At the beginning of each year I share with you whatever theme the Father gives me for the year. The theme for this year is, “Year of Expectation.” This year the Father wants us to build up our expectation in Him. That’s why I taught you a series on prayer and fasting. All the series’ this year will line up with the overall theme. That said, I had been praying for a few weeks about what to teach next. I am excited to share with you that the Father has led me to teach a series entitled, “Back to the Bible.” In this series we will study scriptures that talk about the importance of the Word of God in our lives. Many of these verses are scriptures I studied and mediated as a young believer. So they are very special to me. I pray you enjoy the series.
I gave my life to Christ August 27th, 1995, during the Gospel Service on Camp Doha, Kuwait. I had just arrived a few weeks earlier for a one year tour, so I would spend my first year as a Born-Again believer in Kuwait. We had no Christian programming on television, but some of the believers there had VHS tapes from back home. We would share the tapes to hear God’s Word and get it down in our hearts. The first series I was given to watch was from Bishop T. D. Jakes. Back then Jakes was Pastoring in West Virginia. Every year he hosted what he called the “Back to the Bible” conference. Speakers from all over the country would fly to West Virginia to preach and their focus was on getting back to the Word of God. It is the Word of God that will teach us, develop us and sustain us. In this series we will get back to magnifying the importance of the Word of God in our lives.
The first scripture we will look at is one of my early favorites: 1 Peter 2:2. Peter said, “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.” As a newly converted Christian, I read this scripture over and over again, as a reminder of how much I should yearn for the Word of God. Let’s discuss this verse today.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
- The day you are Born-Again, the Bible likens you to a newborn baby. If you have children, you know the intensity with which a baby yearns for his/her milk. The baby will cry and loudly announce to everyone present that he/she is hungry. That is the picture the Apostle Peter gives us for the yearning we should have for God’s Word. Like a baby yearns for milk, we should yearn for the milk of God’s Word. Why? Peter tells us, “so that we may grow thereby.” The more Word you get down in your heart, the more you will grow into the person God called you to be.
- Once you are Born-Again you are IN Christ and Christ is IN you. From the moment you accepted Jesus as Lord, you are seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus (Eph 2:6), you are already translated out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of God’s dear Son (Col 1:13), and you shall not see condemnation because you have passed from death unto life (John 5:24, 1 Jn 3:14). While all of that is true, being a Christian and growing into the man/woman you were born to be are the not the same thing. You heard the Gospel to be saved. You must now feed on the milk of God’s Word in order to develop into the person you are called to be. Without the Word you will not grow.
- 1 Peter 2:2 says, “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.” Verse 3 says, “If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” Once you have tasted that the Lord is gracious, and you were saved from your sin by that very same grace (not because you deserve it), you must now feed on the Word of God. It is the Word of God that will help you grow. Without the Word, you can be a Christian for 20, 30 or 40 years, and still be a baby.
- Like a baby, you must feed on the milk of God’s Word (1 Peter 2:2). If you keep feeding on the milk, there will come a day when you graduate to solid food (Heb 5:12). But you will never get to the solid food (or meat) stage, if you don’t remain dedicated throughout the milk stage. Meditate and medicate on God’s Word day and night.
Closing Confession:
Father, this is a season of expectation for me. I build up my expectation for all You planned to do in my life this year, by feeding on Your Word. I get Your Word down in my heart daily. I put Your Word through my eye gates and my ear gates every moment I get. I meditate and medicate on Your Word day and night. Your Word teaches me, nourishes me, builds me up, instructs me, inspires me, corrects me and guides me. Your Word is the ruler by which I judge every decision. I don’t just live by bread only. I live by every Word that proceeds from out of Your mouth. This is how I grow into the man/woman You birthed me to be! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
