1 Peter chapter number 3. As we continue our study of Peter's letter, I'd like to read verses 8 through 11 this morning. We've already covered verses 8 and 9, and we'll look at verse 10 this morning. Beginning in verse number 8, Be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous, not rendering evil for evil, nor railing for railing, but contrary-wise, blessing, knowing that you are thereunto called, that you should receive, 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 and do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it. In verse eight, just to catch up a little bit, it's been a couple of weeks. By the way, I want to say that We have been struggling for several weeks with a bad virus and wasn't able to be here Wednesday night and I'm so grateful for the prayers of God's people. I woke up Thursday, and so did Sue, completely rejuvenated. I mean, in my own health that I've been struggling with for some time now, I feel kind of a resurgence of energy and vitality to my life. And I attribute that to you and your prayers, and I want to thank you for that. Thank you so much. I spent a long journey, a couple of years, in dealing with different matters, but I'm feeling good. Thank you. In our text, beginning in verse 8, Peter returns to his addressing of the general audience, which is God's children, whom he identified at the beginning of this letter, who are scattered all over the Roman Empire. And he has recently in our study, beginning in the latter portion of chapter two and into chapter three, he has focused some time addressing several groups of people to instruct and encourage them in their difficult life. Remember the servants and slaves, Wives married to unbelievers, husbands married to unbelievers. He's focused on that for a period of time. And now he's going back to a general speaking and addressing of all believers in verse number eight. And in this verse, we noticed that he has given us five more traits or qualities, characteristics, of God's people. And Peter has given one after the other after the other these adjectives that describe, characterize God's people, how you identify them, the way they behave and look and conduct themselves. And so here he adds five more to this lengthy list that he's already given to us. in verse number eight, and he stated it, that we must all work together, striving in a sense together, having one mind. This is the goal of striving for unity and harmony in our relationships, not only in families, but in church families. God's people are identified as unifiers, not dividers. We are characterized by this quality. We want to live in harmony. One of the complaints of the Pilgrim and the Pilgrim Psalm book that we have there in the book of Psalms, we have these 12 or 13 songs that Pilgrims sing. One of those songs addresses this very subject. Everybody wants to be at odds. I want peace. Why can't I find peace? That ought to be the trade of God's people. We want to live in peace. We want harmony. We don't like stress of division. That's not a trait of God's true people. The second thing he mentioned here in verse eight, we must all be compassionate toward one another, willing and ready to enter into someone's sorrow. Some will excel in this quality for sure, but all should show a compassionate spirit. one to another. This is where we empathize. We are able to sorrow and weep with those who weep. This is a part of what makes a Christian who he is. This is his character. We are sympathetic to the point of being empathic where we can enter into their struggles. Third thing he mentioned is we must love every brother and sister and treat everyone like family. There is no one left out of this family group. Everyone deserves the same love as being our brothers and sisters as a family. The fourth thing he mentioned here in verse eight is that we must express pity. to one another or simply it means to be tenderhearted when we look upon people who either come into our midst or our brothers and sisters who fall and stumble in their life, we are to express pity toward them. And this is more of a tenderheartedness that we have toward one another. We are not harsh, we should not be mean-spirited, but we ought to show pity, a tender heart, to everyone who comes into our midst. And finally, the fifth trait he mentions here is that we are to exercise Humbleness of mind, he calls it courtesy here in the old English, but it denotes the common courtesy of a humble mind. This is how we approach people. We don't come before others haughty. We don't come before others better than them. We come before our brothers and sisters with a humble mind. recognizing even who we are in the presence of God. These are essential traits that Peter has given us here in verse eight, that we are to put on as garments. We are to wear these qualities always. These are not Sunday morning clothing. This is seven days a week we wear these garments. We are to be characterized by these identifiers of qualities in our life. And along our journey of life, things can happen suddenly and unexpectedly. And if you're not ready and clothed with these qualities, we will fail one another. And so we must put these on and keep these on. as we live out our Christian life together as a family, a body of people. And then in verse nine, you remember, and this is a part of our