The Desires of Your Heart
Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 2:1-17
1 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as
newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you
have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5
you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in
the Scripture,
“ Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame”
7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,
“ The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone,”
8 and
“ A stone of stumbling
And a rock of offense.”
They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that
you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but
now have obtained mercy.
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against
the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against
you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of
visitation.
13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the
king as supreme, 14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of
evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing
good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— 16 as free, yet not using liberty as a
cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. 17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God.
Honor the king.
By now we should all have a good idea as to the character of YHWH. We dug into
understanding His character for five weeks. Hopefully you all know His character
enough to trust Him and to understand that all His commands are as a heavenly
Parent that wants the best for His children. Last week we talked about what we all
bring to the altar every day; whether our sacrifice comes through obedience that leads
to righteousness or from disobedience that leads to destruction. Today we’re going to
be taking a look at what we each take from the altar daily.
The first verse in the passage is the place where all believers should begin their walk
with Yeshua. Laying aside the things of the world; malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and
other such negative things. Unfortunately, this is where too many stay. Them
attempting to ‘be good’ and nothing else is what their journey with Messiah becomes.
Although putting off the old man is indeed crucial, there is another step. We must put
on the new man. Yeshua gives us this warning.
Matthew 12:43-45
43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and
finds none. 44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes,
he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other
spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man
is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”
It is not only important to empty ourselves of the filth of the world; it is imperative that
we fill ourselves back up with the things of God. That is the key to this warning from
Messiah. When the unclean spirit came back to the man, the place was found empty
and not only did that spirit return but brought more with him making things even
worse. How many times do we see someone who confesses Yeshua, go off and do
things completely out of character and then stop walking with YHWH altogether? I’ve
seen it far too much. However, what we did not recognize was that although their
house was swept clean; it was still empty.
When we were renovating houses ten or twelve years ago, one of the worst things to
have was an empty house. There were times when we would put money into the
renovation of a property only to come back and find that thieves had broken in and
stolen supplies and new fixture we’d just had installed. Or vandals had come in to just
cause havoc by breaking windows or tagging walls. When you go on vacation and you
house is going to be empty for a while, they tell you to do things like put your lights on
a timer and have your newspaper and mail delivered stopped until you return so
thieves don’t recognize that your house is empty. I’ve heard of people getting a friend
or relative to stay at their house while they’re gone or even paying a fee to an agency
to put a responsible single person in the house until they return. Why? An empty
house is like a bull’s-eye for trouble. So, with what must we fill our spiritual house to
make sure it’s not empty?
John 15:4-8
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine,
neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for
without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and
is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you
abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for
you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
The first thing we must have in our swept clean house is Yeshua. He tells us here that
we are not going to be able to bear fruit and be His disciples unless we abide in Him
and His Word abide in us. The Word of God needs to reside in our spiritual house
daily; not once a week or once every few days for a few minutes. It has to dwell there.
Think back to the empty house. Is someone coming by for five minutes every two days
going to keep thieves and vandals away? Or do you need to have a physical
presence in the house? Things are the same spiritually. Not only should believers be
reading God’s Word everyday, but as they go through the day they should be
meditating on that word day and night.
Psalm 1:1-2
1 Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
That is the only presence that will protect your spiritual house. In verse two of our
scripture reading, Peter writes that we are to be like newborn babes and desire the
pure milk of the Word. It can’t be something we are made to do or that we feel obliged
to do. It must be our desire to do. We should want to know Him completely. When I
first met my husband Jeff, I wanted to be with him all the time. When we weren’t able to
be together we talked on the phone as much as possible. No one had to make me
spend time with him. I didn’t feel an obligation to get to know him better. I wanted to.
That’s the way it should be with us toward God. No one should have to make you
spend time with Him. There shouldn’t be an obligation to know Him better. As Peter
says, we should desire the pure milk of the Word.
What does he mean by the pure milk of the Word? Well, we’ve studied recently the
account in Exodus 20 where the Israelites chose not to hear from YHWH Himself but to
rather hear through Moses. I believe this secondhand knowledge of God is what kept
them from being able to walk in the fullness of God. When I wanted to learn more
about Jeff I didn’t call his friends and spend hours on the phone with them so I could
find out about him. I went directly to the source, Jeff. In the same way, we should go
directly to the Source for the pure milk of the Word, to God through His Holy Spirit.
John 14:26 - But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will
teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
I Corinthians 2:13 - These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches
but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
The Word of God is our food and the Holy Spirit of God is our Teacher. So, why do so
many believers not listen to the Spirit but rather listen to the teachings of men? What
do I mean by that? Well, I can remember when I first started reading God’s Word on
my own, He gave me a certain understanding of the things I was reading. Then as I
began to fellowship and there were certain things that I began to question. Let me
give you an example. In reading the Ten Commandments as a new believer, you
come to one in particular and say, “Why don’t we do that one?” Then someone more
learned than you says something like, “We’re not bound to the Law anymore,” or “The
Sabbath was changed from the seventh day to the first./eighth day.” That’s how many
believers learn about the things of YHWH, by asking other people instead of by asking
God through His Holy Spirit. I believe it’s something each of us needs to take to Him
ourselves. We know that the Sabbath was made for man, and we know that on certain
occasions He makes exceptions if necessary. Like if you are not near enough to
Jerusalem for Passover, or if you are unclean during one of the feasts of YHWH, you
can do it a different day. Maybe, if you take it to Him, He will make it about dedicating
a different 24-hour period of time to Him. I don’t know. What I do know is that you
need to follow as He leads you, not as I, or anyone else, lead you. That is the ‘pure
milk’ of His Word.
