WEBVTT 00:00:00.479 --> 00:00:11.599 Well, I have the privilege this morning of taking us to the Word of God, and I encourage you to go to 1 Peter chapter 2 with me as we return to Peter's letter. 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:15.679 Open your Bible or turn on your device, whatever you use. 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:24.559 Last Sunday morning we were in Psalm 34 as a prelude to this passage. 00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:33.439 Peter references Psalm 34 many times, and in this particular passage this morning, he quotes it directly. 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:46.159 So I'd like to look this morning at chapter 2 of 1 Peter in the first three verses, and this is what Peter records for us under the inspiration of God's Spirit. 00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:53.200 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 00:00:53.920 --> 00:01:06.640 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:07.680 Let's pray. 00:01:07.920 --> 00:01:12.319 Our Lord Jesus, we long to come before you this morning and taste your goodness. 00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:32.719 We we come this morning to gather before you to hear you speak to us after many different kinds of trials of difficulties of exciting and good times this last week. 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:38.480 Some have have had a good week, others have had a real struggle. 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:44.640 But you call all of us to come this morning to hear you speak to us. 00:01:45.359 --> 00:01:51.120 And I ask that by your Spirit we would be able to not be distracted by those things. 00:01:52.079 --> 00:02:01.439 But to come with open hearts, with clear minds to listen to you and to truly taste that you are good. 00:02:01.920 --> 00:02:03.760 Please do that for us, we ask. 00:02:03.920 --> 00:02:04.560 Amen. 00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:14.719 I recently read an article about immaturity that addressed what is called the Peter Pan syndrome. 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:17.520 Have any of you ever heard of the Peter Pan syndrome? 00:02:17.919 --> 00:02:19.360 Well, I hadn't heard of it either. 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:20.479 That's okay. 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:24.479 It's not an officially recognized diagnosis. 00:02:25.120 --> 00:02:33.039 However, it is a common affliction that is found in increasing numbers of people. 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:44.800 The Peter Pan syndrome is generally considered to be present when a grown man or woman is childish and immature, despite their age. 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:52.479 So we look at them and we anticipate that they are going to be a mature human being, and instead we see children. 00:02:53.120 --> 00:03:02.800 In some Asian cultures, it is known as the emperor syndrome, primarily referring to little boys with no siblings who behave like tyrants. 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:17.840 Now, these kinds of people are often narcissistic, irresponsible, they act entitled, they resist commitment, choosing instead to pursue what they consider to be fun. 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:25.360 One particular expert says that certain characteristics are often seen in these childish, immature people. 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:40.080 These characteristics that kind of go throughout this syndrome are they cannot form real and meaningful relationships, and they struggle to communicate and nurture whatever relationships already exist. 00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:45.280 Often they haven't severed parental bonds. 00:03:46.080 --> 00:03:52.639 Many have families of their own, but they run from the responsibility of parenting. 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:59.280 Sometimes they have an inability to focus on solutions to problems in their world. 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:06.240 And many of them move through life in a lost and confused state. 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:14.159 Now we have all encountered both adults and children who display some or all of those characteristics. 00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:17.439 And they may be irritating. 00:04:17.839 --> 00:04:21.040 But the base issue is not irritating actions. 00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:24.079 The base issue is immaturity. 00:04:24.639 --> 00:04:26.319 They've not grown up. 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:30.399 And perhaps they are not even in the process of growing up. 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:38.319 They've reached a stasis, a place of normal, of equilibrium within their immaturity. 00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:47.839 And unfortunately, their immaturity can make them oblivious to areas of life in which they need to grow. 00:04:48.480 --> 00:04:57.199 In their oblivion, they remain the same, even if their actions and attitudes are negatively impacting those around them. 00:04:58.319 --> 00:05:07.439 And the sad and sometimes painful reality is that the Peter Pan syndrome is found in the Lord's church. 