1 Peter chapter 3 now is our text. 1 Peter chapter 3. I really believe that there's
only one way that a man receives a message from God for the people,
a preacher. I really believe, I'm convinced
of this, that there's only one way that he receives a message
from God for the people, and that's through his Word. to reading the word, and a particular
word or passage blesses the preacher, and he in turn conveys it to
the people. I believe that's how the Lord
works. I know it is. While reading through
1 Peter, I came to these verses here in chapter 3. Let's read
them. I couldn't quite get away from
them. They've been with me for a couple of weeks. deal with
them. They've struck me, and I hope
the Lord will bless them to us tonight. 1 Peter 3, beginning
with verse 8 through verse 12. Finally, be ye all of one mind,
having compassion one of another. Love as brethren. Be pitiful. Be courteous. not rendering evil
for evil or railing for railing, but contrarywise, blessing, knowing
that you are thereunto called, that you should inherit a blessing.
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, or void
evil, and do good. Let him seek peace and ensue,
or pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are
over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers. But the face of the Lord is against
them that do evil. The beginning comments of any
letter or message and the ending comments are very important. You need to listen very carefully. Quite often, if you miss the
introduction, you miss the meat of the message. It's the same
way of reading the scriptures. The beginning comments are laying
the foundation for what is about to be said. The ending comments,
the final comments, are a summary of what has already been set
forth. And here in verse 8, he says,
Finally, finally. And this is a term that the Apostle
Peter and the Apostle Paul frequently used in their epistles. They
say, finally. And then they give some things. Listen to these verses, like
in 2 Corinthians. Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect. Be of good comfort. Be of one mind. There it is again. Live in peace. Same thing. The God of love and peace shall
be with you. Strikingly similar, isn't it?
Listen to this, Ephesians 6. Finally, my brethren, be strong
in the Lord in the power of his might. Philippians 4. Finally, brethren, whatsoever
things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things
are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely,
whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue,
if there be any praise, think on these things. 2 Thessalonians 2. Finally, brethren,
pray for us that the word of the Lord may have free course
and be glorified even as it is with you." And here he says in
verse 8, finally, finally, and then he gives some things. All
right? What is he summing up? What is
the Apostle Peter summing up? He says, finally, meaning that
he is concluding what he has been saying. Right? Finally.
All right? Look back at chapter 1. Look
back there. Chapter 1. He's writing now,
as all the epistles are written to God's people. Verse 2. Writing to the elect. Those who
have been chosen, plucked as brands out of the burning. Chosen. Sovereignly chosen. rather than someone else. Chosen,
hand-picked by God, elect. That's what elect means. As Barnard
used to say, it's not a doctrine, it's a person choosing persons. It's a holy, sovereign God who
didn't have to choose you, choosing you. Does that bring it down
to what it really ought to mean to us? Elect. Nancy Parts. Why are you, huh? You have brothers and sisters,
don't you? Why you? Are you any of them
believers? Why you? That's right. Elect. You see what that means, or should
mean to us? Elect. Elect. And what it ought to do
to us? Elect. Why would He elect me? Elect. Verse 3 says, Blessed
be the God and Father, of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according
to his abundant mercy, in abundant mercy he hath begotten us again,"
or born again of God. Elect, regenerated, blessed by
God according to his abundant mercy. My, my. Verse 4, to an
inheritance. You've been given an inheritance.
Incorrupt, undefiled. Faith is not reserved in that.
A reservation, a place. Christ said, I go to prepare
a place for you. My elect. My chosen. He didn't choose me.
He said, I chose you and now I go to prepare a place for you.
You're going to be joint heirs with me. With all the people. Verse 5,
you who are kept by the power of God. Kept by, you don't keep
yourself. It's impossible. Christ said,
without me you can do nothing. He says, I'm going to keep you.
I'm going to keep you. That's the apple of my eye. I'm
going to keep you by my power. My, my, my, my, my. Verse 13
and 14. So he says in verses 10 through 12, talks about how the
prophets wrote of things that should come and it was not revealed
to them, it was revealed unto us or given unto us. This precious
gospel, preached the gospel unto us. The Holy Ghost sent down
from heaven, which things even the angels look into. This blessed,
precious mystery has been given to us, revealed unto us, us.
