Loving and Longing
First B Jackson
2018-09-02

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Good morning, everybody. How are you? Good. On this Hermosa Manana, this beautiful morning. How are you doing?

I am yesterday, I got a chance to do a wedding up at Jackson Lake Lodge and I tell you what, it never gets old, does it? It's just so gorgeous. So gorgeous and yesterday was one of those. How about we all stand together? We're going to sing Wonderful Grace of Jesus.

If you know your part, sing your part. It is hymn number three thirty eight. If you want to look for it and sight read it but a wonderful, the matchless grace of Jesus. Here we go.

Wonderful grace of Jesus greater than all my sin how shall my tongue describe it where shall its praise begin taking away my burden setting my spirit free for the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me Wonderful, the matchless grace of Jesus, deeper than the mighty rolling sea. Higher than the mountains, sparkling like a fountain, all sufficient grace for even me broader than the scope of my transgressions sing it greater far than all my sin and shame oh magnify the precious name of Jesus praise his name wonderful grace of Jesus reaching to all the lost. Might I have been pardoned, save to the uttermost. Chains have been torn us under giving me liberty for the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me. Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus deeper than the mighty rolling sea.

Higher than the mountain sparkling like a mountain, all sufficient grace for even me. Broader than the scope of my transgression, sing it greater far than all my sin and shame oh magnify the precious name of Jesus wonderful grace of Jesus reaching the most defiled by its transforming power making him God's dear child purchasing peace and heaven for all eternity for the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus deeper than the mighty rolling sea. Higher than the mountains sparkling like a fountain, all sufficient grace for even me. Broader than the scope of my transgression sing it greater far than all my sin and shame oh magnify the precious name of Jesus is Amen.

That one is just about too high. And just about too low. It's got it on both sides of the spectrum there. We've got another one coming up. There shall be showers of blessing.

Oh, on a day like today. There shall be showers of blessing.

There shall be showers of blessing this is the promise of love there shall be seasoned refreshing sent from the savior above showers of blessing showers of blessing we need mercy drops round us are falling but for the showers we plead there shall be showers of blessing precious reviving again. Over the hills and the valleys, sound of abundance of rain. Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need mercy drops around us are falling but for the showers we plead there shall be showers of blessing send them upon us oh Lord grant to us now a refreshing come and now honor thy word showers of blessing showers of blessing we need mercy drops around us are falling but for the showers we plead there shall be showers of blessing oh that today they might fall now as to God we're confessing now as on Jesus we call showers of blessing showers of blessing we need mercy drops around us are falling but for the showers we please

Amen. Y'all can have a seat. I have a few announcements this morning. It's the fall are getting to be fall and we have a few things. One is Old Bill's Fun Run.

That's coming up next Saturday. And actually, we've never had a booth in my remembrance. Since I've been here, we've not had a booth. But Young Life invited us to share a booth with them. So Old Bill's Fun Run for Charities next week.

If you don't know what this is, you're probably from out of town, quite honestly. Because everybody here has heard of it a lot, lot of times. Old Bills Fun Run for Charities Community Foundation at Jackson Hole takes in donations through Old Bills, and then amplifies them to all of the nonprofit organizations in town. And there are a lot of them, Like three fifty of them in Jackson, nonprofit organizations. And 10,000 people there are three fifty nonprofits.

But it's because of old bills, they amplify giving usually about one and a half times what comes in is what goes out. So if you wanted to donate to Turning Point Pregnancy Resource Center, you could do that through Old Bills. If you wanted to donate to Good Samaritan, the mission for the homeless and hurting, you could do that through Old Bills. If you wanted to give to First Baptist Benevolence Fund, you can do that through Old Bills, if you want to. That's happening next Saturday and it's an actual five k run next Saturday.

So every it's a big deal on Town Square, September 8, next Saturday. There will not be a Monday night service here tomorrow night on Labor Day. We're gonna take Labor Day off. So no Monday night tomorrow night. It is gonna be a night off.

But Awana is beginning the next Monday. So very next Monday. Monday night will be on, Awana will start September 10. It's a group effort. Part of the reason we knocked off Monday night is if you want to make a big impact on the life of a child, you can volunteer for Awana.

We're giving everybody the night off so that you can go to the Tolson's house on Bedstraw Lane. It's in South Park Ranches, 3006 And 85 Bedstraw Lane. September 3, that's tomorrow at 05:30 in the evening at the Tolson's. And Dan Tolson is the commander for Awana this year. So if you want to volunteer for them, please do go.

