The Longing (1 Peter 2:1-12)

Well this morning we are continuing on and are serious and 1st Peter. I'm calling the sermon the longing. I selected that picture for regional reveal later. But I just to give you a little bit of a review and week one we talked about chapter 1 verses 1 and 2 and we found out that our identity the identity that drives everything about us isn't our age or gender or skin color. It's not our economic situation. That's not our heritage. It's not our physical location. It's not where we live in history. We just happen to be alive in the year 2020 the driving identity that we had all those things are real by the way and they're all important, but they are not the driving identity that informs every decision and steers or lies the driving identity then informs every decision and makes and the drives Our Lives is that we are elect. X-Files we talked about both of those words being different and very important that is our identity were electric Styles and then a week do we said because we're in because we are elect Exiles. We have two really important things one is a living. Hope we sang about that this morning by the way worship team. You did a fantastic job and leading us to the throne and what is that living old? The Living Hope is to Resurrection that our savior was physically resurrected into a new Resurrection body at perfect. One one that wasn't going to die again, and he is called the first fruits. We're next. We're neck that is going to happen. That's not a philosophical construct. That's not an idea. That's not all true that we hold firmly true to the fact it is going to happen in space and time if you're a believer in Jesus Christ. You have a living. Hope you will be Resurrected. In a new one perfect body Not only living hope we have an imperishable inheritance. We're not resurrected to float around in space. We are resurrected to live in the new heavens and the new Earth and we will reach new levels of intimacy both with God and with each other we will fulfill who really were always meant to be and this inheritance is imperishable can't be canceled by cancel culture can't be delayed can't be diminished.

Week to week 3 was what is that look like now by the way, if this is so good we're going to get resurrected. Why do we go now? Everything's going to be better than I have in your body your relationship with God our relationship with each other. We will be free from the sin that so easily entangles us. Why doesn't he take us now because In 30 trillion years, you will still be alive but you will no longer have access to this part of God's Redemptive plan. We will not have the interface with non-believers. This is the only little 70 or 80 year window that we can actually participate with God in his Redemptive work. And so he leaves us here to live a life that draws people to him. And what is that life? It's a life with the right focus with the right fear with the right frame and the right fruit. Being a brotherly love. This week are scripture answers a very important question. I'm beginning to get the sense here. Elect Exiles Living Hope imperishable inheritance living a life that draws people to Christ. How do I know that? I'm on track? But how do I know you know, if you've ever taken a correspondence class or even a school class? They have midterm exams or they have exams that they've given another years that you can write. They don't count towards anything, but they do give you a sense of whether you're getting it or not with your progressing this year this morning scripture answers the question. How do I know if I'm doing this right? Like you say live a life with the right focus in the right fear in the right frame and the right fruit. Am I? Am I on the right track?

The last week we dedicated Josiah little baby. Just I had you remember and if your apparent and you've had a baby. You know that there are signs you look for to make sure that the baby is progressing along the normal healthy way. I didn't just destroy a time where you notice that they can track movement with their eyes. Is there a loud noise and they respond indicating that the ears work. Did they learn to turn over at about the same age? Everyone else does they learn to crawl to they learn to walk that they start to say their first words, there's certain markers that you're looking for. And if they don't occur you go to the doctor and you say there might be something wrong. I noticed that they don't track they don't hear they don't whatever what these are markers. There are three markers in this morning's passage that say if you're doing this, right if you're growing in a normal healthy way, you will experience three things. This is the future Not Unusual door not for the super spiritual. They are just markers that yep. You're on the right track. You're not perfect yet, but you're you're growing and a normal way. The first experience is it did if we are growing in a normal way we will experience a longing. This is where it says 1 2 3. Notice first one so put away all malice and deceit and hypocrisy and empty and slander it very difficult to fit a 30 or 35 minutes Sherman and versus is complex as verses 1 to 12. You'll notice that we will spend a long time on logging longing and then just motor through but even so I have to go fairly quickly, but let me just point out a few things.