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:26.959 We have churches full of people who cannot or do not form real relationships, who are unable to communicate well, who are irresponsible or act entitled even within the church, and they always end up hurting others within the body of Christ. 00:05:27.600 --> 00:05:37.120 They believe that they are mature, fully they believe it, but by their actions they demonstrate a need for growth. 00:05:37.360 --> 00:05:42.240 That's one reason why humility is so necessary in the Lord's church. 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:48.079 We need a humility that understands that we never arrive. 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:51.519 We never cease growing. 00:05:52.399 --> 00:05:59.920 We keep on growing, ever maturing, all the way until Christ returns to take us home. 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:09.519 That means that if you are a new or newer Christian, you have much growth and Christian maturity ahead of you. 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:11.360 That's a good thing. 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:18.399 Even if you are 80 years old and you are a new Christian, you have much growth ahead of you. 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:20.639 That's something to anticipate. 00:06:20.959 --> 00:06:31.519 But that also means that even if you are 90 years old and you have 80 years of walking with Jesus, you still have room to grow. 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:36.639 We must never stop growing in our walk with Christ. 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:49.360 We are all in the same boat, all seeking more and more maturity to keep on growing no matter what is in front of us, because God expects us to keep growing. 00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:52.240 That's what he says here. 00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:56.079 Grow up into salvation. 00:06:56.399 --> 00:07:05.519 But there's an indispensable ingredient to growing in maturity, and that is experiencing the goodness of Christ. 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:12.079 Experiencing the goodness of Christ is essential to Christian maturity. 00:07:12.720 --> 00:07:22.240 Now, Peter quotes here in verse 3 from Psalm 34 to remind us of the goodness or the kindness, your translation may say, of God. 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:45.120 He says, so put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 00:07:45.279 --> 00:07:46.399 Put them away. 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:57.199 Put away is a term used of taking off one's clothes to set them aside or to be rid of them. 00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:03.040 It's a visual image of taking off your clothes and changing them. 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:12.240 And in that way, Peter subtly asks us a question about our growth and maturity. 00:08:12.800 --> 00:08:16.240 Have you changed your clothes? 00:08:17.519 --> 00:08:19.439 I have a confession to make. 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:27.120 I have a tendency to not change my clothes as often as Allison thinks I should. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:30.000 But she has a reason for thinking that way. 00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:40.080 It's because, you know, when I come home from the office or whatever and I'm wearing some nicer clothes, I have a tendency to just keep on doing whatever needs to be done without changing my clothes. 00:08:40.480 --> 00:08:44.879 And often that involves doing something that involves dirt or grease or whatever. 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:48.399 You wives know exactly what I'm talking about, don't you? 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:55.519 And then Allison ends up spending time and effort to try to get the stains out of my clothes because I haven't changed my clothes. 00:08:55.840 --> 00:08:57.919 That's a bit of immaturity in me. 00:08:59.200 --> 00:09:06.799 The sad truth, though, is that many of us have the same habit in the church, just from the opposite direction. 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:18.159 We come together, gathering together, fellowshipping together, learning together, walking together while still having on our grubby, sinful clothes. 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:30.639 We walk together with clothes that are stained with our sinful tendencies, and those tendencies end up impacting other people in the body of Christ. 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:38.559 Now the sins that Peter has in mind here are those that are often seen in the heart, in the mind, and in the mouth. 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:43.200 The last command we were given is in chapter 1, verses 22. 00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:47.279 I'm sorry, verse 22, where he says, love one another earnestly. 00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:49.440 That's the last command he gave us. 00:09:50.639 --> 00:09:53.840 But the sins in chapter 2, verse 1 are social sins. 00:09:54.000 --> 00:10:01.519 They are sins that come out of our hearts, out of our minds, and out of our mouths against one another in the body of Christ. 00:10:02.559 --> 00:10:08.080 Meaning they are sinful roadblocks to loving one another earnestly. 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:13.759 We cannot love one another if we are full of malice. 