Sermon: Commit to Loving Life and Seeing Good Days!
Psalm 34:11-15, “Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry;”
1 Peter 3:8-12, “Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing. For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.”
Introduction: “Have a good day'' “Have a great week” Happy new year are all practical mantras in our society. But no one reminds us of what it takes to love the life you live and see good days. What would change if we took as our motto the scriptural phrase from 1 Peter 3:10, and said this year, I will love life, and see good days? ''I believe it would be life changing. ''I believe it would lead to more happiness. But how is it done?''
The new year might be an illusion. While the beginning of a new year sounds like the ideal time to set about creating transformation, cleaning out your closets, or losing three inches of belly fat, the idea that New Year's Day is special is simply an illusion. There's nothing special about January the 1st or the 15th. Or any Monday of any week of the year. And believing otherwise is actually a great set-up for a fall. Because when we don't get started on this or that day, we give ourselves permission to procrastinate until the next "perfect" date rolls around. A revolution can start any time you decide. We are the ones who give meaning to our days, just as we do to our circumstances. We get to decide if today, tomorrow, the next day, or Groundhog Day is the perfect day for whatever we desire. So if New Year's Day is significant to you and you want to make it into a fresh start, you can do it. Any day, as it turns out, is the perfect day to start living the life you say you want.
These verses offer each of us directions and suggest a path for a Happy New Year, a happy life. Loving life and seeing good days, means shifting our perspective a bit, letting go of a few things, rising above some of our old frustrations, or reaching deep inside for enough faith to trust in God's promises to us. Sometimes it feels as if the whole world has crashed down around us. At other times, we may be doing all right but just feel the desire for something more. That’s completely normal, that’s the way God made us. Whatever our situation, these reflections will help each of us discover how to love life more fully and see more good days.
David writes this Psalm as he remembered being on the run, even pretending to be a mad man in the presence of Abimelech. David changed his behavior before Abimelech, then Abimelech released him, drove him away, and David’s life was spared and he said, “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise always shall be in my mouth.” Apostle Peter writes this exhortation to a remnant of Jews, scattered from Jerusalem, receiving heavy persecution from all sides, yet he like David provides direction towards loving life and seeing good days. This message may not lead to a prosperous new year but it may lead to a more successful life.
Psalm 34:11-15, “Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry;”
First, loving life and seeing good days begins with living in the fear of the Lord. Our creator God made us and all things pertaining to life and Godliness. We should fear and reverence God because of who He is, what He can do, what He has done and what He promises in the future. Not only has He created all things, He has given all things purpose and directions.
Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11 “To every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heavens:…He has made everything beautiful in His time; also He has set eternity in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God makes from the beginning to the end.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11 states God has “set eternity in the human heart.” In every human soul is a God-given awareness that there is “something more” than this transient world. And with that awareness of eternity comes a hope that we can one day find a fulfillment that this vain world cannot supply. We have a sense of eternity in our lives; we possess an innate knowledge that there is something more to life than what we can see and experience in the here and now. First, loving life and seeing good days begins with living in the fear of the Lord and trusting in His sovereign Lordship. Seasons come and go, yet none can completely satisfy. However, through all the ups and downs and vicissitudes of life, we have a glimpse of stability, because we choose to fear the Lord and trust His judgment. James 4:14 says, “Life is but a vapor”, but we know there is something beyond this life. We have a divinely implanted awareness that the soul lives forever. This world is not our home. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Secondly, loving life and seeing good days includes guiding my Words. Since, I will eat from the fruit of my lips and my words are powerful, I must turn my tongues from evil and lies and move towards speaking what is good and true. My life will change as my words change.
Proverbs 12:28 “In the way of righteousness is life, and in that pathway there is no death.”
Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it shall eat the fruit of it.”
