Awakening Spiritual Ears: Embracing the Milk of the Word

Devotional

Day 1: Spiritual Attentiveness: A Heart Open to God's Word

Spiritual dullness is a condition where the word of God fails to penetrate the heart, leading to a lack of faith and spiritual fruit. This condition is not about physical hearing but a spiritual inattentiveness that prevents the word from taking root. It is crucial to pray for ears that truly hear and hearts that are receptive to God's truth. The author of Hebrews warns against this dullness, urging believers to be diligent and attentive to the word, allowing it to transform their hearts and minds. By cultivating a heart that is open and responsive to God's truth, believers can overcome spiritual dullness and experience a vibrant faith. [02:46]

Hebrews 3:12-13 (ESV): "Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,' that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."

Reflection: In what areas of your life have you noticed spiritual inattentiveness? How can you intentionally create space today to listen and respond to God's word?

Day 2: The Nourishing Power of the Gospel's Milk

The "milk" of the word, or the foundational truths of the gospel, is essential for spiritual growth. It is not inadequate; rather, it is the means by which believers mature. The problem arises when believers do not engage with the milk, leading to spiritual stagnation. Engaging with the milk involves a deep, baby-like thirst for the word, where believers earnestly desire and savor it, allowing it to shape their discernment between good and evil. This engagement is crucial for nurturing a faith that is both intellectually and spiritually mature. [13:54]

1 Peter 2:2-3 (ESV): "Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good."

Reflection: How can you cultivate a deeper hunger for the foundational truths of the gospel in your daily life? What practical steps can you take to engage more fully with God's word today?

Day 3: True Maturity: Moral and Spiritual Fitness

Spiritual maturity is not primarily about intellectual understanding but about moral and spiritual fitness. This fitness comes from a heart transformed by the word, enabling believers to discern between good and evil. The sermon challenges the notion that spiritual maturity is primarily about intellectual understanding, highlighting instead the moral and spiritual fitness that comes from a heart transformed by the word. It calls for a proactive, vigorous pursuit of God's truth, urging believers to be like infants in their hunger for the word, ensuring that their spiritual senses are trained to discern rightly. [15:29]

James 1:22-25 (ESV): "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."

Reflection: In what ways can you actively pursue moral and spiritual fitness today? How can you ensure that your understanding of God's word translates into action?

Day 4: A Baby-like Thirst for God's Word

Believers are called to engage with the word with a baby-like thirst, earnestly desiring and savoring it. This engagement allows the word to seep into the heart, transforming and shaping it to be more like Christ. The remedy for dullness is not to leap from milk to meat but to fully engage with the milk, allowing it to nurture and transform us. This involves a deep, baby-like thirst for the word, where we earnestly desire and savor it, allowing it to shape our discernment between good and evil. [21:33]

Psalm 119:103-105 (ESV): "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

Reflection: How can you develop a deeper thirst for God's word in your life? What specific practices can you incorporate into your daily routine to savor and engage with Scripture more fully?

Day 5: Discernment Through Transformation

Discernment is a natural outcome of a heart deeply engaged with the word. As believers feed on the milk of God's promises, their spiritual senses are transformed, enabling them to discern between good and evil and make wise decisions. This transformation is not merely intellectual but deeply moral and spiritual, requiring a heart that is open and responsive to God's truth. By engaging with the word, believers can develop the discernment needed to navigate the complexities of life with wisdom and grace. [24:54]

Philippians 1:9-11 (ESV): "And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God."

Reflection: In what areas of your life do you need greater discernment? How can you allow God's word to transform your heart and mind to make wise decisions today?

Sermon Summary

In this sermon, the focus is on the spiritual condition of "dullness of hearing" as described in Hebrews 5:11-14. This condition is not about physical deafness but a spiritual inattentiveness that prevents the word of God from taking root in our hearts. The author of Hebrews warns against this dullness, urging believers to be diligent and attentive to the word, allowing it to transform their hearts and minds. The sermon emphasizes the importance of engaging with the "milk" of the word, which is the foundational truths of the gospel, to grow into maturity. This growth is not merely intellectual but deeply moral and spiritual, requiring a heart that is open and responsive to God's truth.

The remedy for dullness is not to leap from milk to meat but to fully engage with the milk, allowing it to nurture and transform us. This involves a deep, baby-like thirst for the word, where we earnestly desire and savor it, allowing it to shape our discernment between good and evil. The sermon challenges the notion that spiritual maturity is primarily about intellectual understanding, highlighting instead the moral and spiritual fitness that comes from a heart transformed by the word. It calls for a proactive, vigorous pursuit of God's truth, urging believers to be like infants in their hunger for the word, ensuring that their spiritual senses are trained to discern rightly.

Key Takeaways

1. like thirst, earnestly desiring and savoring it. This engagement allows the word to seep into the heart, transforming and shaping it to be more like Christ. [21:33]
5. Discernment: Discernment is a natural outcome of a heart deeply engaged with the word. As believers feed on the milk of God's promises, their spiritual senses are transformed, enabling them to discern between good and evil and make wise decisions.