00:10:15.360 --> 00:10:26.799 It is impossible to love one another earnestly if we are overcome with deceit and hypocrisy and envy, and if we're slandering one another, that cannot lead to love. 00:10:28.159 --> 00:10:40.720 Now, if you're thinking that you're glad these aren't in you, that you don't wear these particular clothes, take a minute and pinch yourself or smack yourself upside the head. 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:45.600 Because we all wear these clothes from time to time. 00:10:45.759 --> 00:10:52.000 Maybe not continually, maybe not every day, maybe even not every Sunday, but we all wear these clothes. 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:54.559 But we are told to put them away. 00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:57.919 We are told to change our clothes. 00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:05.600 Being born again to a living hope through faith in Christ necessitates a change in spiritual clothes. 00:11:05.919 --> 00:11:08.080 You were not holy before Christ. 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:11.279 It was expected that you wore grubby clothes. 00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:15.120 But when we come to Christ, we put them off. 00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:17.519 We put them off. 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:23.200 Now you are children of obedience who are holy as your Father is holy. 00:11:23.840 --> 00:11:31.360 So on the one hand, there is the assumption that we have changed clothes, that it's already happened. 00:11:31.759 --> 00:11:36.639 We are no longer clothed in malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. 00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:41.279 Because when we came to Christ, we put off malice. 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:48.480 Malice is a moral evil, especially seen in ill will towards others. 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:55.759 It's the kind of feeling that wants injury to come to another person. 00:11:56.320 --> 00:12:08.320 So instead of feeling the uh the command do unto others as you would have them do unto you, instead of having that in your heart and your soul and mind, what instead comes out is I hope you get what's coming. 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:13.840 And it doesn't mind if I can help that come along quickly. 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:17.360 Malice says, you hurt me. 00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:20.399 I hope you get hurt. 00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:25.759 Malice says, go fly a kite and jump off a cliff at the same time. 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:34.639 Malice feels good when someone hurts us and then their car breaks down. 00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:38.559 Or their water pipes break or they get sick. 00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:45.600 Malice feels justified when something bad happens to those to whom we are opposed. 00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:49.039 That is not loving one another earnestly, is it? 00:12:50.159 --> 00:12:54.480 When we come to Christ, we put off deceit and hypocrisy and envy. 00:12:54.720 --> 00:13:01.919 You'll notice that Peter attaches all three of those to one all, sort of lumping them together. 00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:07.600 Deceit is taking advantage of another through underhanded means. 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:22.480 It's putting on a good face in front of them, coming up to a brother or sister in Christ and giving them a great big ol' hug and acting like a friend when in fact you can't stand them and you're talking about them behind their back. 00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:30.399 Deceit seeks to get the better of another through cunning and underhanded means, through craftiness and deception. 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:35.600 In fact, some think that this term originally referred to bait on a hook for fish. 00:13:35.840 --> 00:13:38.240 You know, it looks good, but there's a hook in there. 00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:40.639 And I get to benefit from it. 00:13:41.919 --> 00:13:47.039 Deceit doesn't care about hurting others for personal benefit. 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:52.799 Deceit doesn't speak the truth in love, in fact, has a hard time speaking the truth at all. 00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:57.679 Maybe that's why it's connected to hypocrisy. 00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:01.440 Hypocrisy shows one thing while concealing another. 00:14:01.679 --> 00:14:07.120 It displays love outwardly while concealing disgust on the inside. 00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:15.679 Hypocrisy shows care and concern while turning around to someone else and saying, Can you believe what so-and-so did? 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:25.039 Hypocrisy shows love to fellow believers while at church but tears them down before co-workers during the rest of the week. 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:30.320 We put off envy as well when we come to Christ. 