Crave Pure Spiritual Milk

Introduction:

• Focus for the second half of the Spring Semester 2008:

1. Continue to meet people in the Ignite the Fire evangelism plan

   1. We will follow-up with one another more

2. Focus even more on our relationship with God

   1. Mid-week and Sunday school class study of God with a goal to propel you even more in your personal bible study.

   2. We don't want "getting close to God" to seem overwhelming

   3. We want it to be inviting

      • Like the theme of our year as a church, "Joy of our salvation"

• During the last devotional, just before Spring Break, I talked about Spiritual Milk and Solid Food—maybe I communicated the need to move on to solid food, and missed a vital first step?

  • As it says in 1Peter 2, we need to crave pure spiritual milk

  • <Turn to 1Peter 2>

    • From this passage, we see that it is good to crave!

• Some questions to test whether you have a heart that craves pure spiritual milk:

  • Do you have a daily time of Bible study and prayer?

  • Do you look forward to being with God as you shake the grogginess off in the morning?

  • If you have been a Christian a few years, have you read through the entire Bible yet?

  • Are you focused in church when the word of God is being preached?

  • Does your enthusiasm for knowing God rub off on others?

  • Do your non-Christian friends take you seriously when they see your passion and determination to know the Scriptures and draw close to God?

  • What is your attitude towards reading books outside the Bible when they are suggested? Are you slow or quick to dive in?

• Why would you struggle to see yourself in need of pure spiritual milk?

• This morning's bible class will spur you on to crave pure spiritual milk

1. The Lord tastes good

   1. How have you tasted that the Lord is good?

      1. This probably gets into the ways you've discovered the spiritual milk we talked about

      2. We talked about how spiritual milk is the basics of your foundation in Christ. It is the essential principles.

2. Crave Pure Spiritual Milk

   1. First of all, there is a reason it says "pure" or "unadulterated" spiritual milk

      1. What are some examples of what is impure?

   2. What does "crave" mean?

      1. to long for; want greatly; desire eagerly

      2. Also "yearn intensely"

      3. We often think of cravings as "to crave sweets; to crave affection"

      4. But do you have cravings for the spiritual milk of God?

   3. I personally want to get back to heart that craves...so that...

3. Grow Up

   1. Crave pure spiritual milk...In order to grow up in your salvation

   2. This gets corresponds with the importance of growing up in your faith

      1. What would happen if a baby didn't crave milk?

      2. We know that a baby craving milk is something natural to human growth

      3. Similarly, as spiritually young, it is natural that we crave...

      4. Because God's spirit is in us to grow up and be spiritually strong

      5. God's heart is that we're not weak and vulnerable

   3. So, from the urging of this God inspired passage,we get in touch with our cravings...(think of your own as I share some here)

      1. Crave to know and rely on the love God has for you

         • Crave to take hold of that which took hold of you!

         • Crave the love of Jesus

         • Crave to know God

         • Crave to feel close to God—there is a spiritual security and intimacy from His love

         • Crave to be confident

      2. Crave to know the Bible well

         • Crave to know the basics well enough to teach: Within six months be able to help someone all the way through a conversion study series

         • Crave by having the goal to read the whole bible in a year

         • Crave a contextual awareness of the bible

         • Crave to tackle tough questions—apologetic questions

      3. Crave spiritual depth in your times of worshiping God

         • Crave having inspired prayer times...using the psalms, hymns and spiritual songs

         • Crave powerful prayer and bible study times with one another

      4. Crave the powerful life you have as a Christian

         • Great boldness to hold a high level of commitment

         • Great boldness to call one another higher

         • Great boldness to evangelize

         • Great boldness to even preach the message (give a message to the body)

      5. Ask the students what spiritual cravings do you have?

         • To be more in tune with all the brothers in church

         • Be able to use a vast array of Scriptures

           • Using it for the arising need

         • To get close to the sisters more

         • Let God take control rather than trying to take control

         • Surrender to life as it is for Him, even if you don't understand everything

         • To draw out people's hearts and help them in deeper ways

         • To reach out to our new neighborhood

         • To be apart of real, lively, challenging in a loving way discipling

           • Helping one another be more like God

         • To train the women, give them vision to be future leaders, helping them be excited about God's possibility

         • To grow in God's love, there is so much more it can do

           • Crave the heart to actually do what is right

         • Continual growth

         • Outreach to friends.