", and no longer has power over you and you no longer have to obey sin. You no longer have to let sin reign over you. You have a continual choice day after day, whether to yield yourselves to sin or to God.

1^st Corinthians 10:13 states, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man:  but God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But, when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."

My friend, are you carrying bitterness in your heart and a chip on your shoulder, although you witness about being born again and about loving Jesus?  "Well, it's time to grow up, and to increase in size, spiritually."

Are you living just like the world lives? I'm not talking about Sunday, but Monday through Sunday.  If so, "It's time to grow up".  People of God “It’s time to spurn these things and reject the works of the flesh".

No more excuses as, the devil made me do it; I didn't do it; the sin in me did it. Never use Satan as an excuse, because he is a defeated foe.  Remember, Christ is available to you and living on the inside of you. Without Christ, sin is stronger than you, so never attempt to stand up to sin all alone.

How? As you are able to do so by the power of the Holy Spirit, (Romans 8:13) "If you live by the flesh, you shall die; but if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live". The Holy Spirit gives us the desire and power to cast off these attitudes and actions, but our responsibility is to do the casting off.

You are a chosen (eklektos) generation; a royal priesthood; a holy nation; a peculiar people (1^st Peter 2:9).  You've been "picked out" by God Himself!!

Exodus 19:5 "If you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession (peculiar treasure) above all the peoples; for all the earth is Mine”:  vs 6: And you shall be to Me (God) a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. You also, are a Royal Priesthood, a kingdom of Priests!

In other words, you are "basileios" - appointed to, fit for a king." A king is a royal executive, an administrator who exercises rule and judgment over a domain.  A priest is a spiritual representative between God and His people, responsible for the spiritual well-being of the nation. When you are undefiled with Christ as members of His body, you join in His priestly work of reconciling God and man (2^nd Corinthians 5:18-19).

Our holy priesthood is made possible by our Great High Priest who has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God (Hebrews 4:14).   Therefore we have complete and full access to the Father. "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).  It’s time to grow up in the things of God.

Those who are born again, are called to be different, to put off all malice, and wickedness.  It’s time to live different lives.  It’s time to take sin seriously.  It’s time to live lives where repentance is a daily concern.  It’s time to live lives that seek the honor of Christ above all else.  All the sins in this vice list represent a violation of the fundamental command to "love your neighbor as thyself".

Understand, the old flesh nature still indwells all believers and you can still be influenced by Sin. The difference now is that if you listen to Sin and commit personal sins, you do so because you choose to do so. This is a choice you did not have in your unregenerate state in Adam, when Sin was your "Master," your "King".

If your appetite for God's Word is a bit "dulled", it maybe you are "wearing" some "dirty clothes" of malice or envy or slander, etc. Peter says take them off and throw them away.  Backsliders begin with dusty Bibles and go on to filthy garments.  And here Peter says we need to cast off filthy garments.

Howard Hendrick said, "You are either in the Word, and the Word is conforming you to the image of Jesus Christ, or you are in the world and the world is squeezing you into its mold”.  Remember… Dusty Bibles always lead to dirty lives. The old Scottish preacher's wise saying still holds true…Sin will keep you from the Bible or The Bible will keep you from sin.

Spurn malice, guile, hypocrisy, envy, slander; spurn it! "It's time to grow up, spiritually." Cast off these old filthy rags.  All that stuff that belong to the old life, it doesn't belong to the Christian life.  Living like the world, being deceitful, hypocrites, envious, talking about people, putting them down, putting other churches and other preachers down, again, doesn't belong to Christians.

When that stuff permeates a congregation, God isn't pleased and people aren't growing spiritually when these kinds of sins are so prevalent. These things all have consequences and know that "Your sin will always find you out" (Numbers 32:23).

 

SECOND COMMAND - "YEARN"

Your growth, not only consist of laying aside these sins, that so easily beset Christians, but it is to yearn.  Yearn means to long, desire, pine, or pant for something. 

In the first part of 1^st Peter 2:2, it states, "As newborn babes desire the pure milk of the Word."

New born babes – “brephos”, literally means baby, born/unborn, newly born, a babe at the breast, one who is dependent on the mother's milk for its nourishment.