It's gonna be supper and a good time, I think. 05:30 at the Tulsans tomorrow night. It's a group effort and they really do want your help. So we really do want your help. I actually usually am playing bass at the other end of the hall during Iwana for Monday nights, but if it's kids from age three up through fifth grade, right?

So youth group for sixth grade and up is happening on Tuesday evening, 06:30 to eight this week, Tuesday, 06:30 to eight Mike Demetrius is the guy to call and talk to about that. Community Bible study is getting started. It's getting started this coming Wednesday evening. There's a co ed class that's starting September 5, 06:30 to eight That is gonna be good. Ed Allem and Eric Palmquist are teaching through Hebrews Wednesday evenings, and then there'll be another class, alternative time, on September 10.

They'll be tracking together in the classes, but Wednesday and then Monday morning, 09:30 to 11:30 in the Fellowship hall. 06:30 classes right here. There's a lot of information there. If you call the church office, we'll clarify all this, alright? And it's in your bulletin.

The bulletin that you all have in front of you. Precept class. Precept is starting up September 13. That's on a Thursday morning, nine to 11:30. Bring your colored pencils and your Bible.

Keep em sharp and it'll keep you sharp, alright? If you're longing for the pure milk of the word, precept is a great place to get started. Children's church is starting next Sunday during the 9AM service And so that'll happen. Peak Children's Church happens right after the song service. All the kids go downstairs in the first service, 09:00 service.

And if you want to get a chance to see all of the different small groups that are starting up, when and where, that information should be in your bulletin. So, anything else? John Hicey? Postpone one week. Alright.

Sounds good. So you're starting on the twelfth, right? It's in the bulletin. Fantastic. That's good.

Dick does a great job with the bulletin by the way. So, it should be in there along with a lot of other prayer requests. So, if you would check your bulletin, that'd be great. If you didn't get one on the way in, you can grab one on your way out. Anybody have anything else?

Testify if you do. No? Alright. Would you stand then and greet one another, and we'll bring you back together with a peppy little song.

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross the emblem of suffering and shame and I love that old cross where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain so I'll cherish the old rugged cross till my trophy's at last I lay down I will cling to the old rugged cross and exchange it someday for for for the dear lamb of God left his glory above to bear it to dark Calvary so I'll cherish the old rugged cross till my trophy's at last I lay down I will cling to the old rugged cross exchange it someday for a crown for for it was on that old cross Jesus suffered and died to pardon and sanctify so I'll cherish the old rugged cross till my trophies at last I lay down I will cling to the old rugged cross and exchange it someday for a crown on the last to the old rugged cross I will ever be true it's shame and reproach gladly then you'll call me someday to my home far away where is glory forever so I'll cherish the old rugged cross till my trophy's at last I lay down I will cling to the old rugged cross exchange it someday

a man. What are we going do with that crown? Lay it at Jesus' feet. Amen. Yeah.

So, we're going to sing People Need the Lord. Now, for those of you who remember this song, we're only singing the chorus but one day, we're going to actually find the words and sing all the words to this but people need the Lord because people need the Lord, right? It's a good reminder

people need open people need the Lord people need the Lord when will we realize people need lord Sing it again. Need

Amen. Y'all can have a seat. I'm going to invite the frontline team to come forward and lord, I I want to pick up on that theme of that song. People do need you. They need the Lord.

There is no other way. There's no other name under heaven that's been given whereby we can or must be saved. It's it. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and lord, there are billions that do not know that. There are billions who have been exposed to it but don't believe that.

God, would you help us live our lives in such a way that it would become winsome and attractive. That which has changed and transformed us would be seen as available and possible to those who are right now lost and groping as if in the darkness. But God, would you do that? People need the Lord. I pray as we evaluate self today during the sermon time, lord, that you would convict us of our sin, convince us of last week's theme, your holiness and that you would illumine your word, lord, because that's what endures forever.

I pray that we'd be a part of spreading that word, advancing your gospel. Lord, would you take the offerings that come in today and use this church to advance your kingdom in the hearts and minds of people here in this community but lord, beyond this community to the ends of the earth. We pray for the one church triumphant of all believers who are called out of every tribe, tongue, and nation into one family, the Ecclesia Church. Capital C Church. In Jesus name, I pray that we hear this morning would be a blessing that is worldwide and we would proclaim to the powers, principalities, the rulers.