reviewing just to get caught up. We must not be quick to pay back injurious words or actions. This is a shameful thing that we are all guilty of, injurious words. and actions. But a Christian must be a people who learn not to respond in kind, but the opposite. We're inclined to respond to injurious words with injurious words, or being mistreated in an action with a similar kind of response. Peter says, no, contrary wise, do the opposite. Be prepared, he says, to give eulogia, right? I mean, there's that word to give a blessing. In other words, this idea of giving good words. They've given you bad words. Someone's spoken appropriately. They said something harsh to you. What do you do in response? Give back good words, not other injurious words because you were injured. We are given a promise here that God will give you a blessing. A blessing, not something earned, not something deserved, but knowing God will give to us. This is profound what Peter has said. God will give to us much more when we do those things that please him, right? Give, give a blessing. We've been called to this end so that we would inherit a blessing. Give blessings, God will give blessings, is the promise. And therefore bless those who fail you as God blesses us even when we fail him, doesn't he? Have you thought about how God blesses you even as you have failed him? His mercies are new every morning to us. He blesses us. Be ready to do the same to others, even though their words and actions may be injurious to you. Okay, verse 10 and 11 will be our focus. Verse 10 particularly will be our focus this morning. This sentence that we have here in verse 10 and 11 follows verses 8 and 9, and I say that because verses 10 and 11 are an argument for verses 8 and 9. So they are attached, and they need to be read and considered together when you study them. Verses 8 and 9, it's as if he's saying, do this, in verses 8 and 9, for this reason, verses 10 and 11. So that's how Peter constructs this sentence. Let me read verses 10 and 11 again, and then I want you to see that Peter's quoting almost directly, word for word, David out of Psalm 34. But look at what Peter says here. For he that will love life, will love life, and see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil in his lips that they speak no guile. Let him eschew evil and do good. Let him seek peace and ensue it. Look at Psalm 34. I want you to see it here because it's almost verbatim as Peter quotes these words out of Psalm 34 beginning in verse 11. He says, come, you children. It's like a father speaking. Come, you children, hearken unto me, and I will teach you the fear of the Lord. A wonderful thing, a concept of reverence and high regard for God. Come, let me teach you. What man, and so here's his instruction, right? What man is he that desireth life? and loveth many days that he may see good. Keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it. So Peter is taking something out of the Psalms here and he's using it as an argument to support what he's just said in verses eight and nine. David and Peter give us the same secret to a happy and fulfilled life. The language there denotes this. He that will love life wants to see good days. And so there is a secret being opened up to us. of how to have a happy and fulfilled life. I'm sure that the vast majority of humans would want to know how to have a happy and meaningful life. But the world sees happiness and fulfillment very differently than Christians do. And Peter is speaking to us as David was speaking to his children, the children of God. Peter is speaking to us who are believers, the children of God, who are pilgrimaging together. And he is speaking to us. Verse number 10, for he that will love life and see good days. Few things to notice here that a happy and fulfilled life is a good thing to want. It's a good thing to want. It's not evil to want a good life, a happy life. It's not an evil thing. It's not a selfish thing. It's the right thing. to desire a happy and fulfilled life. God is not interested in cheating us as it were from having a good life and having a happy life. And this wonderful life that is spoken of both by David and Peter, this wonderful life that we can enjoy is not based on material things. Material things are not evil, but they will never bring true fulfillment to a life. Nor is this desirable life based on what others do or don't do. We control the happiness of our life, according to David and Peter. A happy and fulfilled life is not complicated. Practice this lifestyle that Peter is focusing on here when he says that we are to have one mind in verses eight and verses nine. He is saying to us that if we practice this lifestyle, you'll find the secret to a fulfilled life. 4, as it shows up here in our English in verse 10, similar in the Greek, it refers to an argument or a reason that is being given here, supporting what he had said in verses 8 and 9. Those who do and practice these things as a lifestyle Those who have these five qualities and practice them show that they desire or they love life and that they will see good days. Do these things in order to receive these things is what Peter is telling us. Peter is not promising a life without trials. If we do these things, we won't have trials. That's not what he said. But if we do these things that he mentioned