God let us in on these secrets. Verse 13 and 14, so, he says,
what should this cause us to do? Verse 13, get it up the loins
of your mind. Be sober and hope to the end. Wait patiently for the grace
that is to be brought unto you at the revelation or the final
appearing of Jesus Christ. Us obedient children. It ought
to make us obedient children. It ought to make us want to be
obedient to our Heavenly Father, shouldn't it? Not fashioning yourselves according
to the former lust in your ignorance. That's what he's saving us from.
Verse 18 says, For as much as you know, you know this, you
were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from
your vain or useless or empty life, received by tradition from
your fathers, your former religion or whatever profession. You weren't
redeemed by that. It took precious blood. Verse
19, you were redeemed with the most costless substance in the
universe. The precious blood of the Lamb.
The blood of God's Son. It took infinite condescension. It took God to send His Son down here
and to make Him a bloody sacrifice to save you. Oh my. Precious
blood. That's what it took to redeem
us. That blood of the Lamb without blemish and without spot. The
innocent dying for the guilty. The spotless dying for the fifty. Precious blood, that's what it
took. My, my, my. Verse 21. He says, And if by
him you do believe, you wouldn't, if it were not by him, if it
were not a gift of God, by faith or by grace through faith, and
that's not of yourself, you wouldn't believe, you wouldn't have the
slightest interest in the gospel or the things of God if he hadn't
made you. giving you the gift of faith,
right? Who by Him do believe in God. This is not of yourselves,
is it? Oh no, it's a gift of God. My,
my, my. Me? Why me, Lord? Verse 22, And seeing you have
purified your souls in obeying the truth through, how did you
do this? Through the Spirit, through the
Holy Spirit. It's His work. Spirit working
in you. He says, see that you love one
another with a pure heart perfectly. Should he have to tell us that? He does. Chapter 2, verse 1.
So he says, wherefore? See why he says wherefore? In
consideration of all these blessings of God. He's unmerited. This undeserved favor from God. Unmerited. Grace, pure, pure
grace and mercy and salvation and unspeakable things. Quiffle. See when I say that? Quiffle. Lay aside all malice. Put that down. All malice and
all guile and hypocrisies and so forth. There's two. Desire
the sincere milk of the Word that you may grow thereby. We
ought to, seeing that we were born of that. The Word of God,
we're born by it. And as we're born again by it,
this is the Word. The Gospel is preached unto you.
It's a shame that He should tell us to desire it, shouldn't it? It should be the joy and rejoicing
of our heart. Verse 7, He says, "...unto you
therefore which believe." And remember, He said across the
page there, "...who by Him do believe." And to you who do believe,
Christ is so precious. He's an honor bestowed upon you,
the highest honor that could be given to a human being, to
be a believer. A chosen people, a royal generation. Read on. That goes on to say
that. Verse 9, Christ is precious to
you who believe. You who are chosen, a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, a holy, a peculiar, a purchased
people, that you should show forth the praises. Why did he
do that? That you should show forth the
praises of him who had called you out of darkness into his
marvelous light. Verse 11, so dearly beloved,
dearly beloved, I beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims. Abstain
from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. Have your conversation
or your life honest among the Gentiles or around those whom
you work." Verse 13, "...submit yourselves to every ordinance
of man." Every ordinance of man. As Paul said, submit yourselves
one to another. Obey them, Paul said in the Hebrews,
obey them which have the rule over you, spiritual leaders,
for they watch for your souls. Submit yourself. Submission is
the key to happiness. You know, submission is the key
to happiness. Submission to Christ, submission
to God, submission to the things of God. A man will submit, a
woman will submit themselves to the things of God wholly.
He'd be a happy person. All authority that is, is from
God. Submit yourselves to every ordinance. What's an ordinance? It's a rule. Every ordinance of man, for the
Lord's sake, whether to the kings, under governors, whoever. Whoever. It's the will of God, verse 15.
It would well be that you put to silent. Verse 17, honor all
Men, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. These things
are good, aren't they? Aren't they good? Servants, verse 18, workers,
be subject. So there it is again. Submit,
subjection. It's the key to happiness. My
pastor preached a message one time, and that was the title
of it. I'll never forget it. You remember
that? Submission, the key to happiness.
That's the reason we are in this young generations coming up is
in such turmoil. So torn up. Because the butch
word of the day is rebel. Question authority, isn't it?
Where do they get that? It leaks down from the pulpit.
