Loving Life & Having Good Days !
1 Peter 3:10-11
The more I look at society today, and the more time I spend in the ministry interacting with people, the more I realize how little people really enjoy or love the life that God has breathed into them. I also know that for many of us the struggles of everyday living are sometimes almost unbearable. This week while reading, and searching for the message God would have me preach I ran across an unusual promise, and principles to go along with it to help us enjoy life, love life, and have good days ! I believe the Bible if anything is more practical, and relevant for the environment that we live in than ever before. There are principles and promises in this book that work. They are here to help us, to instruct us, to encourage us in every aspect of our lives. Tonight’s message is Loving Life & Having Good Days ! Listen to the words of God through Peter........
1 Peter 3:10-12
For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it ! For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers:............
I. To Love Life & Have Good Days We Need To Refrain ! V. 10
a. our tongue from evil
b. our lips from speaking guile
1 Peter 3:10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips that they speak no guile !
I have noticed over my years in the ministry that people who use their tongue for speaking evil are people who are not very much in love with their life. They are often angry, bitter, negative people. They dislike their lives to such an extent that they want to make everyone’s elses miserable as well. Perhaps, they seek to make theirs better by belittling others !
Believers in order to live in a way that will please God which in turn result in joy in their life must resist the temptation to speak evil !
James 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain !
James 3:5-6 ..........."the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth ! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity, so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell
II. To Love Life & Have Good Days We Need To Refuse ! V.11
Let him eschew evil........
There is not only the need to evade evil speaking, but there is the need to eschew evil period ! The word "eschew" is a old word that is not used much these days. A more common term in the English language would be "shun". We are not only to not "speak evil", but we are to "shun evil" "Eschew" literally means to go out of the way of ! We must go out of our way to avoid....to astain from evil things.
1 Thess 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
III. To Love Life & Have Good Days We Need To Render !
Refusing to speak of evil, and shunning evil deeds is not enough. We must take the positive step of rendering good !
It is not enough just to eschew or avoid evil. We must do good !
It is not enough just to put off ! We must also put on !
Romans 13:12-14 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the words of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkeness, not in clambering and wantoness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Eph 4:21-25 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, whic is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
IV. To Love Life & Have Good Days There Is A Need To Reach !
I come in contact with people all the time who always seemed to be confrontational, and controversial !
They always seem to be trouble makers..yet God has chosen us to be peacemakers. We need to pursue....reach for peace.
As believers, we must desire peace, and pursue it !