00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:40.000 Envy is that that feeling that you get when you see others benefiting or prospering and you desire to have what they are receiving. 00:14:41.200 --> 00:14:42.720 But it goes even further than that. 00:14:42.960 --> 00:14:48.879 It not only wants what others receive, but it also says, if I can't have it, then they shouldn't either. 00:14:49.840 --> 00:14:51.679 Sort of like Christian socialism. 00:14:56.720 --> 00:14:59.600 How does that work to love one another earnestly? 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:01.759 They don't go together, do they? 00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:07.360 But we also put off all slander, every bit of it, every form of it, every kind of it. 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:12.320 Slander is speech that puts down another, disparaging them. 00:15:12.799 --> 00:15:33.679 It attacks the character of another person either by squashing their positive, good, holy qualities, or by highlighting their poor qualities, or maybe even suggesting that there are sinful qualities when there may not be. 00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:43.279 It's a deliberate attack behind another's back where you attribute sinful motives, sinful qualities, sinful characteristics to another person. 00:15:43.519 --> 00:15:45.840 That undermines Christian love. 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:50.639 These are dirty, sinful clothes. 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:56.960 So there is the assumption that we have changed our clothes and we no longer wear those. 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:02.480 But there's also a command inherent in this. 00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:15.600 We are commanded to continually, over and over again, obey, to continually be changing our clothes because we live with the continual struggle to love one another. 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:19.039 Do you know why? 00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:23.200 It's because the old grubby clothes are the most comfortable. 00:16:25.919 --> 00:16:30.879 We like to wear those clothes that have the holes in them that are stained. 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:36.960 That's a place of comfort and safety and that's the right place. 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:44.799 And even though in Christ we have come to him and we've put those off, it feels good to go back to those clothes every once in a while. 00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:46.799 And we struggle to stay away from them. 00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:49.440 That's the way we are. 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:53.679 That's why there's a command implicit here to keep on changing your clothes. 00:16:56.159 --> 00:16:59.519 I mean, as Christians, we've even perfected sinning in these ways. 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:01.840 Now here's what I mean. 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:10.240 We share with our Bible study group or our Christian friends a personal struggle that someone else is having. 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:13.200 And we do it under the guise of prayer. 00:17:14.079 --> 00:17:22.160 You know, we we need to pray for we need to pray for so-and-so because did you know what they're doing? 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:25.119 We need to pray for them. 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:38.799 We slander others in the body of Christ by speaking disparagingly of them before others out of a out of a concern for safety or or or or truth or for prayer for them. 00:17:39.519 --> 00:17:48.640 These sins are prevalent in the church, and sadly, we disguise them by surrounding them with righteous concerns and godly language. 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:56.400 See, we're trying to cover up the stains in our clothes instead of actually changing our clothes. 00:17:57.279 --> 00:18:00.880 But it's the goodness of Christ that changes us. 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:06.480 And when we taste the goodness of Christ, we change our clothes. 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:15.680 When we taste the goodness of Christ, we long to display that goodness in our interactions with others. 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:22.000 That is the heart of one who has tasted the goodness of the Lord. 00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:29.440 We cannot be holy without first experiencing the goodness of Christ. 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:38.799 People who have experienced the great mercy of God ought to want to change their clothes in order to love one another as Christ has loved us. 00:18:40.240 --> 00:18:47.039 In that way, experiencing the goodness of Christ leads to greater and greater maturity. 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:48.960 But how? 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:03.200 We experience his goodness through his word. 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:08.960 Christ grows us through his word. 00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:17.759 And so Peter challenges us again by asking, are you cultivating a craving for the word of God? 00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:27.839 Experiencing Christ's goodness, he says, makes us in verse 2 like children. 