That's where it comes from. Down from the pulpit. Submits,
subjection. Be under subjection. Verse 21,
For even hereunto were ye called, that is, to be in subjection,
and to bear whatever comes your way, whatever it is, and everything
give thanks. This is the will of God concerning
you. If it were not, you wouldn't
come to pass with it. Verse 21, Even hereunto you were
called, because Christ also suffered for us, Leading us an example
that you should follow his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile
found in his mouth. When he reviled, he reviled not
again. When he suffered, he threatened not. He committed himself to
God that judges righteously. Chapter 3, verse 1, you wives,
be in subjection to your husband. Maybe they might be warned by
your subjection. They might be chained and feel
guilty about it. Their seven husbands, wherever
you are, dwell with them, spend time with them, treat them according
to knowledge, giving honor unto the wives under the weaker vessel.
It's being airs together the grace of life. It's friendly. Now, do you see what always said
leading up to this? See why we need to know what,
finally, finally now, in conclusion of what I've been saying, in
summary of the things that have been said. Be ye of one mind. Be of one mind. Paul talked about there being
one Lord, one faith. One body he talked about, one
faith. One mind. I thank God that we
do have one mind. There's no dissenting voices
in here as far as the gospel is concerned. There might be
some in regards to the way I do things here. But there are no
dissenting voices. And there shouldn't be. But there
are no dissenting voices as far as the gospel is concerned. I
thank God for that. One mind. One faith. One body. You, being many members,
are yet one body. One body. They're not individual
members, but one body. The sum make up the whole. One
body, which we all together should have one purpose, one aim. What's that? To win Christ and
be found in Him. To help one another win Christ
and be found in Him. Help our children. when Christ
will be found in heaven, that we all might come to the knowledge
of Him, to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit, one body,
to build up one another on your most holy faith, to do all for
the glory of God. Self needs to go out the window.
How many times have I said that? All my rights, all my so-called
rights and privileges and freedoms, when it comes to the body, out
the window. My thoughts, my ways, my ideas,
my me needs to go out. It's us. It's we. God granted me the wisdom to
do everything I do with that in mind. Us. For the glory of
God. Whether you eat, whether we have
a potluck dinner, and drink, whether whatever you wear, Do
all for what reason? Whatever gives God the most glory. One mind. Is that what you're
here for? Is that what you're here for?
You consider yourself a member of this church? Is that what
this is all about? That's the one mind we need to
have. One mind. What's that? To do
everything we do for the glory of God. Whether we eat and drink. Whatever we wear, however we
act, move, walk, talk, everything here should be for the glory
of God. Whatever gives God the most glory.
That's how we ought to conduct ourselves. That's how we ought
to act as a body. Whatever glorifies the gospel
in our community. Whatever glorifies the gospel
in our families. To do all to the glory of God.
To nourish the body. By that which every joint supplies.
What are you supplying for the body? That's what you're for. Not for
self. By that which every joint supplies.
Now we either supply or we're draining from it. Right? To nourish the body. by that
which every joint supply, not our own member, but that which
every joint supply to the body, hold in the head, hold in the
head, to give, not take. This is not a club where we pay
our dues and expect services to be rendered. Oh no, this is
a service organization where we're all in the giving business.
This is a charitable organization. Not take, but give, give, give,
give, give. Cast your bread upon the Lamb.
One mind. Be ye all of one mind. Here it
is. Sums it all up. Let this mind
be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
What kind of mind did He have? One word sums it up. He said, If I, the Lord of glory,
have washed your stinking, filthy, dirty feet, have condescended,
have humbled myself in such a manner as to wash your stinking, filthy,
rotten, wretched, vile, sinful feet, the Lord from glory, who
the earth, he read, is his footstool, the earth Lebanon's not sufficient
to burn. Everything's an unclean thing.
The earth is so unclean, it's his footstool. He came down here
and washed the meat. If I, the Lord of glory, have
done this, so do you. One man. Service. We're here
not to be served, but to serve. That's what one mind is talking
about here. One mind in the furtherance of the—in worshiping Christ,
in the furtherance of the gospel, in helping this body. Now, if
we're not gathering for that purpose, for that one mind, we're
scattering. Right? We're not pulling together. We're hindrance. All right. Look at verse 8. Finally. The, all of one mind. One purpose. Well, they said they were always
one accord and one purpose, didn't they? That's what it said about
the early church. One accord, one purpose. Be ye all of one
mind, having compassion one of another. Having compassion. Compassion means to bear. To
suffer. To have fellowship in healing.
To bear one another's burdens. That's what we're called to do.
That's why we're here. Eileen, that's why you're here.
That's your purpose for being here. Bury one of those buried. Now, don't for a minute, nobody
in here, don't anybody in here be thinking of your own burdens
right now and say, well, they hadn't met mine. Don't you dare
do that. That's an abomination to God.
