New Year’s greetings to you, friend! I’m Mack Lyon. The program’s a Bible study, “In Search of the Lord’s Way.” Oh say! We’re so glad you have joined us today. We pray God’s blessings on you every day of the new year.
I know I’m a few days early with my “New Year’s Greetings” to you, but it’s better to be early than late, I think; and since in most places this is a Sunday program, early and late and now were my only choices. Anyway we are so happy you’ve chosen our Bible study program, “In Search of the Lord’s Way” to become a Christian and His way of living so as to get the very most out of life. Don’t knock His way, if you haven’t tried it, my friend. My “New Year’s” message is designed to encourage “Those Who Would Love Life And See Good Days.” Our Scripture text is 1 Peter chapter 3, verses 8 to 12.
If you think you might want a free CD, an audio cassette tape or even a printed copy of it, you might ought to jot down our mailing address right now. It’s In Search of the Lord's Way; P.O. Box 371; Edmond, OK 73083; or by e-mail it’s searchtv@searchtv.org. Phil Sanders has a daily Bible reading there, too; and a “blog” or two or more perhaps. You might like to begin reading through the Bible with him every day and follow that every day in the new year. We usually offer a daily Bible Reading Calendar at the end of the year, but this year we are suggesting that you follow Phil Sander’s schedule with him.
Many people make “New Year’s Resolutions.” Some make them and don’t keep them, one of whom I am which. But if a person has waited until the first day of the new year to repent– I mean to change his mind about his way of life, and then change his way of life to conform to his change in mind, it would be a good thing to do on January 1, don’t you think? Today’s message is to encourage people to do that. It’s titled, “For Those Who Would Love Life.” Our text will be 1 Peter chapter 3, verses 8 to 12; and I’ll be back to read it with you after Ken Helterbrand leads us in a hymn.
We are reading from the book of 1 Peter chapter 3 and beginning at verse 8. “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another as brothers; be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, and that you may inherit a blessing. For ‘He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.’” Now we will go to God in prayer. Holy and Heavenly Father, we approach your throne in the name of Jesus Christ today, recognizing You as the God of heaven and earth, the creator, the almighty, the all powerful one in our lives. And we thankful that You are the giver of life and that You are the giver of all the blessings that we enjoy from day to day. We are thankful, Father, that You have provided for us salvation in Jesus and that You want us to get the very most out of living here and You have provided us the secrets of doing that while we live here on the earth; the right way to live so as to be pleasing to You and then reap the harvest of eternity with You. We thank You, Amen!
In my years of preaching, I can’t even remember the number of people that I have baptized on January 1, especially when January 1 fell on Sunday. How long they had been “putting off” beginning a new life in Christ, I might not have known at the time. In local ministry, I made a special appeal to those who were disposed to wait until New Year’s Day to make such resolution, to do it then. On January 1st some were “restored” to their first love and faith, too, just as Simon the sorcerer was in Acts chapter 8, verses 14 to 25. And some of them grew in their faith to the point they even became leaders in their home congregations. And that’s the intent of our message today. You don’t have to wait till the first day of the new year. You can do it today, my friend.
The passage that we read awhile ago from 1 Peter chapter 3 gives some excellent counsel to those “who would love life and see good days.” That would be us, wouldn’t it? We’re going to go step by step through those verses and see what the words of wise counsel were that God gave; not the apostles, and not Mack Lyon or some other mere man; but what God says will help us.
Before we do that, though, let’s notice three things, interesting and profitable things about the passage that we read. First, it is the word of God. I mean it’s as much as God’s word, as if we had heard Him speak it with our very own ears. Yes, the apostle Peter was the human penman alright, but he also wrote, that “holy men of God spoke as (or, as in this case, holy man of God wrote as he) was moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter chapter 1, verses 20 and 21). God also reminds us in 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 16 that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God...”
Another thing about this passage is: It is God’s word and God’s word is always right, friend! Not one statement He has ever spoken (or had written down for us in the Bible) has ever been proven wrong! That goes for the first sentence of the Bible, too; and it says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” There are some “theories” about how it all began that differ from that, but they are theories and they are without “proof.” It’s written in the 33rd Psalm, verse 4, that “The word of the Lord is right. And all His work is done in truth.” Our culture says “There are no ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs.’ There’s no such thing as truth.” But, don’t you believe that, my friend! If the fellow who argues that should purchase $10 worth of merchandise from you, and hands you a $20 bill in payment; and if you give him one dollar in change, you’ll learn right quickly how strongly he believes that there are no “rights” and “wrongs.” Ten plus one doesn’t total twenty and he will know that right soon. Just so, the Bible is “the word of truth” (2 Corinthians 6 and 7). And it is always right!
Next: God’s word is powerful. “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the water of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” That is Psalm 33, verses 6, 7, 8, and 9. And, it’s worthy of note that the gospel of Jesus Christ which was preached throughout all the New Testament era is “the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16).