These words put away means to take off like as in clothing take off your wearing clothing. Take it off take it off is a matter of fact in ancient in the ancient should Christian Church part of the baptismal ceremony ceremony would be baptism by immersion. But also part of it would be a change of clothes you would come in dirty old clothes that church would buy for you a beautiful new clothes that fit perfectly and you would come in your clothes be baptized and then come out in your new clothes because you put off something and what if you put off you put off malice Malice is ill-will. I'm mad at you guys, by the way. I want bad things to happen to you. I'm quite irritated with all of you, and I'm I'm hoping that bad things malice and deceit. I'm not telling you the truth. I'm not telling you the truth. I want you to be misled. I don't feel that I can tell you the truth and hypocrisies. I show you as your pastor. I show you one thing that I'm really another I tell you that I feel this way about you, but I really feel that way about you. And envy when good things happen in your life, I resent it. When God gives you good fortune. I'm upset. Cuz that's not what I want for you and slander slander is the same root word as blasphemy when this refers to speaking about God. It's actually blasphemy when it talks about talking to some talking about someone else it's Slender, but I am you don't know this but I am actively trying to diminish your reputations. I slander you. Do you notice something? all of these are about human relationships

put these things off. There's nothing vertical about this idolatry. It's not in this list blasphemy is not in this list. This is all about our relationship with one another and that if you're following the text, you know, why because inverse one he's saying the major fruit if you're on the right track to Major fruit that you will have is sincere brotherly love And so in verse 1 of chapter 2 he's given us five things that get in the way of sincere brotherly love. malice slander and someone brewstew says like newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk. This phrase pure spiritual milk is referring to the Bible. The contacts makes that clear.

What is that saying about the Bible? It's saying that we should long for it. long for it What is that word long mean? What's the New Testament actually uses this Greek word to 12 or 13 times? And it always means the same thing and intense desire for. 1 pulse rating to Timothy. He says I remember your tears I long to see you. Have you ever been there? You long to see someone as some of you know about our lives Sandy works at NBC and she leaves around me. She comes back she came back last night. It's great. Now we see each other I go up every weekend. We have vacations to we make sure that we see each other during the summer but it's not the same without her in the house when she came back last night and I found myself longing for that day counting them down. Three more sleeps two more sleeps. That's what this word longing means in this context longing to see another person. That's not the old and this is the this is why I picked that picture because it just says longing you've been separated from someone for a long time. They've been doing their Duty perhaps in another land and you fantasize you visualize seeing them again. And then when the moment comes there's this explosion of Joy because I'm just longing I'm Longing To See You Again. That's what the word means. It's not always in the context of I long to see another person notice here. Paul says for in this tent mean in our body we grown and we do grown. I'm 58. I don't consider myself old and I'm like, I'm healthy and healthy, but I do notice that I have a little tricks and pains that I didn't used to have I noticed it. I see some nodding heads. Yes, I get that will in this tent we groan. And by the way, even if it's not about our bodies everything about this life is groaning. Have you noticed the problems just never stop? For in this tent we groan longing longing to put on our Heavenly dwelling. I just have this feeling I just longing longing for the day when this will be over and I can be perfectly related to Christ and I'll have a perfect body and we will live in perfect time for that. Well, that's what this is saying that we should long for the scriptures. Notice what this verse doesn't say this verse doesn't say you should be reading your Bibles. The Bible does say that but not here. Notice what it doesn't say is his it doesn't say you should be memorizing the word that the Bible does say that but not here.

Notice that it doesn't say you should study it carefully. In the Bible does say that the bereans we have a group in our church called debris and it says they examined meaning to carefully study. The Bible does encourage us to study the Bible carefully, but that's not what this versus thing. This force is saying is if you're on the right track, you will have a longing for scripture. an intense desire for it