Well, they haven't met. What about me? What about me?
That's what the world's saying. That's the reason divorces happen.
What about me? What about you? Who are you? Who is me? Right? Don't for a minute anybody
in here say, what about me? Don't for a minute consider yourself
in this thing. This is what he's talking about
here. Having compassion, one of another. Look on the things
around you. It's certain that we're full of compassion for
ourselves. That's certain. We've got enough
of that, don't we? We're so full of compassion for
ourselves. Poor old me. Poor little me. Oh, nobody is so abused like
me. We're called to look on the needs
and the problems of others. Our Lord is full, the Scripture
says, full of compassion. Full of compassion. And I believe
those that are most full of Him are most full of compassion. Those who are most full of him
are the ones who are full of compassion, brother. And like
I said, don't be thinking of yourself right now unless you
think of how compassionate, lest you meant. Read on. Love as brethren. Love
as brethren. If only we could love the church
like we love our flesh and blood. As our own selves. If only we could. As Christ loved
us. Oh my. Yeah, I believe true believers
do. I really do. Only true brethren
in Christ will prefer their spiritual brethren to their family relations.
That's what he says there. Love as brethren. Love as brethren. You're brothers and sisters in
this life. Now, there's nothing wrong with loving them. Certainly
not. Certainly not. Love them. Love them. Certainly. Love them. But don't
prefer them. Don't have preference over them.
Be not a respecter of persons. They probably will not be your
brethren someday. They probably won't. But these
people will. These people will. Love is brethren. Read on. Be pitiful. That means
full of pity. Be full of pity. Pity means clemency. Clemency. Leniency. That's a good principle, isn't
it? Be lenient. Full of grace. Oh, how pitiful our God is. How
full of pity our God is for us. The Lord pityeth them that fear
Him. They were a pitiable bunch. He's
full of pity. God's pitiful. He says, well,
be pitiful. Be pitiful. Be full of pity.
Be courteous. See that? Be courteous. Courteous
means be polite. Be considerate. Be mannerly. Be attentive to others. Another
thing that I so despise of this young generation, their lack
of courtesy and respect for elders and so forth. It's a sign of
the times. It's a sign of the end times. Absolutely no respect
for anyone. And it's in my generation too. He says be courteous, be polite,
be mannerly, be attentive to others. Courteous means to be
a gentleman, be a lady, be affable. After you. No, after you. No, I insist. After you. Here, let me do that. What can
I get you? Are you comfortable? You take
the best, see. You take this. You go first. That's what that means, be courteous.
You, you, you, you, you, you. Not me, me, me, me. You. You,
you, look on things of a blue, courteous. Deny self. No, here, you too. No, me not.
You, here, you. Courteous man, be courteous.
Verse 9, not rendering evil for evil. Oh, and we're so guilty of this,
aren't we? The flesh wears its ugly head. If evil comes our
way, evil will come out of its hearts. Most of the time. We've got to mortify that. We've got to slay it. We've got
to. This law that roars in our memory
rears its ugly head. No doubt we have been mistreated
at times. I like David's response when
old Jimmy I. cussed him. Remember that, John? I like his response, don't you?
The fellow was cussing David, God's king, son of God, David,
cussing him. But David didn't think he was
anything special. And Joab started to go and cut
that fellow's head off, Shimei's head off, and David said, leave
him alone. The Lord sent him to cuss me. I need a good cussing. And that's not all I need. Like Spurgeon said, just be glad
they didn't tell all the truth about you. And no doubt people will mistreat
us at times and rail on us. Go ahead. I need it. I need it. Huh? Humble us. We need it, don't we? We need
humbling. But don't return railing for railing. You know what we
read there in verse, chapter 2, verse 23, when he was reviled? The Son of God was revived. The
Holy Spirit, the Son of God, they railed on him. What could
he have done, Rick? He could have snuffed the earth
out. What? Say it again. What did you say to me? You blaspheme. He could have snuffed out the
planet, couldn't he? But he didn't. He did what he
said, then he turned. They smacked you on one cheek,
turned the other. He did what he said, then. He fulfilled the
law, didn't he? At times a true character comes
out when you're driving an automobile. You want everyone to know a person's
profession. What they're like. Ride with
them downtown sometime. Just take a ten minute trip during
a rush hour. You'll find that. They either
got a little grace or they ain't got none at all. We rail on people don't we. Some
poor little lady you know she's having so much trouble driving
her little car she can't see her cataracts are killing her. She's trying her best to get
home and you're behind her and you know her. Get out of my way
you little old lady. What a vile wretch we are. We ought to have four flat tires
immediately. Right? It's so. We've been guilty of it. Somebody
rails on us, we need a good railing. We ought to be running out of
town on a rail. Listen to this. Remember this
verse. The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by them that
make peace. James 3, 18. You remember that.
