Growing Up

God desires that we would grow to maturity. He wants to transform us from being little children to being fully mature. How does He do that? Open with me to First John, chapter 2, as we consider the Scriptures together.

Amen. Good morning! There is good news in that song. While you are standing, would you take out your Bibles this morning? If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. We are going to be in the New Testament book of First John. It's right near the end of your Bible, so open to the very last book, the book of Revelation. Just turn a tiny bit to the left, and you'll find First, Second, and Third John.

As you are turning there, I want to thank those of you who wore Hawaiian shirts on this beautiful early summer day. The weather out there is wonderful, so welcome to sunny Southern California! Paying that sun tax is paying dividends, absolutely.

Also, as you are turning there, tomorrow is Memorial Day. I think it's appropriate for us to remind ourselves how grateful we are for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice so that we could worship together in freedom. The religious freedom that we have and the liberties we enjoy as a nation have come on the backs of those who have fought for our freedom. So, we are grateful. Amen! Praise the Lord! We will be praying and thinking about that, but I encourage you to take some time to consider that over the next couple of days.

Now, in First John, chapter 2, we will pick it up at verse 12. There, John says, "I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for His name's sake. I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one."

Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

The Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. The world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Father, we are grateful for that truth that we have in You—the opportunity, the ability to abide forever, to live forever. But, Lord, that concept of doing Your will is important. We pray that You would work in us so that we would be those who are walking in Your will on a daily basis.

Lord, we are grateful as we stand here today for the freedom that we have to worship, the freedom that we have to study Your Word together, and to live out our faith on a daily basis. We are thankful for those who gave their lives so that we could have this freedom.

In thinking about that, there is a liberty that goes beyond religious liberty, beyond political liberty, and beyond the liberties that we experience in this life. It is a liberty that is from sin, death, and judgment—a freedom that we have because of Your sacrifice for us. So, Lord, we rejoice in that today. I pray, God, that You would continue Your transforming work in us as we look to Your Word now, for we ask this in Jesus' name. And all those that agreed said, "Amen." You may be seated.

I don't think that there is any experience more life-changing than standing in the delivery room when your children are born. It is an absolutely amazing experience. I've experienced it four times, and each time it didn't lose any of that life-changing quality. Each time, it was an awesome and amazing, mind-blowing reality to see this life come into the world.

However, I have to acknowledge—though I’m sure someone will be upset with me for doing so—that the whole process through the pregnancy, up until that point of birth with our four children, has a part of me that feels differently. Maybe it's just a guy thing; I don't know. Maybe it's just a Myles thing.

I have no idea, but I felt somewhat disconnected from this life that was going to come. Of course, that's not the case for my lovely wife, who carried each of our four children. From the earliest points of the pregnancy, when she realized she was pregnant, she was instantly connected and in love with these children.

In our culture, we choose names early in pregnancies, and we're so excited about the coming of this child. We have baby showers and prepare nurseries; we do all sorts of things. However, there was a part of me that felt a little disconnected from the whole experience. She felt all the growing of the child, the movements, and everything that comes with it. It just seemed somewhat, for lack of a better term, alien to me.

Especially with our first, before Ethan was born, there were a couple of times during the pregnancy when I privately wondered at what point that connection and love would come. Would it come? There was a little part of me that was concerned. But then, when Ethan was born, and later Addison, Evangeline, and Elliot, it was like a flood of realization. Almost within a second of them being born, there was that love, that amazing reality of a life that was not right in front of me a minute before. Now, there it was, and there was that instant connection.

Maybe you’ve had this thought; I had this thought as I looked at this mostly beautiful little child. How could I ever be impatient, upset, or angry with this beautiful little child? I had this thought that went through my mind, but I don’t continue to have that thought now. Why do I? Do I love them any less? No, I love them, I think, even more now. But I realize I’m not a perfect person, and they are not perfect either.

You quickly realize that there are people in our culture who believe that human beings are born innately good. I don’t believe that; I don’t agree with that. If you think that’s the case, I would highly recommend that you grow up, get married, and have kids. Then you’ll realize that’s not the case. There is a desire that every...

As you look at these wonderful lives that God gives us the grace to bring into this world, every parent wants their kids to grow up and mature into responsible adults. Ultimately, that is the hope and the joy. My oldest child is 10, so we are not there yet, but that is the desire. As you watch these children develop, you want them to grow up and become mature.