of course, as soon as I say that there's a lot of people listening to me right now saying I don't feel very good. That does not describe me. And then we're going to go into the Evangelical guilt routine. I'm a terrible person. What do you do? What do you do? I would just want to pause a sermon here in just a what do you do if that's you if you don't feel this longing for the word you don't have this feeling of all, I can't wait to get into it again. What do you do? Let me just say three things one. Don't despair don't despair. Every time we are confronted with the word and we see how poorly we measure up. The Devil comes in with despair your no-good. How could you call yourself a Christian and tell her and the thing about despair is it never results in an action plan that you noticed that we just sit around and feel bad about everything and he paralyzed Is Us. Don't despair but don't ignore it either. This is important. This is important. By the way, if you have a baby and the baby's eyes are not tracking motion, and there's some sudden noise and they don't they're not startled. And they're not growing at the rate you would expect and they're not eating at the rate that you would expect. There's something wrong. There's definitely something wrong. But don't blame the baby don't say stupid baby. You're supposed to be able to track what you crazy baby. Can you supposed to be able to do this. The other it's not that the baby just is not progressing. This is an indicator don't ignore it went to do something about it. What do we do? I would encourage you to think through three things. Three things one appetites can be steered. Appetites are developed over life. We can do things that diminish some appetites and encouraged other appetites. Let me give you an example for my own life just a trivial one, but I think that you might have a similar experience several years ago. I decided that I'm going to drink my coffee with cream, but no sugar. I'd always had my coffee with cream and sugar and I just decided to stop putting sugar and at the beginning it tasted bitter. It wasn't nearly as enjoyable. I could really say Hey, where's the sugar? It just seemed to be missing it was an odd, but now I've been doing this for five or six years. I don't notice. This river is a matter fact, if you put sugar in my coffee, I'm thinking this is awful is like candy floss. My appetites have changed. Appetites are not static. They can be shaped and we are called to shape our attitudes to want good things. If you don't have a longing for the scriptures now that's bad is something is wrong. You are not progressing in the normal way, but don't despair just we need to encourage and nourish that appetite so that when you go a day without scripture really feels like you've got a day with our scripture. This is terrible. Where's my scripture? That's why the scripture say things like this. Finally Brothers. Whatever is true. Whatever is Honorable, whatever is just whatever is pure whatever is lovely. Whatever is commendable if there's any if there is any Excellence if there is anything worthy of Praise about these things why? Because when we're thinking about those things we are building an appetite that is good that will Propel Us in the right direction. Everybody has appetites everybody has appetites and those appetites are malleable. They can be changed. But whatever we decide to have an appetite for will direct our lives in a certain situation. We are goal-seeking organisms. If you want something for long enough, you're going to get it you are going to get it. We are powerful creatures, whatever we want for long enough. We will eventually get it. I have to be a science oriented guy and I like to right now. I'm watching a bunch of documentaries on the 1960s us space program. And when I look at the technical problems they had to solve. In the things they have to solve them with you. There is there is let me just tell you something there is significantly more computing power in the phone in your pocket than there was on the Apollo Landing module.

Rocks and stones and yet they did it. Why because President Kennedy says by the nine at the end of 1969. We're going to send the moon to Amanda the moon and return him safely. There was a will when we have an appetite something we will find a way. Let me give an example. Let me give you an example of how damaging this can be when we want the wrong things. We will eventually get the wrong things and we will think we're doing ourselves a big favor cuz we want it so much. We're really signing our own death warrant. This is the message of Romans chapter 1 the back half of that chapter. It talks about three exchanges. It's the back half of Romans chapter 1 plot the degrading of society as they drift further and further away from God watch from these things and it encapsulate this retrograde. It encapsulated this downfall in three exchanges first Society will exchange God for material Goods. Which by the way is a crazy deal? Why would you exchange the loving God who can save you and give meaning to your life for wood and stones and cars and bank account? That's not a good deal.

But in this mode, it looks like a good deal. I'll take that. I'll take that. I'd be happy to make that exchange this place. I have another deal for you. Let's exchange the truth. You give me truth. I will give you lies. Why would anyone do that? Because they have bent appetite appetites that have been perverted invent away from the normal course and so exchanging lies for truth. Looks like a good deal. I mean, I don't have to believe these things anymore. Our society is right here. We firmly believe lies we teach them and we ridicule people who point that out. Because we love them. They are satisfying our appetites. And then the third deal is I will take away with natural and give you what shameful and we say, this is perfect. This is terrific the point I'm trying to make about Romans chapter 1 is what is God do to people who are making musics changes. He sends Thunderbolts and lightning very very frightening that too will be in your head for the rest of your day. If you know what to talk about. No, he doesn't. No, it doesn't you read chapter 1 here's his judgment. He allows us to have our appetites.