The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by them that make
peace. This says here, contrary-wise.
He said, contrary to railing, verse 9, you give back a blessing. Who does that remind you of? Our Lord, doesn't it? What do
we get in return for rebellion and our sin? A blessing. A blessing. Contrary why? Knowing, verse
9, that here you are there unto called. We're called to do what? We're called to take patiently
whatever comes your way. Called to bear persecution. Called to bless. Salt of the earth. Come back
to that again, don't we? I used to be glad when you read
that in a study. I thought, this is so relevant
to the message tonight. The Lord gave you to read that
tonight. This is salt of the earth. What
does salt do? It's savory. It makes things
tasty. It makes the world worth living.
Now if we lost our salt, our savor, what would we get for
it? Nothing. And this is one of those savory
things that you only find generally among believers. Savory. Courtesy. Pity. All of these blessings,
all these Christ-like traits, Dickey, you'll only find those
generally. You're not going to find them
where you work, are you? You're not going to find them. When you come in
here, watch your hope you find them. If you don't find them
here, where are you going to find them? This is what you're
called to do. Son of God, walk worthy of the
vocation where you're called. And we're called to emulate Him.
Read on, "...that ye should inherit the blessing." 4. Is this thing conditional? 4. Verse 10. 4. And Rick read these bare verses
in Psalm 34. 4. He that will love life and see
some good days. let him do this or do that. He that will love life and see
good day. That's the verse really that
stuck out to me and caught my attention. Love life and see
good day. And then I turned over there
to what he read in Psalm 34. That's just a quotation of that. Nearly word for word. What man
is he that desires life, and loveth many good days, that he
may see good? Keep thy tongue, and so forth. Love life. Do you love life? Do you love life? What is life? Are you alive? Are you living right now? Is
this life? Sure it is. You're living this
life. This is life. Part of it. This is life. Isn't it? Unless you're dead in trespasses
and sin. This is life. This is the life you've been
given to live for how many, we don't know how long. See, Barbara,
this is your life. This is the life that God's given
you, right? To live. Right? Now wait a minute. You say, before
you say anything, remember, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came
down to this planet and lives life. as a man, isn't it? So this isn't life. Oh, yeah,
it is. Oh, yeah, it is. Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, came to planet Earth and took a body and lived
life on this planet. When God first created man, Adam
had to create it, not spirit, flesh and blood. And so here's
life. Live it. Isn't it? He gave him a life. Live it. Life on this earth. This life. Did you read the quote in the
Bulletin? Anonymous? Life is worth living
better than most men live it. This is the life God's given
you. This is it. And the principal purpose of
this life is to live to know Him who is life. The principal purpose in this
life is to live to know, to come to know, to walk with Him who
is life, life eternal. This life is preparation for
that life which is to come, but it's a continuation. Isn't it? Don't take some mystical
attitude like the Hindus do, that this is not life and this
is all a dream. It's not a dream. This is real.
This is life. Unless, I said, you're dead in
trespasses and sin. Because like I said, Adam lived
here. The Son of God came down here and lived life. What's wrong
with this earth? Anything wrong with this earth?
He's going to create another one. Something like it. Isn't it? Remember, this is life. You love life. That's what he
says. Who do they want to love life? Yes, we spiritualize and say
Christ is life. He is. You can't enjoy this life
without knowing Him who is life. You're dead in trespasses and
sins unless you know Him who is life. Paul said, I am crucified
with Christ, yet nevertheless I live, and that life I now live. I live it. For me to live, he
said, is Christ. To die is gain. But to live,
he said, is Christ. I have a desire to part with
the Lord, which is far better. That's going to be, really going
to be life. But then he's going to create
another earth, and we're going to be together, and it's going to be
a planet, and we're going to live life on those who are alive
in Christ. There's nothing wrong with this
earth, unless it's set for sin. Now, remember that. And there's no contradiction
between this and what Christ said in John 12, where he said,
"...he that loveth his life shall lose it." There's a difference.