Lord, your death, burial, and resurrection, advance of the gospel. Lord, it's what we're concerned with this morning. In Jesus name, would you do your work, your way, right here. Amen. Precious lamb of God, Messiah, holy, holy, holy.

First Peter 122 is where we're going to be starting today. It's what I ended with last week actually. I overlapped these a bit. I finished with the thought of verse 22 last week after a sermon on the holiness of God. That's what Peter was talking about.

It also took an evangelistic slant last week too because I just couldn't get away from it that if you have called God your father and if you are a believer, then these things should be true but it struck me that there were a lot that had not. People need the Lord and if you haven't, then, there was something that needed to be offered and that was the offer of salvation. So, we're going from that place. One twenty two is assuming something. It's assuming that you have accepted Christ.

It's a letter that was written by the apostle Peter to Christians and so, it's assuming that and then he even loops back around at the end of our passage today and says it again but there are just two imperatives. Those are commands for you word nerds, burbs. There are two commands in this passage. There are lots of other things that go along with it, but two imperatives and they are loving and longing. Be loving and be longing.

So what is it that you're supposed to be loving, and what is it you're supposed to be longing? And I think that the message will answer the question today. So we're going bridging the gap between the first chapter and the second chapter. You know that when he wrote this letter, he didn't write it with numbers in there to tell you what was a chapter and you're only supposed to study a little bit at a time. This is a letter and he wrote this letter to real people in Cappadocia and Bithynia and these far flung Roman provinces.

He's writing to a mixed audience of Jewish background and Gentile background Christians but he's writing to Christians and so for the most part, those of you who have showed up here this morning, consider that. If you came and you are not a believer in Jesus, I pray that you'd open your minds and your hearts to receive that. It's not a particularly evangelistic sermon today where I'm extending it but that offer is always open and call on it today. He says, whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Let us know.

If you're here but for the most part, I'm speaking to Christians this morning. First Peter was also 122 to two three and I'll say, this is why I say it's to Christians. He says, since you have and this is a time marker. Since you have already in the past, actually, technically, it's having had already believed. Since you have already in obedience to the truth, someone shared with you the truth of the gospel and you accepted it.

Since you have in obedience to the truth, purified your souls. Purified your souls sounds like we did the work but it says in obedience to the truth, God has made a way. He is completely sovereign and he declared that the way that we are to be saved is by one name, Jesus. Jesus Christ. The way, the truth, and the life and with that truth shared, putting your trust, the little measure of faith that you have been given into Jesus.

You have purified your souls. So, God is completely sovereign but he lays upon us the responsibility of making the decision to choose him back. Does that make sense? Since you have in obedience to the truth, the gospel, purified your souls and he says, why? You purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren.

It is really hard to love. In fact, impossible. According to John, he says that we can love because God first loved us. Our love, our righteousness, our goodness is a derived righteousness and it's derived from a relationship with God. He first loved us.

He first gave us grace and so therefore, we're able to love others and extend grace to them. Since you have an obedience to the truth, purified your souls for a sincere love of the brothers and sisters, this is the first imperative. Fervently love one another from the heart. Fervently love one another from the heart. That's the first imperative and he's saying, since you are a believer in Jesus.

Now, when we believe God takes us from the kingdom of darkness and places us into the kingdom of light, the magnificent kingdom of God. He removes us from the kingdom of darkness, the father of lies, the devil, and he takes us and immediately we're transformed positionally. We are are either lost or we are found. We are either unsaved or we are saved. There are but two options but the way that we practice out our life is more gradual than that.

Are you immediately perfected at the moment when God saved you, when you believe? I wish. Did I hear I wish? Wouldn't it were so? But we're not.

We have to walk it out and in this sermon today, Peter is very particularly saying that you can walk this out. Think about again that Paul writes a lot about the spirit and trust in the spirit of God and it has to be submitting our will to the spirit of God. Peter in some ways presumes that that is true. If you have indeed obeyed the truth of the gospel and accepted it and God has placed the Holy Spirit in your life and that transforming presence, that still small voice of the Holy Spirit allows you the opportunity to be able to walk day by day in sanctification and holiness. Submitting your will to the will of God and you will walk more and more.

More and more. As you submit your will. And so Peter, having walked with Jesus for three years, saw this perfect example and we see how Peter screwed up over and over and over again, right? He did. We see how he was bold and impetuous but he also ended up making mistake after mistake after mistake.