You want to give me the back of your hand and you want to invest yourself in the material life? How about it? The way Romans 1 says God gave them up.

You want you want to express your appetites by disbelieving the truth and embracing lies? Don't let me get in your way. This is very much like a parent who sees their child wanting the wrong things. And when the child is Young, they try to curb the appetite. They tried to capture. They try to steer the heart that at some point the child gets old enough to make their own decisions too willful to change. and the parents judgment doesn't become spankings or timeout the parents judgment is Fulfill your appetites.

And they were so excited what they don't know is they're signing their own death warrants. Let me give an example of this. There's a group called the new atheists. They do YouTube videos the right books. I would encourage you to watch the Youtube videos and read their books. Nothing will encourage you more by seeing the philosophical framework it it you don't have to have a Ph.D to know this is rickety. Like I don't build homes, but I know when that's about to fall down when I see it. Well, anyways, new these new atheists have made these exchanges. I would be happy to exchange God for material Banks Count Me In double down and they ran a by side a couple years ago. It says there's probably no God, no, stop worrying and enjoy your life. Do you see their friend that they're coming from? God doesn't exist and thank goodness. Because without God we can stop worrying and enjoy your life. And of course exactly the opposite is true. Exactly if there is no God, there is no meaning. And there's lots of things to worry about and there can't be any enjoyment God is the source of enjoyment and he is the source of peace. But here's the thing I'm trying to say is when we want the wrong things. We do the wrong things. They are putting over their hands and people are putting Shackles on their hands and at that very moment. They think they're being liberated. As they are walking into bondage. They think they're walking into freedom. When we have an appetite for the wrong things. God will eventually step out of the way and say have it. And we will think he's finally out of the way. Only to finally realize later. That we have signed our own death warrant. By the way, I don't think this is true just for human beings I think is true for all sentient human beings. This is an aside. This is a tangent and I can't prove what I'm about to say. This is I think informed speculation. You'll have to decide whether you think this is true. But you remember when Jesus went to a town in there was a man infested with demons and Jesus was casting out the demons and he had a conversation with the demons. Have you come before your time and ends over and they they make a request. What are they know he's going to clean house. They want to live in him, but they know that their days are numbered that's not going to happen. He is going to force them out, by the way, they never question his authority they questioned his timing but never his authority. He has the right to do this. What do they ask for? Could you please put us into the pigs and then what happens to pigs jump over the cliff and into the sea? Have you ever wonder? Why did they do that? Why would they want that? Like, why would you want to go with the pigs? And secondly, why would you want to jump off into the sea? I can't prove any of this but I think this is true. I think there's a certain class of demons. I'd get this from Genesis 6 if anyone is wondering that just feels that just has an intense desire to inhabit physical beings. They're built in such a way that wandering around without a human without a physical host is just more terrible to them than having a human host. So they know that they can't stand the man and the others hear some pigs put us into the pigs. My guess is they had no idea that the pigs having a sudden infusion of demonic hordes and them would react this way and jump off into the sea. And by the way, they literally jumped off into the sea, but in the scriptures the sea is very often a symbol for the final punishment. I think with the scriptures are saying there is that the demons are now in the abyss they are now waiting the great white Throne judgment. Here's my point. God gave them what they wanted.

You want to go into the pigs go into the pics? They think they're fill it for filling their deepest desires. What they're actually doing is signing their own death warrants.

