Sermon Central
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People Who Live On Milk
Contributed by John Gaston on Jan 30, 2014 (message contributor)
Summary: Milk is a wonderful, but only till age 5. To grow past that, we must have solid food. The same is true in the spiritual realm. But many Christians live in perpetual infancy. They want only milk. They're geriatric spiritual babies. See God's directions!
PEOPLE WHO LIVE ON MILK
1 Pet. 2:2; 1 Cor. 3:2; Heb. 5:12-13
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: Cow Jokes
Q: What do you call cattle with a sense of humor? A: Laughing stock.
Q: What do cows get when they are sick? A: Hay Fever
Q: Why do cows wear bells? A: Their horns don't work.
Q: What kind of milk comes from a forgetful cow? A: Milk of Amnesia
Q: Where do cows go when they want a night out? A: To the moo-vies!
Q: What do you call a cow with a twitch? A: Beef Jerky
Q: What was the bull doing in the pasture with his eyes closed? A: Bull-dozing
Q: What is it when one cow spies on another cow? A: A steak out.
Q: Did you hear that NASA recently launched a bunch of Holsteins into low Earth orbit? A: They called it the Herd Shot 'Round The World!
Q: What do you call a cow that doesn't give milk? A: A MILK DUD!
B. TEXT
“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation” 1 Pet. 2:2.
C. THESIS
1. We’re going to look tonight at how believers ought to love the Word, the signs of a spiritual baby, and what steps they can take to grow up.
2. The title of this message is “People Who Live On Milk.”
I. REAL BELIEVERS CRAVE THE WORD
A. THE WONDER OF MILK
1. Milk is an amazing beverage. Human children routinely live on nothing but mother's milk for six months to a year, and many go as long as two years. By then they’re walking & talking!
2. Someone said, “We spend the first twelve months of our children's lives teaching them to walk and talk, and the next Twenty-four years telling them to sit down and shut up!”
3. In order for milk to sustain a child for two years, it has to be a perfect food. It has to provide every nutrient a child needs in exactly the right proportions.
B. CRAVING SPIRITUAL MILK IS NATURAL
1. Babies have a natural instinct to instantly go to their mother's breast and drink its milk. It's the same way for spiritual infants: we should automatically crave the milk of the Word of God!
2. Strong desires and affections for the Word of God are a sure evidence of a person's being born again. A new life requires suitable food. When people are born again, they should desire the food suitable to that nature.
3. What’s the ultimate end of consuming the milk? To grow in Christ. Milk is a precious commodity. Canaan was called “a land flowing with Milk and honey;” a land of rare and choice good things.
4. Peter said we are to “desire” (KJV) or “crave” (NIV) the Word. The Greek word is epipotheo [1971] – to yearn, dote upon, intensively crave :- desire, long, lust. We’re to long for, desire, crave the pure spiritual milk of the Word of God!
5. Have you ever seen baby birds open wide their mouths when their mother brings them food? That’s the way believers should eagerly desire spiritual food.
II. BELIEVERS ARE SUPPOSED TO GROW UP
A. LIVING ON MILK IS UNNATURAL
1. According to estimates, 2/3 TO 3/4 of the world's adult population can’t digest lactose, the main sugar in milk. At around age 5, lactase (the chemical to break down lactose) production decreases, possibly to help facilitate weaning.
2. It’s NOT NATURAL for a five year old to continue to live on milk. In fact, drinking only milk will begin retarding growth.
B. CHRISTIANS IN PERPETUAL INFANCY?
1. Strangely, the Bible speaks of Christians who want to remain in a state of perpetual infancy. They become geriatric spiritual babies who love to be entertained and amused like their counterparts in the nursery, but balk at moving on to Christian service.
2. Paul said to the Corinthians, “Brothers [and sisters], I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?” 1 Cor. 3:1-3.
C. WHAT SPIRITUAL BABIES LOOK LIKE:
1. FOCUSING ON PREACHERS instead of on the Lord. Some were chasing Apollos, some Paul, and some Peter.
a. Some people jump from one church to another seeking this or that ministry, never recognizing they already possess God’s message where they are!!!
b. Paul said, “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe…. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.” 1 Cor. 3:5-6.
