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An Appetite for Obedience
by Steve May
Text: 1 Peter 2:1-10
Topic: How to develop an appetite for obedience
Big Idea: Mastering the Christian life is like mastering other things: it’s a matter of doing the basics again and again and again.
Keywords: Obedience; Spiritual disciplines; Spiritual growth
Introduction:
- There are some basic elements of spiritual nurture—Peter refers to it as “pure spiritual milk”—that all baby Christians need in order to grow spiritually.
- And in order to continue to grow spiritually 10, 20, 30 years later, it can only be done by partaking of what Peter calls “pure spiritual milk.”
- You “go deeper” in your relationship with Christ by doing the basics again and again and again.
- Illustration: To illustrate how mastery is not necessarily mastering the complex, but the fundamentals, May tells the humorous story of a computer repairman who charged high fees because he was the only one who knew which cable to “jiggle.”
- Big Idea: Mastering the Christian life is like mastering other things: it’s a matter of doing the basics again and again and again.
Read the Bible.
- 1 Peter 1:24-25
- People who read the Bible become good Christians.
- We don’t read the Bible to find out what’s wrong with everyone else; we read it to find out what’s wrong with us.
Declare God’s praise.
- 1 Peter 2:9
- Tell it to God.
- -Illustration: May tells a joke about a man who
- only said “I love you” to his wife once, illustrating
- our need to regularly tell God of our love for him.
- -When you declare his praise, you strengthen the
- connection between you and God.
- Tell it to others.
- -Illustration: May gives two examples of
- witnessing—a high-pressure sales pitch and a passionate
- testimonial—to illustrate the correct way to tell
- others about Jesus.
Identify with God’s people.
- 1 Peter 2:9-10
- When you align yourself with followers of Christ, you align yourself with people who are precious to God and essential to the well-being of the global community.
- God is not ashamed of his people, and he doesn’t want us to be ashamed either.
Avoid sinful situations.
- Illustration: May gives the example of pastor Jack Hyles, who realized he had to give up softball because the competitiveness caused him to grow angered and sin.
- Illustration: May tells a quick joke about a man whose doctor told him, “If it hurts when you do that, stop doing it.”
- 1 Peter 2:11
- There may be some things in life that you have to eliminate—not because they are sinful in themselves, but because they lead you to sin.
Conclusion:
- In order for us to get good at being good, we need to find our nurture in pure spiritual milk; we need to excel in the basics.
- To the extent that we master these four simple principles, our appetite for obedience will grow, and we will be able to walk the talk according to the will of God.
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