But I guess what I'm trying to say is we get what we have an appetite for and when we allow Our Lives to have certain appetites. We are actually selecting a destiny. We will long for the pure spiritual milk of the word or we will long for other things. But when we choose what we're going to have an appetite for when we choose what we're going to long for we are selecting a destiny when I was a little boy. I learned this and I've never forgotten it. If you saw what I thought you reap an action and how often is that true you thinking about something you thinking about something you thinking about something and then you go do it then you go do it. I don't know why I remember this because it's not particularly significant, but you know how you just have random memories from your childhood someplace in the 1970s in the month of May. We were watching the Stanley Cup playoffs. And for whatever reason, I remember that it was the Montreal Canadiens playing and I remember that they won they won the cup that day and a hockey is a beautiful sport. It is just fun to watch and I remember as soon as the game ended. I got my hockey stick and went and played outside. Because I'm sitting here thinking about Hawking thinking about hockey thinking about hockey thoughts always result in actions when you sew with thought you reap an action, but when you reap an action when you saw was acting you read The Hobbit.

When we allow water to course through our hearts in the same way, they did channels. They build habits half of what we do our habits. I don't know whether you're a shower person or a bad person, but I'll bet you you wash your body in the same order every time. I don't know when you brush your teeth. What do you start on the right or the left of the up or the down? But I bet you do it the same way every time. When you fold your hands, most people will have a Tucker and a grabber. I'll bet you you pick the same Tucker and the same grammar all the time. Is my rock sometimes when I'm in counseling and I'm trying to demonstrate the power of habits also told your hands and they fold her hands of us a notice. You got to talk to her and you got to grab her to put your hands out now. Hands the other way make the other hand the Grabber and the other hand the talk to her and it's quite difficult. Is it to have it would just on autopilot habits are the result of hundreds and thousands of actions, but when you're so we'll have it we reap a destiny. We reap a destiny. Friends, let me summarize will be much quicker on the next two points. But if you are progressing along the Christian life normally. If you are growing in a normal healthy fashion. This isn't PhD land. This isn't your called to be a pastor. This is your a Believer. Then you will experience a longing for God's word. It'll happen. You will have this intense desire for God's word. I don't feel that intense desire. Okay, don't despair but don't ignore that that's important. We need to shape. Your appetite appetites can be shaped and if we want the wrong things God will let us have them at some point. You'll say you're old enough knock yourself out and we think we're getting freedom, but we're really signing your death warrant noticed the bus ad. There's probably no God. So stop worrying and start enjoying your life.

I just lost my thought. What was I going to say about that? He did what they thought was Freedom was the death warrant and what they thought was the death warrant. Oh my goodness. There's a God and now he has all these rules and you know how God makes rules pay. What are you guys enjoy doing? You can't do any of that. What's your favorite books? Can't read those. That's what God is Cesar Cosmic. Killjoy. What do you enjoy most about life? Stop doing that if there is a God it's terrible. So there isn't a God to be happy. They think that's the life. It's actually their death warrant. But the thing that they think is the death for it this God up there was rules is actually life

not only will you experience longing you will experience belonging. This is versus for 210 is a very complex passage and I had to strip out all of the complexity. But in this passage from 4 to 12, there's various metaphors for Who We Are One metaphor is that we're living stones and another metaphor. Is that were a holy priesthood? There's there's other metaphors. I'm only going to deal with these two this morning. When we come to Christ, we will begin to experiencing a longing for his word, but we will also begin to experience a belonging. Like we fit in like we're part of the team, like people need us there is a deep need in the human heart to belong and we belong and one metaphor that is Livingstone notices. Livingstone's not living rocks. In scripture, there is a difference between rocks and stones. This is a rock.

Big Rock stones are different Stones imply that they were once rocked but they have been treated in some way. They have been shaped in some shape for some reason. And if you follow the passage along versus 4 to 12, you will find out that we are living stones based on the living Cornerstone. The holy spirit is shaping you and you and you so that we can fit into something.

Wesley Heights is a spiritual house. And we are made up of living stones. And there's one stone right here.

You know, how many stones there are that are shaped for that spot. 1 and if you don't take your place, there will be a whole.

