Sermon Tone Analysis

This is the life!

(insert picture; this is the life here; already saved on computer)

Do you want a good life?

Do you consider yourself as to having a good life?

God wants us to have a good life, though it may be different that what we envision.

In our passage we see an appeal, an alternative and an answer.

When you think about having a good life what do you think of?

What is your measure, your standard of a good life?

We all want to have a good life, we want to live a good life, but it may be hard in this world since the world that wants to destroy, derail, detour, dismantle, detour the Christian from having a good life in the Lord.

Some of the ways the world, even some so called religious people try to take the good life, away from the Christian are pretty blatant (Gen3:3-4) or subtle and unnoticed (Jude4).

then there is the subtle

When you think of blatant, or subtle ways can you give some examples?

We want to have a great life, a good life, and that is found in the Lord.

We need to protect the good life that we have in Christ.

Because the appeal is out there that wants to take it away.

The Appeal

World view matters, the biblical world view or any other world view.

The most apparent, visual, attracting world view is not from God but from the things of this world.

We have commercials, billboards, radio ad’s that tell us what we need for a good life

We have our own fleshly eyes that look around and see what our neighbors have and think “If I had that I would have a good life; or they must have a good life.”

Even in the church we can have the wrong view, thinking that we must have a big church with big building, big finances to really be a good church.

Churches uses programs, ministries outside of the Bible to appeal to the masses but the message is minimized or compromised.

The Bible wards us about the wrong world view (1Jn2:15-17; Ecc8:15; Isa22:13)

The one who is caught up in these things, well there is a word for it Hedonism.

he·don·ism noun; the pursuit of pleasure; sensual self-indulgence.

synonyms:self-indulgence, pleasure-seeking, self-gratification

Or it goes on further to say.

the ethical theory that pleasure (in the sense of the satisfaction of desires) is the highest good and proper aim of human life.

Trivia question, do you know anyone in the Bible who had this world view?

Solomon was not alone, the nation of Isreal (in general) turned like that

It lead them into captivity.

Wrong view gets you to the wrong destination.

“If I only had . . .

“

You can fill in the blank, the right job, the right house, the right friends, if only I won the lottery.

In this world it seems that hedonism (love of pleasure, self) is the order for the day and as a Christian we need to know there is an alternative and in the proverbs, in the wisdom literature for application we have some examples of things to avoid and things to do.

An Alternative

Hedonism has to be addressed has to be dealt with.

Proverbs gives us some protections against it (Pro6:20-24) and reasons, warnings why (Pro6:25-35).

Some protections we can see in Pro6:20-24

Some warnings I want to touch on just for a second, I will elaborate more in a few, but first the passage.

In the Pro6 passage you can see

The foolishness of evil

The foolishness of adultery (Pro6:24-26, 29, 32)

Foolishness of immorality in general (Pro6:30-32)

and that hedonism is not the way to really living the good life (Pro6:26-28, 34-35)

Now, believe it or not that now brings us to our passage today, the answer!

The Answer

Don’t you love the answer book, the instruction book?

If we want to have a good life, a great life we have the ways and means to have it, when we read and apply the answer.

Principle: Keep My Commands and live (Pro3:1; 4:4; 7:1 and 7:2)

Solomon in this writing uses that phrase “keep my commands” 4 times just here in Proverbs alone

Method: Keep the Word!

Keep it as a treasure, something you can lay up (store up); something we protect.

Keep it, store it up for it is rational; it makes sense and is applicable.

So now let’s break this down

Jesus said keep my commands (Jn14:15)

Keeping the commands proves you love God (Jn14:21)

Keep the commandments, keep the Word as

A man keeps his money (stores it up)

A man who protects the apple of his eye

But wait, God does more.

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God stores up wisdom (Pro2:7)

God wants us to store up treasures (Mt6:20)

God wants us to remember we are the apple of God’s eye (Zech2:8)

So, allow God to keep you and protect you (Psm17:8)

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God stores up wisdom (Pro2:7)

God stores up wisdom (Pro2:7)

God wants us to store up treasures (Mt6:20)

God stores up wisdom (Pro2:7)

God wants us to store up treasures (Mt6:20)

God wants us to remember we are the apple of God’s eye (Zech2:8)

God stores up wisdom (Pro2:7)

God wants us to store up treasures (Mt6:20)

God wants us to remember we are the apple of God’s eye (Zech2:8)

So, allow God to keep you and protect you (Psm17:8)

As the Priest in the O.T. bound the Word, you as a New Testament Priest need to bind God’s Word, but here is the O.T. passage

So now if you want to a good life, and you need to protect the good life you have in Christ maybe we better look at the the worlds rational vs. God’s truth.

World’s rational vs. God’s truth

Remember we need to have the right view, the right standard for us to truly have a good life, a great life.

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The world says religion is restricting vs. God’s Word says there is freedom (Gal5:1; Isa6:1-3)

The world says what nobody knows won’t hurt you vs. God’s Word says there is nothing hidden (Mk4:22)

The world does not think about sin vs. God says watch out for sin (Gen4:7; 1Pt5:8) for it is crouching at the door and is like a roaring lion.

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The world says religion is restricting vs. God’s Word says there is freedom (Gal5:1; Isa6:1-3)

Freedom proclaim in Galatians; freedom (glory) prophesied in Isaiah

The whole earth full of His glory!

How is that, it is the church, it is the ones who live the good life in Christ Jesus.

The ones who know there is no condemnation (Rom8:1)

The world says religion is restricting vs. God’s Word says there is freedom (Gal5:1; Isa6:1-3)

The world says what nobody knows won’t hurt you vs. God’s Word says there is nothing hidden (Mk4:22)

Another passage you may mark in your notes is Psm139:7-12; you can look that up, read on that on your own.

The world says religion is restricting vs. God’s Word says there is freedom (Gal5:1; Isa6:1-3)

The world says what nobody knows won’t hurt you vs. God’s Word says there is nothing hidden (Mk4:22)

The world does not think about sin vs. God says watch out for sin (Gen4:7; 1Pt5:8) for it is crouching at the door and is like a roaring lion.

and then there is

The world and its world view vs. God’s view is there wanting to get you.

It wants to compromise with sin, or not to even think of sin at all or the consequences of it.

So the answer to having a good life, is Jesus, being in Jesus for He wants to give you a good life and show you how to maintain, and protect the good life that He died for you to have.

(encouragement slide) prayer (exit slide)