00:19:29.200 --> 00:19:34.559 Not in a bad way, not in a derogatory way, because then he would be sinning like in verse 1, right? 00:19:35.599 --> 00:19:36.480 This has to be good. 00:19:36.640 --> 00:19:38.160 This has to be positive. 00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:49.519 No, he means what Jesus meant when Jesus said in Matthew 18, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:54.319 But whoever humbles himself like a child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:56.880 That's the kind of meaning that Peter intends here. 00:19:56.960 --> 00:20:00.960 It's a positive sense of saying we are to be like infants. 00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:08.319 Specifically, we experience Christ's goodness when we come to faith in him. 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:18.880 And when we experience his goodness, we ought to begin to crave the spiritual food that he gives us just like an infant craves milk. 00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:21.759 Now, an infant craves milk out of need. 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:28.720 And so the Christian who knows Christ's goodness ought to crave the milk of the Word of God. 00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:31.200 This isn't an occasional craving. 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:36.960 I have a fairly regular craving for good barbecue. 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:45.119 Every once in a while I get a craving for that elk chop that I had in Jackson, Wyoming a few years ago. 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:49.039 That's not the kind of craving that Peter's speaking of. 00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:52.400 This isn't even the occasional need. 00:20:54.079 --> 00:21:00.880 My grandfather had a lack of B12, and he always said he craved meat because of his lack of B12. 00:21:01.039 --> 00:21:02.640 So when he lacked B12, he craved meat. 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:04.319 That's not what he's talking about. 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:08.079 This isn't the craving for a guilty pleasure. 00:21:08.799 --> 00:21:15.920 This is a craving for what is essential to your survival and growth as a follower of Christ. 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:25.200 Now, in other places in Scripture, we are encouraged to move on from the milk of the Word to the meat of the Word. 00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:28.640 But that's not how Peter is using this illustration. 00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:30.640 Don't confuse the way they're using it. 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:38.079 Here, Peter refers to milk as something that is always and constantly necessary to your life. 00:21:40.079 --> 00:21:45.759 Due to its infancy, a baby craves milk. 00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:58.960 In the same way, God's children, that's who we are, who have tasted of his goodness, are to crave that which is true or essential to their new nature. 00:21:59.039 --> 00:21:59.680 That is, we are. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:05.519 Are now new children, children of the Father, therefore we are to crave the milk that He gives us. 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:06.559 What is that milk? 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:12.319 If we go back to the end of chapter one, it is the abiding and living word of God that remains forever. 00:22:13.599 --> 00:22:17.359 Now, an infant will outgrow its need for milk. 00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:26.720 But the way Peter uses this illustration is such that we will always be infants. 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:30.559 We are to always crack. 00:22:31.200 --> 00:22:35.200 We will never outgrow our need for this craving. 00:22:37.039 --> 00:22:42.559 Thus the need to constantly cultivate a craving for Scripture. 00:22:42.880 --> 00:22:46.400 It is vital to our very life. 00:22:47.759 --> 00:22:52.079 The milk, Scripture, causes us to grow up into salvation. 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:56.960 The effective agent in our spiritual growth is the Word of God. 00:22:57.200 --> 00:23:03.519 It gives us spiritual life in chapter 1, verse 23, and here it causes us to grow into maturity. 00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:09.200 It causes us to grow in grace and knowledge and wisdom until the Lord calls us home. 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:14.240 Are you cultivating a craving for the Word of God? 00:23:15.839 --> 00:23:18.079 I have many cravings. 00:23:19.599 --> 00:23:22.319 Coffee, Dr. 00:23:22.559 --> 00:23:25.279 Pepper, and barbecue. 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:32.079 I could go on, but those cravings are not necessary to life. 00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:35.039 Well, okay, maybe coffee is. 00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:37.920 And barbecue. 00:23:40.319 --> 00:23:45.599 But I can survive without those for quite a while, if necessary. 00:23:47.440 --> 00:23:50.720 And that's exactly how we approach God's word, isn't it? 00:23:51.680 --> 00:23:55.440 Sometimes we crave God's word like we crave that greasy hamburger. 