Christ said, "...he that loveth his life." When you love something, that
means your heart, your soul, your mind, your body, your affections
sit on For he that loveth his affection, his heart, his mind,
his all, his every being, set on his life, this me, mine, flesh,
you're going to lose it. We're going to lose this life,
this life, planet Earth. We're going to lose it. Everybody
here is going to lose it. So it says don't set your affection
on it. In other words, everything in
it. Don't put all your eggs in this one basket. It's a frail
basket in there. You're going to lose it. He's
at love with his life. He's going to lose that now.
But he's at love with life now. Real life. Life in Christ. He's
going to see it. He's going to live it. Ain't
he going to live it here? Like Brother Bell says, so many
people are so proud. And that's what he said. Who's
he? Whoever Anon is. Mr. Anon said, life is worth living
better than most men live it. Life. He that will love life,
she that will love life in general and see good days. Does all that make sense to you? I'm alive. I'm alive. You're
just another figment of your imagination. I've got a body. Christ had a body. Adam had a
body. This is my life. How am I supposed to live it?
I want to get into it. And you're in love with life,
and there's nothing wrong with loving life. Thank God for life. Don't you love life, too? Do
you love life? Do you enjoy life? Don't you love to just go outside?
Listen, listen to me now. Do you love to just go out, like
after a rain, like it's been raining, go outside and just
Oh, that's a sweet-smelling savor. It's, it's... In the springtime,
I love the springtime. It's my favorite time of the
year. Things are budding, life is brewing. With new earth, what's
it going to be like? It's going to be alive! Much
like we see it now. We enjoy it, don't we? We love
it! Don't let this religious world
say, you're not supposed to enjoy life. That's what he says there.
Is he spiritualizing there, Rick? No. Four, he that will love life
and see good days. Now, I've seen some good days.
I want to see more. If God sends some bad days, fine,
I hope I can see, have the grace to receive those too, but I want,
I've seen some good days. I want to see more. Good days
of fellowship. We've had, on Sundays, sometimes,
we've had some good days in here. I want to see some more of them.
Good days. This is life. Real life. How am I saying that? I'm saying life or life? I'll
go back and edit the tape and kid Jacob and Becca and all of
them by the same thing. How are you fainting? Well, life! You know, love life. Good day.
I've had some good days of fellowship and worship. Good days with my
family. We've had some good days. I tell you, I've enjoyed this
little girl right here. I've enjoyed her! Haven't you enjoyed your children?
Love life! Thank God for this life. I've
enjoyed her. I love her. Nothing wrong with
that. Christ came down here among his little children. Lived with
him, ate with him, drank. He enjoyed his children. And
that's the reason he takes them home. He said, I'll watch you
for eternity. Good day. I had some good days
with my family. Good days of pleasure and joy
and things. My brother and I walked out in
the woods and Jackson, it's joyful isn't it? Good time. You want
to do that again? I do. Good day or a good day.
I'll do it again. You know what spoils a good day? You know what spoils the good
life? Sin. This old evil law that roars
in my memory, it ruins a good day. Occasionally, this old rotten
law, this old member of sin comes out in me and spoils everything
for me and everybody around me, like a bad apple, like a stench. It spoils the day. It ruins the
day. You know what I'm talking about?
Yeah? When these things show themselves, they just ruin everybody
and everything around you. Just spoil the day. Make a bad
day and make a good day bad. and bring me in my lusts. When
my lusts come up in me, they just ruin the day for me. Malice,
anger, when I pop off and endue, all these things just ruin a
good day, don't they? Sure they do. And they bring
me, finally, into shame and despondency, my sin, and that's the reason
I mope around and then says, what's wrong? I says, oh, what
have I done? I says, it's me, it's me. Generally,
that's the problem. It's me. I've just ruined a good day.
What could have been a good day? Well, Peter says, if you love
the good life and want good days, look at it. He who will love
life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil. Now, here's the number one cause,
he says. James talked a little bit about
this, didn't he? Number one problem, the greatest offender of all,
he says, is this member right here. It can ruin a good day. Wake up in the morning. Why do you have to have coffee
to be a nice person? I'd say a person ought to give
up coffee if that's what it takes. Maybe if I take a little grace
instead of caffeine, If it takes caffeine to make you nice, I
seriously question your grace. Wake up in the morning, hello
honey. You just ruined your day and hers too. Right in the tongue. What a rotten memory it is, isn't
it? What a vile thing it is. Say,
if you'd like to see a good day, want a good day tomorrow, bud,
but work that tongue, Charlie! Good morning, honey. You think
I'm kidding? I ain't kidding. That's the Scripture,
isn't it? Refrain your tongue from evil.