in verses eight and nine, he is simply telling us how to enjoy life and be fulfilled no matter what we experience in life. I mean, maybe you ponder this as I do from time to time. The fact that I'm a living soul that I've been given the grace of life. I exist. I exist. I have been given the grace of life. Peter had referred to that a little bit earlier in this same chapter, the grace of life. What a gift to us. And not only that we exist, but then on top of that, God has given us everlasting life. So the grace of life has been given, and also that grace of life has been given special grace unto salvation. Do you love that life? That's kind of what Peter's encouraging us here to identify as valuable. Do you love that life? It's appropriate to love your life that has been given to you. Our life is this precious thing and we are promised a happy and fulfilled life now. Regardless of when and where and the conditions we may be in, the secret to a happy and fulfilled life is restated here for us again in verses 10 through 11. Three things done by us determines the degree of our happiness. Three things done by you will determine the degree of your happiness. You control the outcome. What are they? Well, verse 10, let him reframe his tongue from evil and his lips that they speak no guile. Do you want, do you love life and want to see good days? Here's the key, here's the secret to a happy, fulfilled life. Refrain your lips from evil and your tongue from speaking guile. That's the first thing. You gotta do that if you wanna have a happy life. The second thing he says, let him eschew evil, kind of reject and shun, turn away from evil and in its place we are to be people who do good. That's the second thing. Do you want a happy life? Want to love this life that God has given to you, this unique existence in time? We actually exist? Then you must eschew evil and do good. You want to have a life that you love and seek all of the good that God has for you in this life? Then the third thing he mentions in verse 11, again, let him, notice, let him seek peace and pursue it. These are the, these are in your power. Nobody can give them to you and nobody can take them away from you. And by these three things, your own happiness will be measured. If you do these things. Who would have ever thought that these are the things that bring happiness and a fulfillment of life? The world would never understand this. Even Christians have a hard time understanding this. But here's the three-part secret to happiness. It's attainable for every believer, slaves and servants. Does God deny them happiness and good? Does he deny them this? No. Can they find it in the midst of their difficult life? Yes, Peter says. Can wives marry to disobedient husbands? Find this. Yes, they can. Can husbands marry to disobedient wives? Find this. Yes, they can. It's up to the individual to lay claim to these things. No one can give these to you and no one can take these from you. Happiness and a fulfillment of life come by way of these three things. according to Peter, as he writes under the influence of the Spirit of God. If we desire, he that, I like the phrase here when he says, he that will, and it speaks of a will, a desire, a strong desire. He that will desires, to love our life that has been given to us, to love that life and want fulfillment from our life, then let us do these things. Three things, let us. Let that person, that's how he says it. Let that person, let him, that person, practice these three things and they will find fulfillment and happiness in life. You cannot find it apart from these three things. You can have all the wealth of the world and not find happiness and fulfillment of life. But God has made it available for every one of his people. And no one can take it from you. It's up to you to resolve to want it and to practice it. Let him, that person, practice these three things. I don't have time to cover all of these, but I'll focus on the first thing that we mentioned here in verse number And 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. Okay, this is the first thing you have to do, decide you're going to do, be committed to practicing in order to be happy, to love life, find the good days that are there for you to enjoy. And so our happiness is measured by this practice, this refraining, this verb, this practice of our personal commitment. We must be actively engaged in refraining. One of the most difficult things to do, and it's put first for that reason, is we must learn to hit pause with our mouth We must learn to stop, refrain. What we're saying to someone before it becomes evil, refrain, right? Refrain his tongue from evil. Before it becomes evil, we must learn to hit pause, to hit stop. Before it's evil, what comes out of our mouth is evil, it's wrong, it's injurious words that can damage our relationship. You will never find the full meaning of life if you can't do that. You have to hit refrain. You have to hit stop. No one else is responsible for your happiness this morning. Our happiness is measured by our ability first, the first key ingredient to a happy life is to stop talking before it becomes evil, before it becomes wrong and injurious. And we all know by painful experience that this is not easy to do. Before we allow our wrong thoughts and our feelings to infect our