And I'm thankful that he did because it makes me feel better that I that I make mistakes. I accidentally get ahead of myself sometimes. Fervently love one another from the heart is the first imperative. Now, fervently one love one another since it was written to Christians, it could mean that you just fervently love one another. Christians loving Christians and would that that were so.

Is it hard to love church folk? Is it hard to love anybody? Outside of the outside of the gospel and outside of the love of God, it's hard to love anybody. We are, for the most part, selfish people. And as far as worldview goes, our worldview as Christians comes from our hearts are desperately wicked and who can understand them?

And we have we are depraved as people. We are depraved. And we're pretty much incapable of righteous choice is the way Calvin would put it. But transformed by the spirit of God, submitting with our responsibility to his will, we can make righteous choice. We can walk in holiness.

The seminary that I went to, one of the standing stones was victorious Christian living. You can live in victory. Does it mean you'll never sin again? No. No.

But it means you can walk in victory. More and more, submitting yourself to the will of God but it's God's work. When I say that our righteousness and our goodness and our love is a derived righteousness, our sin is our own. Our sin is our own. Fervently love one another from the heart.

That takes being in right relationship with God. Peter presumes that since you have in obedience to the truth, purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren and fervently love one another from the heart. Why should you do that? Why should you? Well, the answer is that right here.

He says, for you've been born again. You've been born again not of seed which is perishable. It's not just silver or gold. He said a few verses earlier in chapter one. It's not not gold that perishes.

Just used for paving material in heaven. For you have been born again, not of seed which is perishable but that which is imperishable, that is through the living and enduring word of God. Now, this word for word is the same word John uses in his gospel for the divine logos. It is God's communication to human kind. It is Jesus.

It is the in in John. Actually, it's right here. It's all capital Ws because it's pointing towards Christ. In the beginning, which goes back even further to Genesis. In the beginning, was the word.

God's word and the word was with God and the word was God. That's Jesus. He, Jesus, was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him. There was nothing made.

That was made without coming into being through him. In him was life and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. Now, it is possible to comprehend that light. We're in the age of grace where we have the enduring word of God, his Bible, the the old and new testaments.

We have that and we are able to go from there and see that light shining in the darkness. It's possible to comprehend it but it was rejected. God's word was rejected by his very chosen people. Okay? So, that's John.

Getting back to where we were in Peter. Fervently love one another from the heart for you've been born again. Not of seed which is perishable but that which is imperishable. That that is through the living and enduring word of God. Amen.

He goes on to quote Isaiah. Now, last week, I talked about Isaiah and Peter and their similarities of having been faced and confronted with the holiness of God and immediately, they recognized God's holiness. They also recognize their own sin. It's what scripture does. It convinces us of God's goodness and it convicts us of our shortfall and it's illumined by his spirit.

For all flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls off. As we get older, all flesh, as we get older, do we see ourselves begin to wither? I I said in the first service, there's either you get wrinkly and withered, or you just keep getting bigger and push the wrinkles out. Right?

All flesh is like grass, and all the glory, all of its glory is like the flower of grass. And if you go out and you look at these fields, these great vast open plains in this beautiful valley, and you look and you just think, man, the beauty is amazing. Mountains in the background, grasses out there just as amazing. But that is not going to be there forever. It's a cycle and it's going to go through that cycle and it's going to turn.

Some of it we can feed the animals, but it's going to die. It's going to wither, The flower falls off. It produces more because the flower falls off but it's a cycle and it's going to go away. Beautiful as it is. All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers and the flower falls off but the word of the Lord endures forever. God's word is here to stay and that pertains to both his word, the written propositional truth that we have in the Old New Testament, the the Bible. It will endure forever. Not one jot or tittle will go away. It will last forever.

Everything that is in there will come to pass if it's prophetic, has come to pass. If it's history, it is true and it will endure forever. It also is true of Jesus. The word of the Lord endures forever. Jesus endures forever.

He not only was crucified, dead, and buried but he was resurrected and he will endure forever. Okay? So, the word, it's both this word and the word of God. Divine one, Jesus and this is the word which was preached to you. This is, he's preaching a sermon right now, Peter is.