In First John, we see this desire reflected in the heart of John, who was a spiritual father and pastor. What does he, as a spiritual father and pastor, desire? He desires that people would grow to maturity. This is very clearly seen in a couple of books from here, particularly in Third John. If you turn to the right just a little bit, you will get to Third John.

Third John was also written by John, and in verse 2, he writes, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health just as your soul prospers." He continues, "For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth." Look at this verse: "For I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth."

John, the spiritual father, expresses that he has no greater joy than to hear that his children walk in the truth. I remember when I was about sixteen years old and attended my first Christian youth camp. On the Monday morning of that camp, an older gentleman in a Hawaiian shirt, slightly overweight with a bald head, got up to speak. For the next three hour-long sessions, he preached to a group of about 400 high schoolers, and all of us were completely captivated by him. His name was Pastor Chuck Smith, and he is no longer with us.

I had never heard him preach before and did not know who he was, but by the end of the day, I and several others wanted his autograph. He autographed my Bible, although it is not the one I have here; in fact, I no longer have it, and I wish I did. At the end of the day, he wrote a very scraggly signature in the back of my Bible and underneath, he wrote these words: Third John 4. I didn’t know what that was, so I went and looked it up in this passage.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth. There is so much truth in that for parents. For parents of actual biological children, your desire is that your children would grow up, mature, and walk in the truth. The desire of a pastor, like John or myself, is that people within the church would grow up and walk in the truth. It is a simple truth.

Point number one: the desire of every parent is the maturity of their children, and it is the desire of every pastor for the maturity of their church. John, in this passage, expresses that desire. It is a very lyrical passage, and he addresses three groups of people, mentioning each of them twice. The three groups are little children, fathers, and young men. In these statements to these three groups, John seems to focus on the desire for maturity—not physical growth, but spiritual growth and development.

His point centers on the maturity of those who have been born again as followers of Jesus. John writes this because he is concerned that their growth is being stunted. This stunting is caused by the very thing that can hinder spiritual progress and growth faster and more completely than anything else: false teaching. False teaching will ruin your spiritual growth more effectively than anything else.

This is why, incidentally, it is so important that as you receive instruction from me, or perhaps from someone on the radio or television, you understand that we are constantly bombarded with different philosophies, ideas, and worldviews. Whether you are watching the news or even sports, you will encounter commentary that includes philosophical statements from various people. When we receive this information—whether from a preacher or a news editorialist—we need to be diligent in going back and trying to weed through it.

What we've received to see is true in the book of Acts. There was a church planted in a city called Berea by the Apostle Paul. The author of the book of Acts, Luke, notes that the people of the city of Berea, who heard the word preached by Paul, were more noble than those of Thessalonica. They would hear what Paul preached and then search the Scriptures daily to see if those things were so.

I think that is so important. We need to be those who really consider and do the work of discerning whether or not the things we are receiving are true. Whatever you hear from this pulpit, pub table, or any other source, you should search the Scriptures to see if those things are so. False teaching will stunt and ruin your spiritual progress faster and more completely than anything else. Therefore, it is necessary and important that we test the things we are being taught.

Now, be that as it may, John is desiring the growth unto maturity of those who were part of the churches he was associated with in his day. He writes in 1 John 2:12, "I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for His name's sake." He addresses first those at the earliest stage of their spiritual progress—little children.

The word he uses actually has two different meanings. In verse 12, he uses a word that specifically refers to an infant or a newborn. He says, "I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven." Then, he addresses little children again in verses 13 and 14, but here he uses a different word that refers to someone who is moving from the stage of being a child to becoming a teenager, or more of an adult in that context.

The shift in words shows progress. He is speaking to those who are little children, and I think the metaphor of little children is appropriate. The concept of being little infants or newborns is fitting because it reflects the experience of every person who becomes a Christian and a follower of God.

Another metaphor used in the New Testament describes the experience of becoming a follower of Jesus, or a disciple, as being "born again." This birth experience signifies that the person is now a newborn. Just as we are born physically and become little children, there comes a point when we become followers of Jesus and are born again.

This concept originates from Jesus's conversation with a very religious man named Nicodemus, as recorded in John chapter 3. Nicodemus, a member of the Pharisees—a prominent religious sect of Judaism in Jesus's day—came to Jesus by night. He acknowledged Jesus as a rabbi and stated, "We know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one could do the works that you do unless God is with him."