Don’t get me wrong; commentaries are good. The opinions and testimonies of other
believers are good. But they are not on which you should base your relationship with
the Father. Spending time with Jeff’s friends and his family did give me a certain
perspective of him. It gave me an interesting heads up to know that his curiosity was
such that led him to open a basement door at his aunt’s house and fall headlong down
the stairs. Speaking with those who knew him gave me some understanding of who he
was but if I would have left it at that, our relationship never could have developed over
these twenty-three years. My desire to know him more is what has led us to the place
we are today.
Psalm 37:4-6
4 Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
Many people focus on the fact that He gives you the desires of your heart, but don’t
see what precedes that. We must delight ourselves in the LORD Yahweh. That is the
key. Commit our way to Him and trust in Him and He will bring it to pass.
Isaiah 26:9 - With my soul I have desired You in the night, Yes, by my spirit within me I will
seek You early; For when Your judgments are in the earth, The inhabitants of the world will learn
righteousness.
Our soul should desire Him day and night. If we don’t, that should be a red flag.
Analyze yourself. What are the things that you desire? They should be obvious
because it should be the things that you do. Do you spend your time listening to
music, play video games, watching sports? Are you most concerned with what clothes
you wear, what car you drive, what your friends think about you? Or do you spend
your time seeking after the face of YHWH, gaining revelation through His Holy Spirit,
being concerned that He will tell you, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant’?
Mark 10:42-45
42 But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered
rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43
Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your
servant. 44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of
Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Yeshua shows us, by example, what we should desire. We should not be like the
world, only desiring for own selfish pleasures. We should desire the things God has
purposed for us because we trust Him completely that in those things we will find
fullness of joy. Serving Him with all we have and all we are and thus becoming as He
was; a Servant of all. Let us consider the things of God before the things of man. Let
us recognize that the desires that come from God are what will bring the things that
are true, eternal. Contrary to that which our flesh desires that will only bring us a
deceptive pleasure that is fleeting and only temporary. Will you follow after the desires
of the flesh or the desires of the spirit? The way you answer that question will make all
the difference.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: July 22, 2007
Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 2:1-17
1 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as
newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you
have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5
you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in
the Scripture,
“ Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame”
7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,
“ The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone,”
8 and
“ A stone of stumbling
And a rock of offense.”
They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that
you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but
now have obtained mercy.
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against
the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against
you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of
visitation.
13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the
king as supreme, 14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of
evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing
good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— 16 as free, yet not using liberty as a
cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. 17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God.
Honor the king.
By now we should all have a good idea as to the character of YHWH. We dug into
understanding His character for five weeks. Hopefully you all know His character
enough to trust Him and to understand that all His commands are as a heavenly
Parent that wants the best for His children. Last week we talked about what we all
bring to the altar every day; whether our sacrifice comes through obedience that leads
to righteousness or from disobedience that leads to destruction. Today we’re going to
be taking a look at what we each take from the altar daily.
The first verse in the passage is the place where all believers should begin their walk
with Yeshua. Laying aside the things of the world; malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and
other such negative things. Unfortunately, this is where too many stay. Them
attempting to ‘be good’ and nothing else is what their journey with Messiah becomes.
Although putting off the old man is indeed crucial, there is another step. We must put
on the new man. Yeshua gives us this warning.
Matthew 12:43-45
43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and
finds none. 44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes,
he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other
spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man
is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”
It is not only important to empty ourselves of the filth of the world; it is imperative that
we fill ourselves back up with the things of God. That is the key to this warning from
Messiah. When the unclean spirit came back to the man, the place was found empty
and not only did that spirit return but brought more with him making things even
worse. How many times do we see someone who confesses Yeshua, go off and do
things completely out of character and then stop walking with YHWH altogether? I’ve
seen it far too much. However, what we did not recognize was that although their
house was swept clean; it was still empty.
When we were renovating houses ten or twelve years ago, one of the worst things to
have was an empty house. There were times when we would put money into the
renovation of a property only to come back and find that thieves had broken in and
stolen supplies and new fixture we’d just had installed. Or vandals had come in to just
cause havoc by breaking windows or tagging walls. When you go on vacation and you
house is going to be empty for a while, they tell you to do things like put your lights on
a timer and have your newspaper and mail delivered stopped until you return so
thieves don’t recognize that your house is empty. I’ve heard of people getting a friend
or relative to stay at their house while they’re gone or even paying a fee to an agency
to put a responsible single person in the house until they return. Why? An empty
house is like a bull’s-eye for trouble. So, with what must we fill our spiritual house to
make sure it’s not empty?