It's so prone to it, isn't it? Bite it! Bite it off! If that's
what it takes. Seriously, I'm not trying to
be funny. Here's what it says, doesn't it? If you want to live
life, you want to have good life together, you and Charlie? Bite
your tongue. That's one thing to do to help
out. Yes, ma'am. They refrain his or her tongue
from evil, and his lips that despise no guile." Verse 11,
it's pure evil. The Lord gives us choices. He chooses between good and evil,
doesn't He? Why, you know good and well He
does. That's the reason He told us to pray, leave us not into
temptation. Let me avoid that. Don't let me go. Make more provision
for the flesh to fulfill the luster. Let me avoid that. I
know, I know, I know what it's all, I know what it's going to
lead me into. That's what John talked about. He said when lust
has conceived, let me try to get real, real quickly, if I
can. He says the luster that has conceived
bring forth death. It's true evil. You said that
about Job. What do you like to be said of
you? If you consider my servant Job,
he's a righteous man, he's a just man. One that is true of evil. He abhors it. What about old
Joseph? Now people, I started this message
out by talking about where salvation is, didn't I? I'm not talking
about salvation here. I'm not talking about married
in favor with God. Emma? Oh, no, no, no, no. Uh-uh. We started out this message by
talking about you were redeemed not with a corruptible thing
from your vain conversation, but with the precious blood of
the Lamb. Right? Is that new class, honey? Yeah. Blood! I'll say it. Blood! Now, blood, that's what you're redeemed
with. that we're responsible as children
of God, sons of God. But it said of old Joseph. Oh,
I love that passage. You know, Joseph ran. When he
was approached, he ran. God let me run. Right? Let me run. He was a man, James
was a man just like me, with light passions like you and me,
but the same man, just a man, with a body like... He ran! It's true of it. I don't want
any of that part of that. That's not the way you want to
be. But really, that's what salvation's
all about. That's what it's all about. Brother Scott Richardson.
Boy, I wish the enemies of the gospel could hear what he said.
All those that call that old man an antinomy, all those that
call Tim James an antinomy, he preached one of the, you know,
just a great message on loving up the world. What Scott said,
he said, Scott said, Righteousness is not judicial. He said, I hear these preachers
all the time talking about righteousness being judicial. In other words,
some legal thing. It is, but he said, it's not
judicial. He said, it's real. It's real. Now, either Christ
makes a man righteous or He doesn't. Either the blood of Christ cleanses
us from all sin. Is that just spiritual? Is there
not an impartation of His nature that we might be partakers of
His divine nature? Is there or is there not? Sure
there is. Brought us out of darkness to
walk in His marvelous light. Old things pass away, old things
become. That's not just some kind of spiritual being. You
understand what I'm saying? It's real. Lips of change. And
a desire to change. That's what we were talking about
this morning. Desires. It's true evil. Choices to be
made. Yes, certainly. Avert it, he
said. It's true evil. Avert it. Renounce it. Be repressed
by it. Make no provisions for it. It's
true evil. And do good, verse 11. Do good.
No, we can't do anything good. You probably don't. The person that says that probably
doesn't. Why does he tell us to do it
then? Huh? Well, he says, Henry, you're
reading the same Bible I am. It's a sure evil. Do good. Do
good. Well, there's nothing to do with good. Do it anyway, he
says. What? Find something and do it. With all your might, I say unto
the Lord for the good of the body. Do it. Put up your hand
if I could do it with all your might. Do good. Do good. Is that
a contradiction? We know, don't we? We know. We
know. I know. I know. Do good. Seek peace and pursue it. Seek peace. You remember that
verse in James? The fruit of righteousness is
sown in peace by them that make peace. Terry read it. Blessed
are the peacemakers. They shall be called the sons
of God. That's the sons of God, the peacemakers. Not the railers, not the malice-filled,
but the peacemakers. Verse 12. Look at this. The eyes of the Lord are over
the righteous. Now that's the point I was bringing
out when I quoted Brother Scott. And John goes to great lengths
to talk about either a man that he does righteousness or he doesn't.
He either does righteousness to God, he either does it or
not, he's a bedevil. Is that right? There's a spiritual aspect
and there's an actual aspect. He involves the whole man. Certainly
it does. Salvation is the whole man. The
whole man. That's what this is all about.
That's what salvation is all about, to be conformed. God hath
ordained that we should walk in works. Good works, right?