However, Jesus interrupted him mid-sentence, saying, "Unless one is born again, they cannot see the kingdom of God." This statement left Nicodemus momentarily bewildered. He could not comprehend how to interpret it. Jesus was speaking metaphorically, but Nicodemus could only think of it literally. He envisioned the absurdity of entering his mother's womb a second time and being born again. Confused, he asked Jesus, "What does this mean?"

In response, Jesus clarified, "Unless one is born of the Spirit, they cannot see the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I say to you, 'You must be born again.'" To further explain, Jesus used another metaphor, saying, "It's like the wind. The wind blows; you cannot see where it is coming from or where it is going, but you can see the effects of the wind. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Jesus was indicating that a spiritual birth occurs in a person when they trust in Christ and are transformed. This born-again experience makes them a newborn, a little child in the faith. Just as every one of us who was born physically enters this life in that way, we also enter into spiritual life through the born-again process.

Justin, in the same way that it was an act of love on the part of your mother and your father that brought you into this world, it is the loving actions of our Father that brings us into this experience of being born again.

You can find this in First John. Look at First John, chapter 3, verse 1: "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God." Some of you may have a little song in your head right now: "Beloved, let us love one another." If you don't know that song, you need to go sign up for children's ministry immediately after the service.

Beloved, behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called the children of God. We become the children of God by the loving actions of our Father, in the same way that you became a child to your parents by the loving actions of your parents.

Now, what is the loving action of our Father that makes it possible for us to become the children of God? We go back to that conversation where Jesus uses the metaphor of being born again in John, chapter 3. As Jesus talks with Nicodemus in John, chapter 3, we come to verse 16, the most famous verse of the Bible and the most translated verse in the Bible. There we read, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life."

What is the loving action of our Father that made it possible for us to be the children of God? He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, on our behalf, there on the cross. This is what the Scriptures talk about in First John, chapter 2, verse 2, where it says that He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.

That word "propitiation" means atoning sacrifice, a sacrifice that deals with the stain of sin. Jesus is that sacrifice. Why did He do what He did on the cross? God the Father loved the world so much that He gave His Son, and Jesus demonstrates God's love towards us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

So, point number two: the born-again child of God is altogether righteous by the forgiveness of Christ. This is what John teaches us.

Speaks about the little children here in 1 John, chapter 2, verse 12: "I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven." Notice it doesn't say, "because your sins might be forgiven" or "maybe they could be forgiven." It's not a potentiality; it's not a subjunctive. Here, it's a statement of fact.

From the earliest point of your faith, when you trust in Jesus and receive Him, the Gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 12, says that as many as received Jesus, He gave them the right to become the children of God, to those who believe in His name. To receive Jesus is to trust in Jesus, and when you trust in Jesus, you're given the right by God the Father to be a child of God. You are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Immediately, when you receive Christ Jesus by trusting in His name, you receive all the benefits of being a child of God. One of the greatest benefits is that you are completely forgiven. The born-again child of God is altogether righteous by the forgiveness of Christ.

In this is the love of God. Again, in 1 John, look at chapter 4, verse 9: "In this, the love of God was manifested." Manifested means made clear or revealed. "In this, the love of God was manifested towards us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him."

And in this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. We have justifying forgiveness and saving grace only through Jesus Christ. Immediately, when you trust in Him, from the earliest stage of life as a Christian, when you have been born again, in that moment, in that instant, you have all the forgiveness of God. This comes in and through Jesus Christ and by His name.

In Acts, chapter 4, verse 12, it says, "There is salvation in no other name, for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby they must be saved." Now, for some people, this seems to be narrow and exclusive. In American culture in the 21st century, perhaps the worst possible offense would be for you to be narrow.

The Scriptures say there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby they must be saved. There is salvation only in Jesus Christ. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me." For some people, they have a real hard time with this because they say it sounds incredibly narrow and very exclusive. While it might appear to be that way, this is also very liberating and joy-producing.

Why? Because you can know for certain that you have total forgiveness. All the things that you have ever thought, said, or done that have been against the character and nature of God are completely wiped clean immediately when you trust in Jesus. That is glorious good news and wonderfully joy-producing. It sets you in a position where you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are completely pardoned and totally forgiven. You don't have to ever wonder about that. You don't have to be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, wondering, "Am I right with God?" Because you're right.

Your standing with God is based upon the finished work of Jesus on the cross when He said, "It is finished." When you receive Christ Jesus by faith, you receive the fullness of forgiveness, and there is nothing more that needs to be done to deal with your sin—past, present, and future. However, as the children of God, His desire is that we would grow in maturity.