Pure milk – “the Word,” “the good news” that is preached. The literal translation of verse 2 is that we should long for "the pure, spiritual milk," which is not deceitful, unadulterated, not watered down.

Dishonest merchants in that day would add water to their milk to make more profit. This was "deceitful" milk. Peter tells us to long for the pure, not-deceitful milk.

Peter uses the character of a newborn babe because they have no envy or malice, they have no guile or hypocrisies, or evil speaking's, or craftiness, or envies. They are clear from these evils.

Have you noticed how a baby begins to respond when he/she is ready to be fed and sees that bottle, or gets close to the breast of its mother? He/she starts moving their hands, their mouth, and their feet. They reach out for that feeding with every part of their body, indicating a hunger for the milk.

 In fact, a new born babe act as if their life depends on their next feeding, an attitude that should be true of believers, in our longing!  Infants eagerly want milk from their mother and not only desires it, but has a powerful, instinctive urge for that milk and that's what Peter is talking about here.  We must have an urge, a passion for Jesus Christ, for His Word.

 If you're a believer, are you yearning for the Lord:  Longing for the pure (sincere) milk of the Word, its unadulterated (not watered down) truth, its good food for your soul, and its purity?

 Just as a newborn baby comes out with the natural and needed desire to nurse, we should have that same level of desire for God’s Word.

Peter commands believers to have this attitude of longing, yearning, and passion for the Scripture.  For he knows that studying the Scriptures is the only means of spiritual growth, not to mention that His Lord had instructed him repeatedly regarding the importance of proper spiritual nutrition for God's flock (Tend my lambs; feed my sheep) John 21:15-17. You can mark it down - There is no growth spiritually speaking, apart from the intake of the pure Word of Truth.

Jesus, Himself clearly stated, "Man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4). Jesus quoted this verse when the devil tempted Him to turn stones into bread to emphasize that it is not food that is the most necessary part of life. It is the creative, energizing, and sustaining power of God's Word that is the only real source of man's existence.

Many people think that life is based on satisfying their appetites. If they can earn enough money to dress, eat, and play in high style, they think they are living the good life. But such things do not satisfy our deepest longings. In the end they leave us empty and dissatisfied.

Real life, according to Moses, comes from total commitment to God, the one who created life itself. It requires discipline, sacrifice, and hard work, and that's why most people never find it. "IT REQUIRES GROWING UP IN GOD". 

In Moses' last words to the children of Israel just before they crossed the Jordan River to possess their possessions (what God had already declared was their inheritance), he made this profound statement …

Deuteronomy 32:46: Take to your heart all the words with which I am warning you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe even all the words of this law.  Vs 47: For it (the Word) is not idle (empty, vain) for you; indeed it (the Word) is your life. And by this (Word) you shall prolong your days in the land, which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.

How important in the success of Israel was the pure milk of the Word and obedience to that Word? Their very life, no doubt! The Bible can sit on your bookshelf and gather dust or you can make it a vital part of your life by regularly setting aside time to study it. When you discover the wisdom of God's message, then apply it to your life and pass it on to your family and friends.

Job had come to the understanding of the importance of God's Word for his sustenance declaring.....Job 23:11: "My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside.  Vs 12: I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food." (Bolding)

My friend, without a hunger for the Word of God you will not grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ. You will not develop as a Christian; you will always be in your babyhood. Remember, a baby and a full-grown man are both human beings, but they are in different stages of growth and development. The little one needs milk so he can grow up to become a man. The Christian, the full-grown man, grows by studying the Word of God. There is no growth apart from the Word of God.

As one pastor said, "I spend my time burping spiritual babies!"  If those babies would grow up they wouldn't need a pastor to pat and burp them all the time.

Are you finding a yearning in your heart for God? Are you longing to know Him better, to grow closer to him? This longing for the Word of God is a passion, a passion that tugs at you until you can't wait to pull up to your desk and feast from studying His Word. It's time to grow up.

This is a challenge for many of us today because there are so many things in our lives that cry out for attention and take our energy and our passions. God has to deliver us from a Sunday morning only spectator mentality.  Being a Christian is not dependent upon church attendance, nor is it simply sitting in a pew and looking bored with the preacher.