** [21:33]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:15] - The Milk of the Word
[00:36] - Relationship with the Word
[01:11] - Unnamed Disease
[02:08] - Dullness of Hearing
[03:20] - Opposite of Dullness
[04:19] - Assurance of Hope
[05:51] - Spiritual Deafness
[07:25] - Hardness of Heart
[09:14] - Dullness in Everyday Life
[10:24] - Remedy for Dullness
[11:22] - Solid Food for the Mature
[13:35] - Engaging with Milk
[15:29] - Moral and Spiritual Fitness
[18:02] - Steps Toward Maturity
[21:33] - Baby-like Thirst for the Word
[24:54] - Discernment and Transformation

Bible Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:

Hebrews 5:11-14
1 Peter 2:2
Hebrews 4:2

---

Observation Questions:

What does the author of Hebrews identify as the "disease" affecting the believers, and how is it described in the sermon? [02:25]
According to the sermon, what is the role of "milk" in the spiritual growth of a believer? [13:54]
How does the sermon describe the opposite of "dullness of hearing"? What characteristics are associated with this opposite state? [03:38]
What analogy does the pastor use to describe the inattentiveness to God's word, and how does it relate to the concept of "dullness of hearing"? [09:14]

---

Interpretation Questions:

How does the sermon interpret the relationship between spiritual maturity and the "milk" of the word? Why is it important not to skip this foundational stage? [12:22]
In what ways does the sermon suggest that spiritual maturity is more about moral and spiritual fitness than intellectual understanding? [15:29]
How does the sermon explain the process by which believers can develop discernment between good and evil? What role does the "milk" of the word play in this process? [14:34]
What does the sermon imply about the connection between spiritual dullness and the lack of faith and patience? How does this affect a believer's ability to inherit God's promises? [05:15]

---

Application Questions:

Reflect on your current engagement with the "milk" of the word. Are there foundational truths of the gospel that you need to revisit and savor more deeply? How can you make this a regular practice? [13:54]
The sermon emphasizes a "baby-like thirst" for the word. How can you cultivate a deeper hunger for God's word in your daily life? What practical steps can you take to prioritize this? [21:33]
Consider areas in your life where you might be experiencing "dullness of hearing." What specific actions can you take to become more attentive and responsive to God's truth? [02:46]
The sermon suggests that discernment is a natural outcome of engaging deeply with the word. How can you practice discernment in your daily decisions? Identify a recent decision where discernment was needed and reflect on how you handled it. [24:54]
How can you ensure that your spiritual growth is not just intellectual but also moral and spiritual? What changes might you need to make in your heart and actions to align more closely with God's truth? [15:29]
The sermon warns against spiritual stagnation. Are there areas in your spiritual life where you feel stagnant? What steps can you take to reignite your spiritual growth and engagement with God's word? [13:54]
Reflect on a time when you felt spiritually "dull" or inattentive. What factors contributed to this state, and how did you overcome it? How can you apply these lessons to prevent future spiritual dullness? [09:14]

Sermon Clips

The problem is what are they doing with the milk of the word, the milk of the kindness of God? Taste and see that the Lord is good. First Peter 2 says in dealing with this issue of milk, like newborn babes desire the sincere spiritual milk of the word that you may buy it grow up into salvation. [00:00:06]

Dullness is a condition of heart that when it hears the word is so inattentive or unresponsive or undesir that a message of Hope doesn't produce Assurance of Hope and Faith is not born and no patience is born. There's a kind of terrible deafness to the word at the spiritual level. [00:05:24]

The disease is not physical. Deaf people are some of the best hearers of the word of God. Blind people are some of the best seers of the light of God. This is not a physical problem. It is a failure to have the heart embrace, receive, love, delight in, treasure, cherish, rest in the word of Truth. [00:10:24]

Solid food is for the mature who because of practice have their spiritual senses trained to discern good and evil. Now here's the question I ask at this point. I want you to ask if solid food is only palatable or digestible for the mature, with what food do you become mature? [00:11:19]

The problem is not that the milk is not adequate, it's not nutritional, it doesn't make good bones or help people grow up or make the organs grow. That's not the problem. Neither is the problem that babies can't eat steak. The problem is what are they doing with the milk? [00:12:51]

There is nothing inadequate about milk. Milk will grow you up and make you mighty in the word if you do something with it and are not dull of hearing the way we've seen the disease described. Now look carefully at verse 14: because of practice, the mature have their senses trained to discern good and evil. [00:13:56]

The discernment of Good and Evil flowing from transformed inward spiritual senses, which got that way because there was some kind of exercise, which I'm going to argue is an exercise with the milk, is what fits you to eat solid food. A lot goes on before you can handle melchisedec. [00:14:38]

The solution here, in other words, the remedy that we're talking about is not to jump from milk to meat. We think, oh, I'm immature, quick, do get a heavy jump from milk to meat. That's not the remedy in this text. The remedy is what do you do with milk? [00:18:00]

This is so important because of how prone we are to think it's really a problem of intellect, whether you can grow in understanding the Bible, really a problem of education, when in fact old Spurgeon, Charles Spurgeon, the pastor 100 years ago in London, said that he learned most of his weighty theology from a kitchen maid. [00:18:40]

The main reason we can't grasp doctrines is because we're so wired toward self-exaltation and self-determination that when a God-centered Bible lands on our table, it cannot mean what it says. These are moral and spiritual issues, not primarily intellectual issues. [00:19:25]

When the word comes in and it is received not with dullness but with baby-like thirsty receptivity and it seeps down into the crevices of the heart where you've been hurt or sinful and begins to do its satisfying healing work, you become different, you're shaped by that milk. [00:23:08]

Discernment is what you do naturally when the milk of God's promises is so savored and is so satisfying that it gives you the mind of Christ. This is light and Truth, God-centered preaching to help you see Christ clearly and treasure him truly. [00:24:54]

Ask a question about this sermon

Chatbot

Transcript

What was the most surprising thing in this sermon?

Were there any personal stories shared?

Awakening Spiritual Ears: Embracing the Milk of the Word

Devotional

Day 1: Spiritual Attentiveness: A Heart Open to God's Word

Day 2: The Nourishing Power of the Gospel's Milk

Day 3: True Maturity: Moral and Spiritual Fitness

Day 4: A Baby-like Thirst for God's Word

Day 5: Discernment Through Transformation

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

Awakening Spiritual Ears: Embracing the Milk of the Word

Share