I believe John is saying this when he shifts here and states in 1 John 2:13, at the beginning of the verse, and also in verse 14, "I write to you, fathers." There is a distinct difference between little children and fathers. When you immediately put your trust in Christ, you are born again by the Spirit of God, and you are completely forgiven. But God wants to take us from being little children to being fathers.

So, I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. He says the exact same words again in verse 14: "I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning." What is John saying here? This brings us to point number three.

The fully mature and faithful are known for their knowledge of God. When I speak here of the knowledge of God, I'm talking about a relational knowledge. That's exactly what John is describing in the words that he uses. He chooses his words on purpose, I believe, because when he says, "You have known him who is from the beginning," the word "known" is the Greek word "ginosko," and it speaks of a relational knowledge. Jesus uses this word in passages like John 17:3, where he says, "This is eternal life, that you might know him, be in a relationship with him, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent."

God desires that we would know Him, and the fully mature and faithful are known for their knowledge of God or by their knowledge of God. This is seen in Acts chapter 4. The author of this book, John, almost 60 years before he wrote this letter, recounts an event where he and his friend Peter went up to the Temple in Jerusalem one day at the hour of prayer. As they were coming into the temple, there was a man outside the temple gate begging for money. He was lame.

Peter looked at him and said, "Listen, silver and gold I don't have, but what I do have, I'll give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk." Taking him by the hand, he lifted him up, and the man was healed. He went into the temple, walking, leaping, and praising God. This caused a stir, and many people gathered around John and Peter, along with the man who was healed. They had seen this man lame by the door before and wanted to know how this happened.

Peter and John began to explain that this man was healed by the name of Jesus Christ. However, the religious leaders did not like this, so they pulled Peter and John before the council and forbade them from preaching in the name of Jesus any longer. Acts chapter 4, around verse 13, tells us that the religious leaders, the educated religious leaders of Jerusalem, noted something about Peter and John. They observed that they were unlearned and untrained, uneducated men; they were ignorant men. They recognized that these were just backwater Galilean fishermen, but they could tell that they had been with Jesus. They could see in the way that these men lived, spoke, and acted that, though they were uneducated, they had a profound knowledge of God.

Unlearned, they had been with Jesus. One of the identifying marks of maturity is that it becomes clear to people. They say, "That person knows God." How do you know that they know God? Because I can see in the way that they live.

These individuals, Peter and John, in that passage in Acts 4, had a reputation that they had been with Jesus. Something about the way that they lived and talked made it evident. In another passage of Scripture, one of the other apostles would say in 1 Corinthians 11:1, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ." My life has become imitatable because I am one who has been with God, and you could tell with Paul that he knew God.

By God's grace, the moment that you trust in Jesus, you are completely forgiven—justified, as we apply the term theologically—immediately at that born-again experience. However, God's desire is that we would become fully mature in Christ to the point that it would be evident to other people that we know God.

Now, how does that happen? How does one move from being a newborn, born-again little child to being one who could say, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ"? This is God's desire—that we get to that point. How do we make that move?

Well, John says here in 1 John 2:13, the last part of the verse, and the last part of verse 14: "I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one." I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one. What a great statement! Young men, you have overcome the wicked one.

How do we overcome the wicked one? By being strong and having the Word of God abide in you. Now, some here today could be classified as a newborn in Christ. You recently put your faith in Jesus, received Him by trusting in Him, and you were made a child of God. You are a little child, and I don't think any of us here today, myself included, would say, "I am fully mature in Christ." I would like to get there. I believe I’m...

Moving in that direction, there are those who are newborns in the faith, and none of us would probably say we are fully mature and totally faithful in Jesus Christ. This means that the rest of us are in a stage that he classifies as young men and young women in the faith.

What is happening in the lives of these individuals? How do we move toward maturity? How do we become victorious overcomers against the wicked one? When we talk about the wicked one, two things come to mind. The first is the wicked one that you may have encountered if you've read through the Bible—the one we call the devil, the enemy, our adversary, Satan. There is a spiritual enemy, and we are in a very real spiritual battle. Paul discusses this in Ephesians 6 and 1 Corinthians 10, among other places throughout Scripture.

However, there is another wicked one that we wrestle with daily. Sometimes, the longer we walk with the Lord, the more difficult that battle seems compared to the battle against the spiritual hosts of wickedness, as Paul calls them. So, how do we become overcomers against the wicked one—the enemy, our adversary, the devil, and the wicked one that is ourselves?

