1Peter 2:2
Changing My Desires
Based on message of Dr. S.M. Davis,
"5 Things that Will Keep You From Growing"
Click here to see the first part of this message.
I want to draw your attention to the word "desire" in this text.
Peter was writing to young Christians, babies in the faith, and wanted
to encourage them to grow up into strong Christians. Essentially, he
said feed your godly desires and used as an illustration a baby’s
desire to eat. When a baby wants to eat, you are going to have to
feed him or you will have no peace and quiet until you do. If we want
to be strong Christians, we must have the right kind of desires and we
must give into them.
Let me give you some very simple but practical truths about Christian
desires.
Warning: I am going to give you a lot of Bible verses. You might want
to write down the references instead of trying to keep up with me.
I. We can desire anything, good or bad.
A. The word desire means "intensely crave. long after, lust for."
B. Most everyone is passionate about something.
1. What are you passion about?
a. football, politics, work (money), family, cars,
shopping, dating, drinking, having fun
b. Someone said that desire is the engine that drives the
Christian life.
2. This morning I made the statement about Christians.
a. Christ has delivered the Christian from the bondage of
sin.
b. That means if you are saved and sinning, it is because
you want to, you desire that sin.
c. Don’t think that to be unusual.
(1) Most people, even Christians, have things that
they love above Jesus.
Re 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against
thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
(2) It is not right but it is true.
(3) Many Christians miss church. Something serious
can happen to keep you out of church on a given
Sunday, but when you are missing church regular,
it is because there is some place you would
rather be.
(4) Many Christians miss reading their Bible, praying,
witnessing, and other activities of God. Why?
Because there is something else you desire to be
doing!
3. Someone has said, "We do what we want to."
a. The meaning behind that statement is simple.
b. We find time and a way to do what we want to do.
c. That is the reason that we need to be careful what we
allow our hearts to desire.
4. I have never seen a person who desired to grow for Jesus
who did not grow!
C. The word desire is used around 181 times. Sometimes it is used
of desiring good things, but often it used of desiring bad
things.
De 5:21 Neither shalt thou desire thy
neighbour’s wife, neither shalt thou covet thy
neighbour’s house, his field, or his manservant,
or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any
thing that is thy neighbour’s.
1. Almost every wrong action starts with a wrong thought and a
wrong desire.
De 7:25 The graven images of their gods shall
ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the
silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto
thee, lest thou be SNARED therein: for it is an
abomination to the LORD thy God.
2. Having the wrong desire is like the fish baiting the bait
and not realizing there was a hook in it.
3. Even good men, godly men are snared by wrong desires.
Jud 8:24 And Gideon said unto them, I would
desire a request of you, that ye would give me
every man the earrings of his prey. (For they
had golden earrings, because they were
Ishmaelites.)
26 - weight of gold was 1700 shekels
27 And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put
it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel
went thither a whoring after it: which thing
became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.
1Sam 23:20 - King Saul desired to kill David.
1King 2:20 - Solomon’s mother desired something wrong and Solomon had
to refuse her.
4. It is not just your desire you to have watch out for. Those
in your family can have a wrong desire which in turn can
influence and direct you.
Ps 78:29 - The Jews desired flesh in the wilderness which God granted
but sent leaness to their souls \\#Ps 106:15\\.
5. That means the Jews got what their flesh wanted but it
hurt their soul, the real them inside.
a. In this case, God sent a deadly judgment which killed
many, leaving their bodies filled with the meat they
had craved but their hearts broken.
b. Many have had the fun and pleasure that sin can give
to their flesh only to realize later the price they
had to pay for it was too high.
c. Charles Stanley - Sin will take you further than you
want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay,
and cost you more than you want to pay.
Pro 24:1 - Command is given not to desire to be with evil men.
6. How many of you were warned by your parents not to hang
around with someone because they felt they were a bad
influence.
a. I wonder if parents still do that?
b. Some say, "Don’t judge people by their appearances."
c. That is all well and good, but don’t throw you children
to the wolves either.
Mark 9:35 - Jesus warned about desiring to be first.
Gal 4:9 But now, after that ye have known God,
or rather are known of God, how turn ye again
to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye
desire again to be in bondage?
7. Here is the exact thing that I am speaking about.
a. Christians are granted deliverance from the wages of
sin, the bondages of sin, and the guilt of sin; but
many, desiring the sin, return to the bondage all over
again!
b. They have the wrong desires! They love the sin more
than the Savior.
c. Christian, you can overcome any sin, but you must love
Jesus more than you love your sins!
II. God commands the Christians to change his desires.
A. God has done, is doing, and will do some things for us.
Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath
quickened us together with Christ, (by grace
ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us
sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
1. God has quickened us (made us spiritually alive), raised us
out of sin, saved us and made us to sit in the heavens.
2. In addition, whenever we are tempted to do wrong, God
has promised to make a way out for us.
1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you
but such as is common to man: but God is
faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted
above that ye are able; but will with the
temptation also make a way to escape, that ye
may be able to bear it.
B. However, God expects US to control our own thought processes,
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world:
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your
mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
C. And that includes controlling our own desires.
Heb 12:1 …let us lay aside every weight, and
the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let
us run with patience the race that is set
before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher
of our faith; who for the joy that was set
before him endured the cross, despising the
shame, and is set down at the right hand of
the throne of God.
Ro 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil
the lusts thereof.
Col 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which
are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness,
inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and
covetousness, which is idolatry:
1Pe 2:1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and
all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all
evil speakings,
D. Someone says, "Preacher, I have tried, but I cannot control my
desires.
1. God answers….
Heb 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood,
striving against sin.
2. That is not your blood, but Jesus’ blood.
3. There is enough power in the blood of Jesus Christ to give
you victory over every sin!
III. How can I change my desires.
A. You have to love Jesus more and your sin less.
1. How do I do that? The same way you develop love for
people.
a. Spend time with Jesus.
b. Talk to Jesus.
c. Think on Jesus.
d. Listen to good, clean, godly Christian music.
e. Listen to good sermons about the Bible. (Here you don’t
have to settle for the best your pastor can do. There
are thousands of preachers on radio, TV, and
especially the internet. Together, they have millions
of hours of sermons, both audio and video, that you
can listen to and watch. Find a sound preacher that
you like and burn up the airwaves!
2. Any two people can develop a loving relationship if they
spend time working together.
a. God is a Person. He is a holy Person but He is a
Person.
b. He will make Himself as real in your life as you will
let Him.
B. Condemn your wrong desires.
1. Find out what God said about whatever desire it is that you
have and memorize it.
2. Whenever that old desire starts to crop up, condemn it,
quote the Bible at it, turn from it with force and vigor
until you honestly feel about it the way God does.
C. Don’t think about fulfilling your wrong desires.
Ro 12:21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome
evil with good.
1. Pray
2. Read the Bible
3. Go tell someone about Jesus, help someone, go get a cat out
of a tree and if you have to run a cat up the tree so you
can get him down.
D. Seek godly desires.
Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not
on things on the earth.
E. Hold yourself accountable to someone else.
Ec 4:12 And if one prevail against him, two
shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is
not quickly broken.
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