The Discerning Taste of Hope
"All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord stands forever."
And this is the word that was preached to you.
1Pet. 2:1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
God is drawing us together in a unique and wonderful family and the relationships in this family are deep and sustaining love for one another.
Entrance into this family is like a birthing experience, a wonderful and transforming experience.
For a baby, when she is born, everything is different now. Their world, as they knew it was dramatically and permanently changed. That child will never again know the walls and security of a womb. The same is true for a child of God, when Gods living and enduring Word comes to a person, their world is changed forever. The way they thought things worked must now be adjusted.
We (naturally) want to get rid of the ‘bad' habits so we can be a ‘better person'
Peter writes - we get rid of the bad because we want to love one another. It is like acquiring a taste for something that is very good.
An acquired taste is an appreciation for a food or beverage that is unlikely to be enjoyed, in part or in full, by a person who has not had substantial exposure to it, usually because of some unfamiliar aspect of the food or beverage, including a strong or strange odor, taste, or appearance. The process of "acquiring" a taste involves consuming a food or beverage in the hope of learning to enjoy it. In most cases, this introductory period is considered worthwhile, as many of the world's delicacies are considered to be acquired tastes.
* Anchovies, small fish, cured in brine, known for their intensely strong flavor, often used as a pizza topping
* Balut, a boiled, fertilized duck egg
* Beer, especially strong ales and stouts
o Gueuze, a lambic style of beer originating from Belgium
* Bitter melon, an extremely bitter fruit similar to cucumber.
* Blood Sausage, sausage made by cooking animal blood with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled.
* Calamari, squid, very often fried.
* Capers, pickled and salted buds or fruits of the caper shrub.
3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (NIV)
3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. (NAS)
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Psa. 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
To taste the kindness and goodness of the Lord is a first hand experience - no one can taste something for you.
Someone else can taste something and say that it is good, but just because you like sushi doesn't mean that I have acquired that taste.
You have to taste it yourself and know that it is good.
Peter encases an important message in this passage, like putting a cover on a book. A book has a front cover and a back cover to encase the message of the story.
In v22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth
Now that I have intentionally set my soul, heart towards living a pure life,
Now that I have positioned the attitude of my mind towards obeying and living God's truth
3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Now that I have experienced - first hand - the kindness and goodness of the Lord,
Peter can challenge us to live this way, because he had experienced it himself.
He was on the dock cleaning his nets when Jesus came and said, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. He didn't know what he was getting into but he knew it was a lifetime opportunity and so he followed.
Over the next several years he saw Jesus do amazing things, say astounding things, and love people with extraordinary compassion and kindness,
Then he ate his own words of commitment and love when he denied Jesus himself. Jesus looked into his eyes when the cock crowed and Peter ran away weeping.
Jesus died, loving people, even expressing kindness on the cross to a legitimate crook,
He raised from the dead,
And at the end of the book of John, (perhaps Peter's best friend) John records:
3 "I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
John 21:4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
John 21:5 He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?"
"No," they answered.
John 21:6 He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
John 21:7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
John 21:10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught."
John 21:11 Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
John 21:15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
John 21:16 Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"
He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
John 21:17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.
Then one of the last things Jesus says to Peter is in v19 "Follow me!"
Jesus starts out calling Peter to "follow me, and I will make you fisher of men"
And he leaves him saying "Follow me, for I have taught you how to fish and care for men"
In spite of Peters failings Jesus was going to use him...
Peter had acquired the most incredible taste for the goodness and kindness of the Lord, his mind, soul and heart had been irrevocably redirected and now he says
Don't settle for junk in your relationships that will just destroy them.
1 Peter 2:2 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
We all have the same struggle - we are used to eating junk food
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Sometimes we get used to the taste of sin we loose sight of what is good.
‘rid yourself' Strip off - like taking off clothing for a shower, take away, get rid of - spit out - spew it out.
malice - general word for wickedness, trouble characterized life of unbelievers in all world system, sins that hurt and injure other people.
deceit - guile, stealth, craftiness, trying to get by with something, trickery, having a hidden agenda - deception to attain ones own end. Word in earliest form meant to catch with a bait. Strip off your desire to set people up or relate them with a hidden agenda, don't wear two faces
hypocrisy - ‘play acting' duplicity, hiding behind a mask, being ‘unreal', inauthentic, impersonation, appearing to be someone you are not. You will get along in the family of God if you will just be who and what you are.
Last two - very significant - in every family there will be times of promotion and times of demotion, there will be times of high level delight and low level depression.
During times of high level delight for some there will be temptation on the part of others to fill their heart with envy
During times of lack of production there is the tendency on some to slander
envy - jealousy, hidden resentment, painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage,
Peters positive statement "be great hearted enough to enjoy their benefit. You will not pull with each other if you envy your brother or sister who has been blessed with an advantage you do not have.
Sheridan says there is not a passion so strongly rooted in the human heart as envy
Develop the skill of enjoying others delights - applaud the blessing of God on their life-
slander - evil speaking - most often occurs when the other person is not present to defend themselves. It is gossip that destroys the confidence in another individual - and it bruises the reputation.
Heart attitude -
seek to build and maintain healthy relationships,
live open and honest life - what is going on the outside is consistent with the inside - personal integrity.
"like" newborns crave spiritual milk -
never get away from the basics of growing in Christ
you will never outgrow them
Heb 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Hunger for God's word - is that growing, is it food for your soul
Prayer - hearing from God more important than hearing from anyone else
Relationships (all) healthy, true, right, not just playing at them but engaging in their growth
Because of an internal attitude towards God's holiness and the intentional desire to live according to his truth
And because I have experienced the goodness and kindness of the Lord
Therefore I love others deeply and
I do not do things that will damage that relationship
Malice, Deceit, Hypocrisy, Malice, Envy, Slander
I crave to grow in my relationship with him
Ø Commit to grow in acquiring your own taste for the goodness of the Lord - seeing that it Is good and healthy
Ø Commit that to love deeply means you will not do things that discount, damage or even destroy those relationships
Ø Crave to grow in your relationship with the Lord
o Bible - God's word is feeding your soul
o Prayer - Keeping your relationship with God and others current
o Relationships - intention to keep those relationships healthy