Point number four: You will grow strong and victorious as the Word of God abides in you. We see this in 1 John 2:13-14, where it states, "I have written to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one." How? "You are strong, and the Word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one."

You will grow strong and victorious as the Word of God abides in you. This is the clear teaching of Scripture, evident in many different passages. The Scriptures make it very clear that the Word of God—purposefully capitalized here—is not only the Scriptures but also Christ Jesus. John 1:1-4 states that the Word of God was God, is God, and became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus is the Word of God. As He abides in us, we become strong and victorious through Him working in us.

The Word of God, simply the Scriptures, has transformative power when we put God's Word into us. The Scriptures make this clear in places like Joshua 1, where the children of Israel are just getting ready to come.

Into the promised land that had been promised to their forefathers hundreds of years before, the Israelites now stand at the border of the promised land. They are getting ready to come in, and Joshua is going to lead them into battle. Hopefully, they will be victorious over their practical, physical, tangible enemies. How does God tell them to prepare for this?

In Joshua chapter 1, verse 8, it states, "This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and you will have good success." How are they going to defeat a very tangible foe in that time? By the Word of God, taking heed to all that is written in there. I believe that this serves as a beautiful allegory for the Christian life as well.

How do we become victorious and enter into the victorious Christian life and the promised joy that God has for us? By taking heed to the Word of God. The psalmist speaks about this in the longest Psalm of Scripture, Psalm 119. In verse 9, it says, "How shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to the word." Two verses later, in verse 11, it states, "Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you." This is the clear teaching of the Scriptures: when God's Word abides in us, we grow strong and victorious.

But it's not only the teaching of the Scriptures; it's also the example of Jesus. In Matthew chapter 4, we have the temptation of Christ. When the enemy came against Him three times, it is recorded in chapter 4, verses 4, 7, and 10, that Jesus defeated the enemy by saying, "It is written." He uses the Word of God and is victorious and strong.

If you want to grow from being a newborn little child to being one who can say, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ," then I think that Paul's exhortation to the Colossians is important. In Colossians 3:16, Paul says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." His Word, by the enabling power of His Holy Spirit, works in us.

God enables us to be victorious in the imperatives, the commands that He gives us in Scripture. In the next verses of 1 John chapter 4, beginning at verse 15, we have an exhortation, a command, and an imperative. I believe the context is important. If you look at this quickly, in 1 John chapter 4, verse 2, we will see that next time, when we get together, we will be in verse 18. Notice that the words in verse 18 begin with "little children." He is addressing the little children, and that is the context for verses 15, 16, and 17.

The message is clear: listen, little children. For you to become young men and young women moving towards maturity in Christ, what should we do? Look at verse 15: "Do not love the world." That is a command. "Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. The world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever."

Point number five: we will finish with this. God's abiding word fundamentally transforms our affections. This is essentially important. Before you are a newborn little child of God, before you are a Christian, your affections, your desires— we could use the word "lust" because he uses the word "lusts"—your overwhelming desires are for the things of this world: the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. You think, "It's going to taste good, it's going to feel good, it's going to make me more powerful, more wise, more whatever."

Your affections, before you are a Christian, are for those things. Religion comes in and says you have to die to all that, whether it’s Buddhism, Islam, or any other world religion. They come in and say you have all these things, and you have to stop that. "Don't look at it, don't touch it, don't think about it," and so on. Some of you have lived under that for a long time. You tried really hard, and it was difficult; it wasn't very joy-producing. Religion tells you to just come on, straighten up, and stop doing those things, but your affections are still for the world.

The lusts of the flesh in this world are powerful. However, when you become a little child in God, His Word begins to come into your heart and mind. As God's Word abides in us and remains in us, it fundamentally transforms our affections. Suddenly, our desires shift, and those things we once wanted, we no longer desire. It is an awesome and amazing thing that begins to happen.

You may say, "I want to do good things; I no longer want to do bad things," but you might find yourself in that place described in Romans 7, where Paul says, "The good things I want to do, I don't do, and the bad things I don't want to do, that I practice." He exclaims, "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?" I have good news for you: Jesus delivers us by His power, freeing us as we are being sanctified. This whole progression from being a little child to becoming fully mature is sanctification—God working in us.