The one who is truly born again, Peter says, will long for the presence of the Lord. It's a yearning, for Him, to be excited about Him.  He or she will long for His Word and will make every attempt to get to know God better through the pages of his Word.

Set your will that this year you're going to learn to know God better than you've ever known Him before. If you set your will to do that, He'll reveal Himself to you in His Word. I encourage you today, to “yearn for the milk, the nourishment of God’s Word".      

THIRD COMMAND - “LEARNING”:

The last part of 1^st Peter 2:2, “that by it you may grow’, denotes a learning process.  To learn means to gain or acquire knowledge of or skill in (something by study, experience, or being taught). When you are spurning – rejecting – saying no to the wrong things and yearning for the things of God and His presence, when you have a passion for Christ, then comes the learning.

How do you grow up in God?

Understand that spiritual growth is for everyone, young and old. In other words, never try to graduate from the Gospel. There are deep things of God to explore and study and know that builds upon the Gospel.

The first step of growing spiritually is not what you choose to do; it’s what you choose not to do. Peter states we must rid our lives of the sin list.

But you don’t learn the alphabet and then try to make words without letters. You need the letters to make the words. The Gospel is never something you move on from. The simple truths of the Gospel influence everything about how we think, act, and do. We are spiritually born by the Gospel and we spiritually grow by the Gospel.

Secondly: Grab the right bottle. Notice that Peter takes you to the source of your growth, which is the “WORD.” That’s the bottle we should drink from. It’s in this bottle that we find the PURE MILK we need for the nourishment of life.

Just a word of caution here: do not think you can grab the same bottle that culture drinks from and expect to mature as a Christian. You cannot reach for control and popularity and riches and relaxation and expect to grow up into salvation.

You can’t reach for hours of uninterrupted Netflix and poor music and expect your soul to be nourished. What are you feeding your soul? Peter says, “Long for the word.” Grab the bottle of God’s Word.

We must adopt the character of the newborn babe, desiring, longing, for the pure spiritual milk, that by it we may grow up in salvation.

In conclusion: 1^st Peter 2:3: “If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious/kindness”.

If you want to taste and see that the Lord is good, then meet Him through the pages of His Scripture.

The image of milk and of tasting the Lord's kindness brings up the fact that the Word is not just to fill your head with knowledge. It is to fill your life with delight as you get to know the Divine author and enjoy Him in all His perfections.

Taste in Hebrew is perceive, which is to obtain knowledge of through the senses; observe, to understand; it points both to personal experience and enjoyment; the act of trusting; fearing, and seeking Him.

 I can't taste for you, nor can you for me. We can only taste for ourselves. To taste something, we've got to experience it up close and personal.  

You can see and hear and smell at a distance, but you can only taste something by touching it to your tongue.

You can only taste God's Word by drawing near to God and personally knowing Him. Once you like the taste of something, you don't just eat it to live but you live to eat it. You want it as often as you can get it. God's Word is that way for all who have tasted His kindness, His graciousness.

Start today: If you want to taste and see that the Lord is good then meet Him through the pages of His Word by setting aside time to spend with Him.  It doesn’t matter whether you are a new Christian trying to establish a lifelong habit of daily being with God in His Word, or an oldie Goldie.

Tools: good study Bible to help answer who, what, when, where, why, and how questions, as you look for the main truths of the text.

Concordance (Greek/Hebrew definitions) helps to get a deeper meaning of the words for a better understanding of the text.

Pick a time that fits your schedule and find a specific place for your quiet time to spend one on one time with Jesus.

Comprehending God’s work begins with determining what a given passage actually says and what those words actually mean.

Copy: Writing down scriptures engrains them in your mind.

2^nd Timothy 2:15, Study to show thyself approved unto God.

Study means to investigate, examine scripture to rightly divide the word of truth.

Get into a good Bible study to hear and share with others and ask questions for understanding.

THE MORE YOU FEAST ON GOD’S WORD, THE HEALTHIER YOU WILL BECOME.

Remember, you are responsible for your growth both naturally and spiritually. In the words of my high school guidance counselor: “It’ what you place your value on.”

In the words of David, Psalm 34:8: Oh taste and see that the LORD is good. He is good food for your soul and the bread of life for all who will receive Him.

It is time now, for all of us to grow up in God.

Evangelist Brenda Hansley