My friend, I don’t have to tell you, do I? We’re living in troublesome times. Evil of all kinds abounds. I mean, evil is doing just what the Bible says about it. When evil men are left unchecked, they get “worse and worse” (2 Timothy 3:1). Seldom, if ever, does a day pass without reports in the morning and evening news of a murder. Very often it’s an infant or a small child, maybe multiple murders. Instances of rape, and abuse of women, and illicit sex with minors, and well, sexual immorality of every kind is celebrated in the news and entertainment media as well, even what the Bible calls “unnatural use of,” men with men and women with women (Romans chapter 1, verses 36 to 22). The use of alcohol and drugs has become commonplace. It’s so even among the children and the youth nowadays, with parental consent mind you. Instances of thievery, robbery, cheating, dishonesty, what the Bible calls “covetousness” are all revealed daily. Well, we’ve developed a culture in which everyone is in pursuit of his own “happiness,” a culture in which “everyone does what is right in his own eyes” as Israel did in the Old Testament times and suffered captivity by pagan nations because of it. “Tolerance” is the password today. We’re a “tolerant” culture where every kind of evil behavior is given societal approval. Our world says, “If it makes you happy, do it!” God’s has three rules in both the natural and the spiritual world: you reap in kind, what you sow; (2) you reap more than you sow; and you reap after you have sown. Therefore, if we follow evil, then evil will make us feel good maybe at the moment; but even if it makes us “happy” for the moment, if it’s evil it will grow, and it will grow you an abundant crop of what-- evil! Now, to our text, and it says, “He who would love life and see good days…”
Number 1: “Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.” In order to always enjoy the approbation and the love of God, God’s penman has cited here a part of the 34th Psalm. Well, Jesus taught it, too. He said, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” And that is Matthew 12:33 to 37). And that’s just the way it is, isn’t it? I remember from childhood, growing up in the country on the farm without “electricity and running water,” when we had to draw our drinking and cooking water out of a well, we heard it said often that “What’s in the well, will be in the bucket.” Of course so! That meant exactly what the Savior is saying, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” So, my friend, if you would love life and see good days, “Keep a guard on your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).
Number 2: To the person who would love life, and see good days, “Let him turn away from evil and do good.” Oh say friend! Most of us love life, don’t we? But, there are some who don’t; and I’ve met and counseled some of them. And some of them are so hopeless about even the possibility of “good days” that they are “fed up” with life. They see no hope for a better day tomorrow; and they have become suicidal. Others of them haven’t reached that point yet, but they’re working on it. Some of them find some momentary relief in maybe a smoking of “pot” or a shot of cocaine or other drugs; or a beer or two or three or four or more; or a “shot” of whiskey. Oh no, no, friend, you don’t “drown” your troubles in alcohol; you only irrigate them.
And, who is it that’s not seeking good days? In November I did a program on some evils of alcoholic beverages; and I was talking about some of the evils that exist in our society that are admittedly associated with, well, drinking. I mentioned the drunken-fights, and the shootings, the stabbings, the murders, the attempted murders, the rapes, and the death by “drunk driving;” and so many of which the fruits of alcohol and alcoholic beverages are just evil. And I mentioned a child drinking alcohol addiction; and men and women, whose ambition in life was not to be alcoholic, but became so by taking their first drink. I was amazed and somewhat troubled, too, I must confess at three of the responses that I received from that program. Oh, the number, the response, number-wise, was good, very encouraging. Yes! Generally speaking, the message was well received. Obviously, though, the three people who were critical of that message just don’t consider the obvious evils of strong drink to be evil. If we don’t call evil, evil, how can we possibly turn away from that evil? I’m reminded of a passage found in Isaiah chapter 5, verses 20 and 21. It’s the word of God, friend! It says, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight!” Jesus said, “...a tree is known by its fruit” (Matthew 12:33). He asked, “Do men gather grapes of thornbushes or figs from thistles?” (Matthew 7:15). God says it in still another way in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 21 to 22. There He says, “Test all things; hold fast to what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” And, “He who would love life and see good days.....
Let him turn away from evil, and do good.” Oh say, that necessarily demands a working definition of evil as evil and good as good, doesn’t it? Well, we’ll just let God define “good” for us; what do you say? Romans 12:10 to 21 is a good definition of the good the person might seek to do good days, see good days. Let’s see what it says: “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinions. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine. I will repay,’ says the Lord. Therefore if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Now with that advice let us pray. Holy Father, we are so thankful for the good way that You set forth for the Christian to live. And we pray that all of those in our hearing today will want to see good days and will apply these precious truths to their lives so that they can see good days and enjoy life while it lasts for them here on this earth; and then go to heaven and to be with You in all of eternity. We pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen!
My friend, my New Year’s wish for you is that you will live life so that you will love it, and to “love it and see good days” in 2010. I pray our Bible study of this thought will provide you with the incentive that you need to act now; don’t put it off. Confess Christ, repent of your sins and be baptized for the remission of your sins just as you need to and you read in your own Bible in Acts chapter 2, verse 38. You know, even when Jesus was here physically, some people “believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they didn’t confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:42 and 43). So, you don’t want to wait to do that and you don’t want to be that kind of a believer, do you? Admit it! Confess Christ openly before men. “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” That is Romans 10 and 9. And you may be wondering, what about this business of baptism? Oh, you may have heard a preacher say that baptism is a ‘work’ and we’re not saved by works, but by grace. He’s right in what he says. However, baptism is not a work of human merit. It is a work of Christ. It is here that Jesus Christ washes away a person’s sins. You need to read Acts 22:16 and Revelation 1 and 5.
Are you making notes of this message? Then make a note of 1 Peter 3:21, or better still when we have gone off the air, call us at 1-800-321-8633 and ask for a printed copy of this message. Jesus died for you, my friend! He was buried in a borrowed tomb, and rose by the mighty power of God to newness of life? Do you believe that? Well then, “Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in newness of life.”
If we may assist you in rendering obedience to Christ, we would love to help. Pick up the phone and give us a call. The number is 1-800-321-8633; and that’s a toll free number, of course. If you prefer to write, our address is In Search of the Lord's Way; P.O. Box 371; Edmond, OK 73083; by e-mail it’s searchtv@searchtv.org; or our website is searchtv.org. You should use that telephone number or one of those addresses to request copies of today’s program on a CD or an audio cassette tape or even a printed copy. Everything here is free. We’re a non-profit ministry of churches of Christ in the area served by this station. Those neighbors and friends of yours, who are members of those churches, would like very much to have you worship with them. I hope you will. God bless you. We love you.
|