From nine hundred years before, all the, you know, grass withers and the flower falls off. That's the word and it's been preached to you. It's talking about the fragile nature of human life and that even the best one comes to an end and Jesus is the other way that this can be viewed. The word that was preached to you and you obeyed the truth by accepting the goodness of the gospel. It is Jesus and Jesus alone who has lived a perfect life, had a perfect record, and can bestow that on anyone who would believe.

That's how he says, he does it. In fact, he says, you can't be good enough to earn it. He says that to Nicodemus, this great Pharisee, I know you come from God. He comes to him at night. I know you come from God.

Nobody could do what you do without coming from God but I don't understand. He goes, you're a great teacher of Israel. You don't understand this. You must be born again. You must be.

Born from above. For God so loved the world. He gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him and it is that belief should not perish but have everlasting life and this is the word that was preached to you and you accepted it Christians. That's what he's saying. So, this is the passage from Isaiah.

A voice says, call out and then he answered, well, what shall I call out? All flesh is grass and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, and the flower fades. When the breath of the Lord blows upon it. That is really hard for us as finite beings to see that God is in charge and God is in control and through the processes of aging and dying, God is the one who is blowing upon it.

Sometimes, we hold God responsible for the death of a loved one, someone that we feel like died too soon, too young. But this says, it with confidence that the grass withers and the flower fades. When the breath of the Lord blows upon it, it is part of life that God has sovereignly chosen. Surely, the people are grass and the grass withers and the flower fades but the word of our God stands forever. Jesus, forever.

The Bible forever. And so then we go into this passage and we've already had one imperative. What was it? Fervently love one another. I don't think that that's just contained to just Christians.

It certainly starts there. We have a good proving ground because practicing this among ourselves is really really good where there's grace and mercy allowed but we should be loving everyone and as best we can, loving them, loving them in a way that Jesus loves them into the kingdom. There is just one way but God has given us that way and he's extended us not just salvation but sanctification and practice. So, therefore, putting aside all malice. So for the rest of the service today, we're gonna go through this little list right here.

It's just a short list of the things, but I want for you to do an honest self evaluation where you sit. Okay? You need to shut your eyes and block everything else out, but think about your own life. That's fine with me. Sometimes I don't like for my eyes to fall upon you when I say, malice, and I just look straight at somebody.

So I close my eyes a lot too because of that sort of thing. Therefore, putting aside all malice. Do you know what malice is? It's an older word. We don't use it as much, but it is wishing ill upon someone.

Malice is when you want for bad things to happen to someone else. We're going into a time of communion. The Lord's supper at the end of this little message, our time here this morning. We're going into this and as we look at the perfect spotless son of God, lamb of God, and we see his perfect example and his shed blood on our behalf. That should cause us to self evaluate.

Where do I stand with what God has shown me? With the light that God has shown me. Do I wish ill on anyone? Putting aside not just malice toward some people but all malice. Is there anybody right now that you're thinking of that you think, oh, I hope they stumble.

I hope they I hope they get what's coming to me. I'm so aggravated with that person. I just wish they'd die. Do you have anybody in mind right now? Peter says, life is fragile.

The word of the Lord is forever. God's mercy and his grace are available. Therefore, putting aside all malice, do you have anybody in your mind, in your heart right now that you have malice toward? I give you a chance because we're going to communion and at the time of communion, Jesus lays it out there for his disciples and then Paul talks about it and he says, don't do this unworthily. Don't take this communion unworthily.

If you have malice in your heart, go make that right. Go get it right. Drop it. Lay it aside. Pull out of the downward spiral you're in.

Putting aside all malice. The only way we can be purified is through the blood of Christ. That's what this symbolizes. If we say, I want your blood, Jesus, but I also want to hold on to my sin. Wanna hold on to this malice because that person is a hateful person and I hate him back.

Think about this. While Jesus was being nailed to the cross, the son of God, innocent one. He's being nailed to the cross and as he is literally being nailed, did he have anything that was righteously could be held against those guys that were nailing those nails or the ones who had ordered it? Yeah. While they're nailing the nails, he says, father, forgive them for they know not what they do.

He did not want for them to suffer the punishment for the sin that they were currently committing. Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. He was putting aside all malice. Next, is put aside all deceit. And the word deceit, in our mind, it could be either just in our mind or it could be audible, but it is trickery or guile guile.

It is not saying that which we know to be true or saying something we know is not true. In the first service, said it might be salesman's tricks where it's adding urgency to someone else's thinking so that you can make a sale. Or it is trickery that you use to cause someone to believe something that you know is not true. That makes sense? Deceit, guile, It is any kind of a trickery where we would kind of bamboozle someone.