00:23:56.079 --> 00:24:02.880 Our craving is satisfied if we have it fulfilled once a month, maybe once every couple of months, we're okay. 00:24:04.559 --> 00:24:06.160 We don't need it all the time. 00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:09.440 Just once the craving is satisfied, we're good. 00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:14.640 We treat Scripture like our cars. 00:24:15.599 --> 00:24:19.519 It's okay if our cars get fueled up, yeah, once a week. 00:24:19.839 --> 00:24:23.359 Maybe for some of us once every two weeks, maybe some of us once a month. 00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:24.240 That's okay. 00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:29.119 Our cars run fine in our world and our way of living if we just fill them up every once in a while. 00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:31.839 But God doesn't approve of that pattern, does he? 00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:37.920 He says we are to crave his word like an infant craves milk. 00:24:39.359 --> 00:24:44.880 How long can an infant go without craving milk? 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:56.079 Is that how much you crave the life-sustaining word of God that causes you to grow? 00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:06.960 If you have experienced Christ's goodness, then with the Holy Spirit's help, you will work to develop a craving for His word. 00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:21.279 Just as an infant craves milk first thing in the morning, and then halfway through the morning, and then at noon, and then in the afternoon, and in the evening, and in the middle of the night, so too will God's goodness move you to long for more of it. 00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:27.680 Yes, there are obstacles and failures. 00:25:28.880 --> 00:25:32.240 It's part of life, that's part of maturity, that's part of growing up. 00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:37.119 But when you face those obstacles, do you seek to overcome them? 00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:43.440 Do you seek to endure through them, to persevere through them because of the Lord's great goodness? 00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:51.920 Have you become overcome by the Lord's goodness so that you persevere in your craving? 00:25:54.160 --> 00:26:02.240 Experiencing Christ's goodness is essential to the Christian life. 00:26:02.640 --> 00:26:09.599 And if you cannot desire him and his word, then you probably haven't tasted his goodness. 00:26:11.680 --> 00:26:15.200 It is his goodness that motivates us. 00:26:15.599 --> 00:26:20.559 That's why Peter calls on us to remember the taste of God's goodness. 00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:27.359 And we can ask it in a question: are you remembering what God's goodness tastes like? 00:26:28.880 --> 00:26:32.000 Is that part of your memory and your motivation? 00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:41.279 Peter here in verse 3 says, if indeed you have tasted, and it's a type of condition here that assumes the truth of something. 00:26:41.599 --> 00:26:45.200 That's why some translations use the word since instead of if. 00:26:46.559 --> 00:26:52.079 Peter assumes that we have indeed tasted the goodness of Christ. 00:26:53.119 --> 00:27:01.279 Now, the most obvious truth here is that remembering requires having tasted it in the first place. 00:27:01.519 --> 00:27:02.160 Right? 00:27:02.799 --> 00:27:05.920 You can't remember something that you haven't experienced. 00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:11.200 Peter assumes that we have through faith in Christ. 00:27:11.519 --> 00:27:18.319 He assumes that we agree with his adjectives because of our shared experience. 00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:19.519 Now, what does that mean? 00:27:19.680 --> 00:27:24.480 Well, Peter uses all kinds of adjectives in his book. 00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:28.079 For example, go back to chapter 1 and verse 1. 00:27:29.119 --> 00:27:33.440 To those who are exiles of the dispersion. 00:27:33.599 --> 00:27:40.640 No, he doesn't just say to those who are exiles, he says to those who are elect exiles or chosen by God. 00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:47.839 He assumes that we have experienced that choosing, that we have shared that adjective. 00:27:48.240 --> 00:27:54.480 Verse 3 of chapter 1, he assumes that we know what he's talking about when he says, according to his great mercy. 00:27:54.640 --> 00:28:03.200 He assumes that we have experienced God's mercy and not just experienced his mercy, but have come to understand, to have tasted its greatness. 00:28:05.119 --> 00:28:12.240 Peter assumes that we know and have experienced what he's talking about in verse 7 when he says our faith is precious. 00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:23.119 Peter assumes that we have experienced the inexpressible and filled with glory type of joy in verse 8. 00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:37.920 Peter assumes that we have experienced in verse 18 the preciousness of the blood of Christ, that it is not something that perishes, but it is imperishable. 00:28:38.079 --> 00:28:51.279 And in verse 19, that it is without spot and without blemish, he expects us to have understood that, to have experienced it, to have tasted those adjectives and know what he's talking about and saying, Yes, Peter, I get it, I've tasted it. 00:28:52.720 --> 00:29:08.480 Now, in the text that Peter quotes from Psalm 34, we saw last time that we primarily taste the goodness of Christ in our redemption, in our salvation, and in our eternal rescue that comes through Christ. 