Our words have led us where we are today. The good or the harm that the tongue can do, both to a man’s self and unto others, is more than can be expressed; for many have cut their own throats by careless words, or brought themselves off from danger by careful answers: in like manner, by false accusations, it destroys other men, or saves them by testifying the truth; and this may be laid down for a general rule, that they who love to talk much shall suffer by it. Both David and Peter recognized the power of the tongue. The old expression goes, “Loose lips, sink ships! First, loving life and seeing good days begins with living in the fear of the Lord and trusting in His sovereign Lordship. Secondly, loving life and seeing good days includes guiding our speech away from evil toward good; away from destructive words to words that build. Finally, loving life and seeing good days is experienced by seeking peace and pursuing it.
Loving life and seeing good days is experienced by seeking peace with God, peace within ourselves, peace with neighbors and peace in the world.
Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory."
We have a faith that brings great joy and confidence as we face the new year. We can say with the Apostle Paul, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” We can choose to forget the injuries of the past, move away from revenge to release and forgiveness. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on our behalf; we have peace within because we have been forgiven and accepted in the Beloved. That means we can now forgive ourselves and forgive others because they are as weak as we are sometimes. We can have peace with the world because we recognize their disability. They are spiritual blind needing sight. They are spiritually poor, needing assistance. They are spiritually lost, needing a guide. We can be loving and kind, because God was loving and kind to us. When we are good to others, we are being good to ourselves. Benjamin Franklin once said, “When you are good to others, you are best to yourself.”
Romans 12:8 saying, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”
1 Peter 3 says, “Search for peace, and work to maintain it. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.”
Peter calls those who love life and see good days to return good deeds for evil, and blessings for insults, because any other course would be inconsistent with the Christian calling. We are called to receive an inheritance of blessing. To receive the promise believers must live lives of blessing, for "as a man soweth so also shall he reap. I am seeking more in 2024. Since I reap what I sow, where I sow and in proportion to the amount I sow, I must sow, what I desire to reap. Living in the fear of a Sovereign God, guiding my words away from guile, filling my mouth with wholesome talk. Finally, I must seek peace and pursue it. When I am calm my faith can work, when I am calm my love can be seen. I can live a calm life because I am living at peace with God, with myself, with others and with the World. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called sons of God” (Matt. 5:9).
“If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.”
I really desire that each of you would have a wonderful, exciting, prosperous and rewarding new year. Yet I realize that it will not come because of a new year’s’ resolution, or the words of well-wishers. It is only possible for those who love life and desire to see good days, because we have a guide. First, loving life and seeing good days begins with living in the fear of the Lord and trusting in His sovereign Lordship. Secondly, loving life and seeing good days includes guiding our speech away from evil toward good; away from destructive words to words that build. Finally, loving life and seeing good days is experienced by seeking peace and pursuing it, seeking peace with God through obedience, peace within ourselves through prayer and meditation, peace with neighbors by practicing brotherly love and kindness and peace in the world through humanitarian efforts. Pledge to do more in 2024. We have been waiting for this moment all our lives, let’s take advantage of it. So, commit to loving life and seeing good days In Jesus Name.
I have decide that It is impossible for a man to learn what he already thinks he knows! I am going to Focus on what I can control. A ship’s captain cannot control the weather, the wind, or the waves, but he can keep adjusting the sail. I realize that God has given me Bounce back power, so I will be resilient in 2024. I will look for the opportunities God sends my way and take advantage of them. I will be a person of integrity and align all my actions with my values. I will set clear goals and develop a clear vision because clear vision inspires confidence for the future. I plan to be protective of my time and surround myself with positive and confident people who can encourage me. Finally, I plan to be persistent in my actions because I know persistence pays off. Consistency in my actions will always be rewarded. Since, I don’t know the work of God from the beginning until the end, neither do I understand His purpose in every season, I plan to maintain an adaptive persistence mind, so I can flow with God’s plan. I plan to keep on working and keep on adjusting knowing that God has more instore in 2024. I believe! I live in the fear of the Lord. I choose my words carefully because I must eat the fruit of them. I choose to live in peace, with God through obedience, with myself in forgiveness, with other through understanding, and with the world by helping where I can. You see, I have a plan, a goal, a vision, and with God help, I can carry it out. I have got this! I can live life in the fear of the Lord, love the life I live and see good days in the new year. What about you? Amen.