And specifically, the Greek word is specifically about spoken. It's spoken deceit. So lying. Put aside all malice, evil will, ill will towards anyone. Put aside all deceit.

So self examination. Is there any deceit that you're putting out there right now? That you have that you've been trying to pull the wool over someone's eyes. Put it aside. Put aside all malice and all deceit.

And hypocrisy, hypocrisy comes up fairly often. We have that word a lot. You've probably heard hypocrisy is play acting. It is as if one is wearing a mask. Usually in the context that Jesus uses it and that the biblical writers use it, It is putting on a mask that everything is okay and you're great.

When the truth is that, no, that's not true. I'm struggling. I have a problem I've sin in my life. I have an issue. And the truth is if we were completely honest, put aside all deceit and we were not wearing the mask, we were just being true faced and showing who we really were as we struggle, it would help other people who are struggling.

Do you agree? If you pretend I'm just perfect, everything's wonderful all the time. I got a big old smile and I want to shake your hand. Everything's great. Except it's not.

I'm struggling. If you'll say, can you pray with me, brother? I'm struggling. I've got a task that's got to happen that I don't know if I'm equipped to handle and I really need your help. I need need your prayers and if you can help help, please do.

If you can say that rather, nope, I got it. Everything's good. Hypocrisy. Put it aside. Put the play acting aside.

Be true about who you are and your condition. If you are struggling with a specific sin, then you can talk to someone that you trust about that. I'd love for you to come to me. If if you feel comfortable doing that, I'd love for you to come to me and say, this is besetting me. I cannot get away from it.

Would you help me? I'll try. I'll try to do my best. It might be a task that I'm not up to, but I'll find help. We find help in the pages of God's word.

That's where we're headed after this little self evaluation. Put aside all malice and all deceit and all hypocrisy and envy. Now, envy, this word envy, we think of jealousy, right? That's the first thing you think of when you hear envy, green eyed monster, jealousy. That's what it is.

I I've gotta I actually put this one up here. Phathanas. Phathanas is envy or even a grudge. It's when you hold something against someone. Spite, it's something that you're willing to put action to, that you'll make a little dig.

Verbal also, this can be verbal. This is not necessarily verbal. But it is a breakdown or a corruption. It's a primitive word. It's akin to decay, breakdown, or corruption.

It's where a relationship breaks down. At the point of jealousy or envy, spike. Properly, it is a very strong feeling or a desire. I might even say longing that sours due to the influence of sin. When you see somebody else prospering and you don't want for that to be the case.

That makes sense? Instead of being happy for em, you're upset because they have something you don't have. The miserable trait of being glad when someone experiences misfortune or pain, in that way it's a lot like malice. It is also, it refers to jealous envy that negatively energizes someone with an embittered mind. Oh, I love it when that guy trips and stumbles and says something.

Oh, it's so great when we finally see his true colors. It conveys a displeasure at another's good. This last sentence is kinda hard to understand, but I think I can explain it. Without longing to raise oneself to the level of him whom envies, but only to depress the envy to his own level. Do you get that?

That you see somebody else prospering and rather than recognize that you know what? That fellow has worked really hard to get where he is and I am going to work really hard and pray and commit everything to God to see that I can get to that level. Instead of that, it's like, lord, make him stumble. Bring him down. There's no reason why he should be better off than I.

We live in Jackson, right? You can look around and envy. It's pretty easy to envy here. I mean, even if you're passing through town, you look around and you think, man, what a beautiful place. Wish I lived here.

There's no reason why they should live here. Can't believe God put them here and didn't put me here. Some of us can't believe he put us here. Putting aside then all malice, ill will towards the other, and all deceit, trickery, guile, bamboozleery, hypocrisy, play acting, and jealousy, envy, spite, and all slander. Now slander is, I mean, we think of the legal definition of slander is saying something that isn't true about someone to defame their character and that is slander.

But it's also any evil speaking. Speak ill of no one, Paul says. Peter says it too. Evil speaking, backbiting, where you're talking behind somebody's back or nitpicking about someone. Detraction, where you literally detraction.

Like you don't give them any traction whatsoever, whether they deserve it or not. We're people, we don't deserve it. But if you point that out, evil speaking, slander is not good. Slander, railing, or defaming talk. Again, self evaluation.