He works fundamentally in us to transform our affections. Our desires change, and that is where it must begin. The desire begins to shift, and it is a wonderful thing that God is working. Someone may ask, "How does that happen?" I have no idea; it is a work of God's grace by His Spirit, but it happens. I have seen it happen in my own life and in the lives of others.

I will never forget a couple who came to see me about ten or eleven years ago. There was infidelity in their relationship, and their marriage was falling apart. They were not followers of Jesus yet. They came in on a Wednesday night, sat down with me, and shared everything that was going on. I said, "This sounds really bad. Let me share something with you." I began to share the gospel with them, and by the end of our twenty-minute meeting, both of them prayed to receive Christ.

They asked, "What should we do now?" I replied, "I want to meet with you next week. I want you to go home and read this book. I want you to read Ephesians, six chapters—one chapter a day. Then come back, and we'll talk." The next week, they returned and sat down with me. They said, "You know what? We were reading through this, and it says right here in Ephesians chapter 5, 'Do not be drunk with wine.' We do that a lot, and we were thinking maybe we shouldn't." I said, "That's probably a good idea."

How does that happen? It is a fundamental transformation of the affections of a person—how the Spirit of God works in us as we delight.

When we commit ourselves to the Lord, He will give us new desires in our hearts. We are instructed to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, as stated in Philippians 2:12. For it is God who works in you to desire and to do His good pleasure, as mentioned in Philippians 2:13.

John encourages us to move from being little children, while Paul warns us not to be tossed to and fro like children. The goal is to transition from being immature to becoming fully mature and overcoming the wicked one who is in this world and within us. How do we achieve this? By becoming strong as the Word of God abides in us.

This is a very simple exhortation, and I guarantee that if you take heed to it, according to the promise of Scripture, you will see a fundamental transformation of your affections in your life. Commit to becoming a daily reader of God's Word. Every single morning, make it a priority to consume the Word of God and hide it in your heart and mind through memorization.

Some of you may object, saying you have a really bad memory. However, you can quote verbatim movies you watched 20 years ago, and you still have songs from 1972 looping in your mind. So, I don't believe you when you say you can't memorize things.

You might ask, "Why should I memorize it?" The answer is so that you can remember it and meditate upon it. Think on these things, and they will transform you by the renewing of your mind, allowing you not to be conformed to this world but to walk in God's will, as stated in Romans 12:1-2.

It's as simple as that: beginning to become a consumer of God's Word will lead to transformation. This has happened for thousands of years, and many people can bear witness to this in their lives. If you want to see strength and victory in your life, begin to faithfully feed upon the Word of God.

The psalmist expresses this beautifully in Psalm 1:1. You could turn there; it might be a good place to go. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked.

Counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. That person's going to be blessed. Blessed means, "Oh, how happy!" Filled to overflowing. Blessed is the person who doesn't walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of the scornful.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law, he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so; they are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore, the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Meditate in His word day and night, and you shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season. That's good news!

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? Lord Jesus, we need Your enabling power to walk in a way that is honoring and pleasing to You, and also most satisfying and joy-producing for us. So, God, I pray that You would work in us by Your Spirit. I pray that one of the things You'd work in us today and this week would be a desire for Your word.

Lord, stir up in us a hunger for Your word in such a way that we find we need it in the same way that we need the food we eat on a daily basis. God, develop that insatiable hunger and desire in us, knowing that as we have Your word abiding in us, it will transform us at a fundamental level. God, do that work.

Maybe as we're standing here this morning, you've never received Jesus by trusting in Him. You're not even a little child yet, born again by the Spirit, but you would like to receive the grace of Christ today, His forgiveness, so that you would know absolutely 100% that your sins are dealt with. If you'd like to receive His grace...

Today, would you just lift up your hand high so I can see it? Is anyone here who would say that? May God bless you; I see you. Anyone else? Lift it up high right here in the middle. I see you; God bless you.

The Bible says, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved." I see your hand over here on the right as well. God bless you.

I want to lead you in a prayer of faith and commitment today. Prayer is simply talking to God, and He hears, He listens, and He answers. So, if that's you and you say, "I would like to receive that grace of God," would you just, where you're at, pray with me out loud?

Dear Jesus, I know I need You. I've tried to deal with my own sin, and I can't fix myself. I pray that You would come into my life, that You would forgive me by Your grace, that You would help me to follow You by faith and to honor You with my life. In Jesus' name, praise the Lord!

God is doing a great work in our midst. Let's sing praise to the Lord!