00:29:09.359 --> 00:29:22.400 David's rescue in his Psalm from human enemies is a picture of the goodness of God in rescuing us from our sin and the death and condemnation that comes with it. 00:29:22.960 --> 00:29:27.839 Peter assumes that you and I have tasted that goodness. 00:29:28.079 --> 00:29:32.079 And that is the very first step, if none of this makes sense to you. 00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:43.039 If you don't understand these adjectives, if it doesn't resonate with you, if you have never tasted that Christ is good, then you must begin here. 00:29:44.480 --> 00:29:56.400 Come to Jesus in recognition of your sin and your inability to rescue yourself from that sin and believe in his payment for you. 00:29:57.039 --> 00:30:03.039 Rest in what he has done, not in what you have done, and that will be the first tasting of his goodness for you. 00:30:04.240 --> 00:30:10.960 If you have not tasted the goodness of Christ, then it is very likely that you have never come to him in genuine faith in the first place. 00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:16.079 Because that is where we begin to taste the goodness of Christ. 00:30:16.480 --> 00:30:17.359 Come to him. 00:30:17.920 --> 00:30:19.359 Taste his goodness. 00:30:20.559 --> 00:30:31.200 But Peter here assumes that the majority of his readers have already tasted and have already arrived at the conclusion that yes, Christ is good. 00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:38.000 So he says to you, remember the taste of the goodness of Christ. 00:30:38.799 --> 00:30:51.119 Remember it so that you are drawn to it again and again and again, and you cultivate a craving for his food, for his goodness, for that taste, for that flavor. 00:30:51.279 --> 00:30:53.599 Remember his kindness to you. 00:30:55.839 --> 00:30:59.920 Remember his deliverance of your soul from condemnation. 00:31:01.680 --> 00:31:05.359 Remember how you ran to him for refuge. 00:31:07.279 --> 00:31:14.160 Remember his promise of future grace and how he has given a taste of that already in this life. 00:31:16.240 --> 00:31:19.200 Most of you know and can quote Psalm 23. 00:31:20.880 --> 00:31:36.319 At the end of that Psalm, the sheep, David, says, Surely the goodness and mercy of the shepherd shall follow me all the days of my life. 00:31:37.279 --> 00:31:38.480 You know that, right? 00:31:39.119 --> 00:31:40.799 It's an unfortunate translation. 00:31:41.440 --> 00:31:44.880 Because there's more strength and emphasis there that doesn't come through in our English. 00:31:45.119 --> 00:31:48.000 Perhaps a better term than than follow is pursue. 00:31:50.559 --> 00:32:01.440 Surely the goodness of my shepherd will pursue me all the days of my life. 00:32:07.839 --> 00:32:13.039 If his goodness has pursued you, remember his gentleness. 00:32:13.839 --> 00:32:21.519 Remember his forgiveness, remember his power, remember his strength on your behalf, remember his sustaining work in your life. 00:32:21.680 --> 00:32:37.440 And if you cannot remember, then you have either not really tasted his goodness, or you have so filled yourself with other things that the memory of his kindness, his grace, his mercy, and his goodness has faded away like an old photograph. 00:32:40.880 --> 00:32:45.759 There's an important progressive movement here in this passage. 00:32:47.839 --> 00:32:50.240 Tasting the goodness is actually first. 00:32:52.640 --> 00:32:58.240 We cannot change clothes without first having tasted the goodness of Christ. 00:32:59.440 --> 00:33:06.480 We cannot properly crave his word until we have tasted his goodness and changed our clothes. 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:17.920 But when we have tasted his goodness and we have changed our clothes, we will begin to crave his word more and more and then begin to see and taste more of his goodness. 00:33:18.400 --> 00:33:26.720 And that will then motivate us and move us to love one another earnestly with a pure heart and so prove that we are his disciples. 00:33:29.279 --> 00:33:34.480 Craving is essential to growth as a Christian. 00:33:35.440 --> 00:33:39.279 In fact, it leads to perseverance and endurance in following Christ. 00:33:39.519 --> 00:33:47.920 Like David in Psalm 34, we begin to see God's goodness even in the trials of life, even in the pain of life. 00:33:48.160 --> 00:33:55.599 Peter wanted his followers, his readers, to see the goodness of Christ and to taste the goodness of Christ in their exile. 00:33:57.680 --> 00:34:04.400 But it's difficult to taste his goodness in difficult and rough times if we're still living in those old clothes. 00:34:05.279 --> 00:34:07.519 And if we're not craving his word. 00:34:10.079 --> 00:34:17.599 See, craving leads to Christ-likeness because we become what we consume. 00:34:20.639 --> 00:34:30.639 Let's be people who crave the Lord of life, who crave the word of God and become transformed by this word of life into the image of Christ. 00:34:33.360 --> 00:34:36.719 First, we taste his goodness in belief. 00:34:38.400 --> 00:34:40.960 Tasting leads to changing clothes. 00:34:41.119 --> 00:34:52.400 Changing clothes leads to craving God's word, and craving God's word leads to tasting his goodness again and again and again, and by it we grow up into salvation.