Do you have anybody that you can think of that you constantly tear down with your words? Pascal, when we were in seminary in South Carolina, Pascal had a little preschool program that she went to. And the first memory verse that she learned when she was little bitty, you know, was not John three sixteen, which I think that'd be the first one that, you know, everybody's favorite verse, and it's evangelistic verse, and get them while they're young. It was not John three sixteen, it was from Thessalonians and it was encourage one another and build each other up. Encourage one another and build each other up and when she came home with that, I was like, that teacher gets it.

She totally gets it. She's got a class of little sin natures and they're all together. And the first thing that she taught them was to encourage one another and build each other up because when you tear down, it doesn't get better. Know, Slander. So we're letting that sit for just a second and then we hit this.

Like newborn babies, long for. This is the longing I was talking about and this is the second imperative in this short passage. Long for the pure milk of the word of God. So that by it, you may grow in respect to salvation. Now, the longing there, this is the word.

It's a pretty long. Epipotah, they say it, satay. That is a it's a participle, but it's the way that it is it is here is saying craving it. Craving the milk of the word. But it's a command.

We think of a craving as something that just happens to us and actually a lot of our cravings do just kind of just happen to us by our by our physical nature. We have a craving for sugar. We have a craving for alcohol. We have a craving for something. But this is a command and he's saying, crave this.

Long for it. Look forward to it. The way that you're going to grow in your salvation which is actually sanctification. When you're growing an understanding of your salvation that you don't deserve it but it's been offered and you can choose to submit your will to God and day by day, your walk will improve as you submit and as he empowers. Crave, crave, the New Living Translation puts these two verses like this.

So get rid of all evil behavior. That's the malice part. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave, Crave the pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. You can be saved and it's just like fire insurance.

You know, you you're not going to hell but then, if you just keep ignoring, keep ignoring, keep ignoring, The prompting of the Holy Spirit in your life, you're going to get to where you just can't hear that still small voice clearly. You don't know how to act on your own. If you want to experience your salvation in a full way, Read Bible. Dig into his word. Now, I don't preach a whole lot of sermons that you ought to be reading your Bible more.

I don't usually do that, do I? Well, you should. I mean, we we put a lot of emphasis on there but you really do need to read your Bible. It's good. It's pure, pure spiritual milk.

It's undefiled, and it's good for you. What does a baby do? When baby's born and they're hungry, what do they do? Cry out. They cry out for milk.

They say to the one who can provide, provide. Well, God has provided the milk that we need in his word. He's provided the salvation we need through Jesus, his word, and he lets us know the story right there and then he comes back around. Last thing he says is just if you have indeed tasted the kindness of the Lord. At the beginning, he presumes it.

Since you have in obedience to the truth, accepted this, then, recognizing the fragility of life that all grass withers and the flower falls off but the word of the Lord endures forever. So then, therefore, put aside all these bad uses of words. Did you see how many of them had to do with what you say? Guile and deceit and envy and what you say about someone else, slander, backbiting, all of that. If you have tasted of the kindness of the Lord, that which you received freely, freely from him, you should freely, freely give to others and that is not running them down.

Not using your words against them. If you have tasted the Lord. In fact, it's it's a rhetorical device. It's almost like a little dig. It's like, alright, Christians.

If you have trusted him, then rid yourselves of these things. He's given you his Holy Spirit. He also gives you a promise. First John one nine, he says, if you are confessing your sins, then I'm faithful and just to be forgiven your sins and I will cleanse you from all unrighteousness. You lay yourself out there bare, no hypocrisy, and say, lord, I am full of malice and deceit and hypocrisy and I'm tired of carrying this burden.

Will you cleanse me from it? He will. He says, I'll remove your sins from you as far as the East is from the West and remember them no more. Another place, he says, I'll throw em into the sea of forgetfulness and remember them no more. If you want to start over point and you've been sitting here going, I am full of ballots in the sea.

Slant. If you want to start over point, this is your start over point. Today, right here, before we take communion, don't don't take this and hold something in your heart. Actually, had somebody, I'm going to, can't believe I'm saying this but I I had a somebody came forward afterwards and she said, I didn't take communion. I said, why not?

She said, because I'm I'm holding something against somebody. I said, alright. Well, okay. Actually, it was our president. Quite truthfully, it was our president and she said, I'm not going to take communion till he's out of office.