John 15:4-8
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine,
neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for
without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and
is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you
abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for
you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
The first thing we must have in our swept clean house is Yeshua. He tells us here that
we are not going to be able to bear fruit and be His disciples unless we abide in Him
and His Word abide in us. The Word of God needs to reside in our spiritual house
daily; not once a week or once every few days for a few minutes. It has to dwell there.
Think back to the empty house. Is someone coming by for five minutes every two days
going to keep thieves and vandals away? Or do you need to have a physical
presence in the house? Things are the same spiritually. Not only should believers be
reading God’s Word everyday, but as they go through the day they should be
meditating on that word day and night.
Psalm 1:1-2
1 Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
That is the only presence that will protect your spiritual house. In verse two of our
scripture reading, Peter writes that we are to be like newborn babes and desire the
pure milk of the Word. It can’t be something we are made to do or that we feel obliged
to do. It must be our desire to do. We should want to know Him completely. When I
first met my husband Jeff, I wanted to be with him all the time. When we weren’t able to
be together we talked on the phone as much as possible. No one had to make me
spend time with him. I didn’t feel an obligation to get to know him better. I wanted to.
That’s the way it should be with us toward God. No one should have to make you
spend time with Him. There shouldn’t be an obligation to know Him better. As Peter
says, we should desire the pure milk of the Word.
What does he mean by the pure milk of the Word? Well, we’ve studied recently the
account in Exodus 20 where the Israelites chose not to hear from YHWH Himself but to
rather hear through Moses. I believe this secondhand knowledge of God is what kept
them from being able to walk in the fullness of God. When I wanted to learn more
about Jeff I didn’t call his friends and spend hours on the phone with them so I could
find out about him. I went directly to the source, Jeff. In the same way, we should go
directly to the Source for the pure milk of the Word, to God through His Holy Spirit.
John 14:26 - But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will
teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
I Corinthians 2:13 - These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches
but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
The Word of God is our food and the Holy Spirit of God is our Teacher. So, why do so
many believers not listen to the Spirit but rather listen to the teachings of men? What
do I mean by that? Well, I can remember when I first started reading God’s Word on
my own, He gave me a certain understanding of the things I was reading. Then as I
began to fellowship and there were certain things that I began to question. Let me
give you an example. In reading the Ten Commandments as a new believer, you
come to one in particular and say, “Why don’t we do that one?” Then someone more
learned than you says something like, “We’re not bound to the Law anymore,” or “The
Sabbath was changed from the seventh day to the first./eighth day.” That’s how many
believers learn about the things of YHWH, by asking other people instead of by asking
God through His Holy Spirit. I believe it’s something each of us needs to take to Him
ourselves. We know that the Sabbath was made for man, and we know that on certain
occasions He makes exceptions if necessary. Like if you are not near enough to
Jerusalem for Passover, or if you are unclean during one of the feasts of YHWH, you
can do it a different day. Maybe, if you take it to Him, He will make it about dedicating
a different 24-hour period of time to Him. I don’t know. What I do know is that you
need to follow as He leads you, not as I, or anyone else, lead you. That is the ‘pure
milk’ of His Word.
Don’t get me wrong; commentaries are good. The opinions and testimonies of other
believers are good. But they are not on which you should base your relationship with
the Father. Spending time with Jeff’s friends and his family did give me a certain
perspective of him. It gave me an interesting heads up to know that his curiosity was
such that led him to open a basement door at his aunt’s house and fall headlong down
the stairs. Speaking with those who knew him gave me some understanding of who he
was but if I would have left it at that, our relationship never could have developed over
these twenty-three years. My desire to know him more is what has led us to the place
we are today.
Psalm 37:4-6
4 Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
Many people focus on the fact that He gives you the desires of your heart, but don’t
see what precedes that. We must delight ourselves in the LORD Yahweh. That is the
key. Commit our way to Him and trust in Him and He will bring it to pass.
Isaiah 26:9 - With my soul I have desired You in the night, Yes, by my spirit within me I will
seek You early; For when Your judgments are in the earth, The inhabitants of the world will learn
righteousness.
Our soul should desire Him day and night. If we don’t, that should be a red flag.
Analyze yourself. What are the things that you desire? They should be obvious
because it should be the things that you do. Do you spend your time listening to
music, play video games, watching sports? Are you most concerned with what clothes
you wear, what car you drive, what your friends think about you? Or do you spend
your time seeking after the face of YHWH, gaining revelation through His Holy Spirit,
being concerned that He will tell you, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant’?
Mark 10:42-45
42 But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered
rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43
Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your
servant. 44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of
Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Yeshua shows us, by example, what we should desire. We should not be like the
world, only desiring for own selfish pleasures. We should desire the things God has
purposed for us because we trust Him completely that in those things we will find
fullness of joy. Serving Him with all we have and all we are and thus becoming as He
was; a Servant of all. Let us consider the things of God before the things of man. Let
us recognize that the desires that come from God are what will bring the things that
are true, eternal. Contrary to that which our flesh desires that will only bring us a
deceptive pleasure that is fleeting and only temporary. Will you follow after the desires
of the flesh or the desires of the spirit? The way you answer that question will make all
the difference.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: July 22, 2007