He has foreordained that we should walk in them. He has predestinated
us to do what? To be what? Conformed to the
image of his Son. Conformed to the image of his
Son. My, my, it says, the eyes of
the Lord are over the righteous. Does the Lord see us, what we're
doing? Sure he does. He doesn't see
as men see. He doesn't look first at the
outward like men see. He looks at the heart. He looks
at the motive. He looks much deeper. But you
can count on it. Scripture says, Thou, Lord, seest me. The Lord will deal with actual
transgressions. Yes, he will. Yes, he does. He
deals with us as children. We take care of the attitudes,
poor attitudes, and so forth in our children, don't we? We
also take care of the bad manners, don't we? Sure, we do. People,
turn back to Psalm 34, and then I'll quit in reading that again
with you. Psalm 34, who is righteous? The
eyes of the Lord upon the righteous. Who is the righteous one? Christ. Christ is, isn't He? He's the
righteous. Isn't He the righteous one? Did
you notice there in verse 19, it says, Many are the afflictions
of the righteous, such Christ, the Lord delivered Him. That's
Christ. Out of them, he keepeth all his
bonds. Who's that talking about? Christ.
Not one of them is broken. Verse 20, "...evil shall slay
the wicked, but they that hate the righteous, or Christ, shall
be desolate. The Lord redeemeth the soul of
his—none of them that trust in him shall be desolate." Who is
the righteous? Are we in Christ? Then we're
considered righteous. And our brother wrote it from
Matthew 5. He said, so you be righteous. as your Heavenly Father
is righteous. Right? Tell you, that's what
it's all about. That's what salvation's all about, to make you holy.
And it's not just the official. It's not just a legal thing.
Okay, you're holy, go on. Oh no. Conforming us to the image
of Christ. What do you want? What do you want out of salvation? Let's ask David. David said,
I will behold thy face in righteousness. Didn't he? How are we going to
behold God's face? Only in righteousness, with that
holiness without which no man shall see the Lord, that imputed
righteousness of Christ, without which no man shall see the Lord.
You're not going to get there except by the blood and the righteousness
of Christ. I will behold thy face in righteousness,
and I will be satisfied. And I'll not be satisfied until
I awake with his likeness." This is a mark, an indelible mark,
an undeniable evidence of a true child of God, as they want more
than anything to be like Christ. Life is to be in Christ, and
to live the good life is to live like Christ. And he gives, he sets these principles.
Yes, he does tell us how to live. Aren't you glad? I'm glad he
does. He tells us how to live. Christ sets down some rules and
principles of where to live by, doesn't he? I want to. Whatever he says,
I want to do it. Are you going to live like him?
That's an undeniable evidence of being a child of God. You
don't have that. You just want, like I said this morning, that
person just wants, they just want heaven without salvation. But salvation to a blessed virgin,
what do you want more than anything else? He said, to be without
sin. Be without sin. And while I'm here, this life,
I want to live the good life, don't you? The Lord Jesus Christ
came down here and lived as a man who said, now this is, this is,
this is life. This is life. He who will love
life, the good life, and see many days, good days. Refrain your tongue. It's too
evil. Seek peace. Do good. Are those
active, practical principles? Are they shared? No spiritualization
there. It's just an active passion.
He says, the Lord's eyes are over the righteous. He notices.
He sees. He rewards. Not with salvation. That's not meritorious. Now works
aren't meritorious, but He'll reward. There's a certain peace. in obedience. And I can't really
describe that. Do y'all know what I'm talking
about? Do you know what I'm talking about? There's certainly turmoil
when you know of a sin against the Lord, greatly. There's a
terrible turmoil. And as that man said, most men
live life way, way below what it really should be, live. Christ
was a man of sorrows, a queen of grief, because he had the
sin of his people on him, facing hell for them. But he came down
here and lived this life. And we have one to live. And
the only way to really live it is to live it like he lived it.
All right. Sherry, would you come up and...
No, stay there. Sing this without the... without
the piano. 166. 166. You love life. You see many good days. You consider
what's been said by the Apostle Peter through the Holy Spirit,
and the Lord give you understanding. Okay? 166. Stand with me. We'll sing
this without—and let's sing the message. Search me, O God, and
know my heart today. Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts,
I pray. cleanse me from every sin and
set me free. I'm going to raise that up a
little bit. I praise Thee, Lord, for cleansing me from sin. Oh, fill my world and make me
pure with Thee. Fill me with Thine grace. I.