This is a meaningful symbol. I only share that. We're not recording this. So, I only share that with the people that are in this room because don't let anything stop you from availing yourself. If you recognize that at the moment of your salvation that I need Jesus.

I don't have a whole lot of merit on my own. I need Jesus. Don't hold on to that. I mean, I'm I'm all for you feeling like I take communion until I make it right with my brother. Chances of her seeing Donald Trump.

Not real good. Okay? To hold out until he's out of office. On communion. Communing with the fellowship of God, recognizing that.

It just hit me. It struck me as we want to hold on to our sins. Some of us find one sin more difficult to let go than another. This is just a few. This is just a few.

These might not be the things that you struggle with. I don't know. I'm saying let them all go. Put em aside. Trust in the grace of God to cleanse you from all unrighteousness but then trust his word because it endures forever and he's not going to lead you astray.

Just not going to do. Trust. If you have tasted of the kindness of the Lord. If you have, if you've never trusted in Jesus for the salvation of your sins, would you come talk to me this week? Would you come find me?

I'm here a lot of the time and if I'm not here, somebody here knows where I am. If you'll come find me, I'd love to talk to you about the salvation but if you want to grow and fully experience the salvation that you already have, dig in, crave the pure milk of the word. Now, I'm going to invite the frontline team to come forward. We're going go into a time of communion and would y'all just pray with me? Imma give you a chance.

We've, it's a little heavier in some ways than a lot of my other sermon but I I think with reason, this is what the word says this week. God, would you help us see those blind spots and help us see all of the malice and guile and trickery and even hypocrisy. Slander. Would you help us see where it is that we're jealous and wishing ill on others, lord and would you help us to see them just the way that Jesus saw those guys nailing those nails? As ignorant of what it is exactly that they are doing.

They were consciously swinging those hammers and he said, father, forgive em for they know not what they do. May we extend to others the grace and the mercy that's been extended to us. We know that we are one. We are unified in the blood of Christ. We have been called out of every tribe, tongue, and nation, and even every denomination into one, the capital C, true church triumphant of those who believe and trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of sin and for their walk.

Meaningful godly walk forward. I pray lord that you would bless each one that partakes of this little cracker and this juice but as we distribute the cracker, may we consider our way as it lines up with your way. Lord, may we always be humble before you because you resist the proud and you give grace to the humble. Lord God, please, would you do your work in our lives this morning as we practice this meaningful

no sin to hide but you have sent him from your side to walk upon this guilty side and to become your gift of love they crucified they laughed and scorned him as he died

On the same night that Jesus was betrayed, he took bread after supper and gave us this symbol through his disciples. He said, after he'd given thanks, he told them, he tells us still today, this is my body. It's broken for you. Take this and eat and do it as often as you will in remembrance. Mighty God, we thank you for your plan and we thank you for Jesus submission to that plan in a way that brings life and not death.

I thank you that that living word of God endures forever. I pray lord that we would accept the sacrifice of his blood without the shedding of blood. There's no remission of sins and there is only one true sacrifice and that is the lamb of God. On your stay, the one that you provided. So, God, I pray that as we distribute this, that you would bless each soul here present that would receive blood of Christ that you would bind us with cords that can't be broken, that we would recognize and fervently love one another, and that we together would crave your pure spiritual milk as we rest in your salvation.

I was so lost I should have died, but you have brought me to your side to be led by your staff and rod and to be called

in the same way that he had taken the bread, he took the cup after supper and he told his disciples, this is the new covenant. It's covenant is not based on works. It's covenants. It's based on the grace of God received freely. This is the new covenant in my blood.

Take this, drink it, and do it as often as you will in remembrance. It took the death of Christ for there to be forgiveness of sins and Paul says that every time we do this, we proclaim the death of Christ until he comes again. Would you stand with us and we'll talk about the life that's available in Christ in this next song. I think we're going to sing Blessed Be the Tie that Binds and this is the tie that binds. Would you sing with me?

Hymn number four twenty six.

Blessed be the tithe that binds our hearts in Christian love fellowship of kindred minds is like

Amen and I do have a benediction for you today from Romans 15. May the God of endurance and encouragement. I know that's a heavy message. When we examine ourselves in the light of scripture, we always find ourselves wanting but the nice thing is the enduring truth of God is that he provides the way. May the endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another in accord with Christ Jesus that together, you may with one voice glorify God and the father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen. Amen.