There is a deep sense of belonging. We're not marking time. This is not a dress rehearsal. We're in the game right now. We are an outpost Outpost for the coming kingdom of God. We are a note first on a post on follow up on Fallen Earth and you are part of that Outpost and if you do not take up your place, if you will not plug your hole. It will not be plugged. All of these stones are different. This Stone here cannot do the job of that stone in this Stone here cannot do the job of that stone. There is a deep sense of belonging. This is something that you should if you are progressing along the Christian Life, you will experience this longing and you will experience this belonging. And again, we don't have time today. My time is running out. I don't feel this belonging don't despair but don't ignore that's a sign you're not progressing in the normal way. Any other metaphor is Holy priesthood priest priest communicate Divine truth in Ezra and Nehemiah. It was the priest that kind of brought people back to the word and teaching and Priests fulfill a meteor there mediators between God and man in the Old Testament. You didn't go make your own sacrifices. You keep your sacrifice to the priest. He wouldn't sacrifice it on your behalf. You don't go into the holy of holies once a year. The high priest was in the holy of holies. What's a year? and this our role as priests as communicators and mediators talks to this third experience that we will have non of longing not of belonging but of displaying if we are progressing in the Christian Life in a normal way, we will develop an appetite a longing for the word. We will develop a deep-rooted sense of belonging in our local Body of Christ and we will notice that we are displaying God to others. Verse 11:11, I urge you as sojourners and Exiles to abstain from passions of the flesh which wage against your soul that word abstain means to hold out from hold out from you. Got it in. What are we holding up from passions of the flesh by the way friends. We all have passions of the flesh, but they're not all the same. It depends on what your gender is. It depends on what your life experience is. It depends on what your personality is. It depends on what your age is depends on where you grew up with depends on what your butt your life. You will find that you have passion to the flash that these people here very sensual almost all of their passions or sexually-oriented these people here. They're all material is so not particularly sect tripped up by sexual sin, but they can't stand the thought of living in a house that someone wait to have a better house these people over here. They're men Pleasers. They just will do anything to be in the popular. We all have this different mix but we all have a passion to the flash. You have your Bag of Nails. I have mine. I've said many times. There are whole areas of sin that trip people up that I don't get their not attractive. They're not appealing. I don't know why you would ever do that. But there are other areas of sin that I find deeply attracting they resonate with My Soul. It is a constant battle. We need to hold that out. We need to hold that out from ourselves and keep our conduct among the Gentiles honorable so that when they speak against you as evil doers they may see your good deeds as priests. They need to see our good deeds and glorify God in the day of visitation. Let me just end up by this by saying this we need to hold out these These passions of The Flash because they are at War and they are at war with two things verse 11. They are at war with our souls. They are caustic acidic. corrosive to our souls passions of the flesh which are the appetites that we get from our fallen nature are at war with our soul. But they're not only at war with our soul verse 11. They are at War.

with our ministry verse 12 if we are not holding out the passions of the flesh. The Lost will not see our good works. We will be another in the panoply of pit of a political groups with our own axes to grind and our own causes that we hold dear. We don't hold causes to be deer. We hope Christ DVD R. We don't direct people to political parties.

We direct people to the Savior, but when we won't hold out. English word abstain when we don't do that. We lose our ministry. There is no contrast.

What do I do? Hey, this is forgot to tell you doing this is interesting. But you're just about done. It's like 2 minutes to 11. So I assume you're almost done and I couldn't walk out now and know what to do. But what do you want me to live better General to you?

Well, I am done in 2 minutes. Here's what I would encourage us to do.

examine yourselves to see whether you're in the faith. test results Or do you not realize that this this about yourself that Jesus Christ is in you unless indeed you fail to meet the test. There is a reason parents watch over their babies. There is a reason mother's young mothers called call their mothers and say mom. When did I start to crawl? When did I start to walk because they are examining their babies. Is this baby? progressing along the normal path that indicates health No, oh my goodness life is falling apart. No, no, no my sister falling apart, but we need to do something cuz we agree on that you were three markers. If you are progressing if we are progressing on the normal healthy route a dip in a relationship with the Lord. We will experience three things a longing for the word. A deep and deepening sense of belonging in the body.

And growing evidence that God is using us to display himself to a skeptical world. I wonder if you would stand with me Steve. I'm just going down here now.

I would encourage you.

If a doctor gives you why is the government publishing symptoms of covet but are they do that?

Because they expected if they publish the symptoms of covid-19. Do I have any of these?