speech, we must decide, pause, stop, in your true happiness this morning and enjoying the good days of this life that God has given to us, your true happiness will be impacted by this decision. To what degree do we love life and desire to enjoy good days? Well, this is definitely an unexpected key to our happiness. Another way to say it is we must manage our tongue. Isn't it interesting how God's design for our happiness is attached to this important self-management? And God has not given us an impossible task, a difficult one for sure. I mean, words are flying out of our mouth constantly, all day long. It is estimated that we will speak somewhere between 13 to 16,000 words a day. Some days more, some days less, some people more, some people less, but that's the average. That's a lot of words. flying out of our mouth all day long. Most of them are, you know, not even associated with any spiritual value as we might think. And a lot of them are just chit-chat and talk at work and passing on information, taking phone calls. But some of these words are crucial in our relationships. particularly as Peter is focused on the pilgrims who journey together. Our relationships, how do we speak to one another? He is saying, you will never find a fulfilled life if you cannot manage your tongue. It's impossible. So a question, how do we develop the skill of refraining the tongue? Seems natural for us, right? If you wanna, if he that loves life and wants to see good days, let that person refrain his tongue from speaking evil. So how do we refrain the tongue? It's no different than overcoming any other sinful tendency. We must fill our mind with God's word regarding this problem to whatever level we might have it, and then submit to its authority over us in those moments. At that moment in time, when the conversation and the communication is going on, we know how to hit pause before the evil comes out. We know how to stop. We know how to submit to the authority of the Word of God over us in those moments. You see, it's not enough just to have the knowledge of this, nor is it even enough to memorize this. The important thing is that when you put the Word of God into your mind, dealing with this matter of how we refrain our tongues, You must be resolved to submit to it. To bow to the authority of God at that moment. When you are studying and memorizing these things, make that a part of your interaction with God. Resolve to be obedient. Committed to these things that you know to be right. I believe that it will be for our benefit this morning. I just want to read a few other passages and want you to listen to these words about the proper use and abuse of the tongue, my tongue, your tongue. Refrain our lips, refrain our tongue from speaking evil in our lips, from guile. Guile is this disposition of deception, deceit. Speaking, but not speaking truthfully and honestly. The tongue can become a great deceiver. It has the power to do that. There's no way for us to enjoy the wonders of life that God has given to us unless we've learned to do that, to refrain. Isn't, when I think of communication, I mean, God has designed the apparatus for communicating. Think about it. I mean, it's just amazing to me. The Bible refers to this apparatus as being mouth, tongue, lips throughout the scriptures. And God has given this to us so that we can speak words. What a gift to us that we can speak words to one another. We can tell each other what we're thinking. We can tell each other what we're feeling. That should be good. But, When it's not, when our thoughts and our feelings are tracking in a wrong direction, we better know how to hit pause. Suddenly that which God has given as a gift to us is being perverted by us and used in an evil way. Our tongue is properly employed when we are praising God and edifying one another. God gave us the tongue to do that, to praise him. Isn't it amazing? We have the ability with our mouth, this apparatus of mouth, tongue and lips to communicate our thoughts and feelings to God. And we can do the same to one another. What a gift that is. But sin has severely damaged this gift of communication and turned our tongue into an instrument of potential evil that only the Word of God and the Spirit of God is able to harness so that we are able to refrain our tongue from evil and our lips from speaking guile. And a motivation for doing this is first and foremost to please our Father by using this gift he has given to us properly as he intended and also to enhance our own happiness and well-being and enjoyment of the good of life that he has provided for us. So I stand amazed that this is at the top of the list of how to be happy. How to be happy. I don't think as a young man I would have answered it that way. This is how God has chosen to give it to us. So just a few verses, would you please go back to Proverbs. I won't give you a lot, but I'll give you a few. Just, and these are selective, they are not exhaustive. I'm convinced that one of the most common subjects concerning the human life in the scriptures is the subject of our tongue and how we choose to use it in our relationships. Proverbs chapter 13, let's start there. You've already heard what David said in Psalms 34, and again, there are many places in the Psalms. Here's a couple from Proverbs, the wisdom literature for us. In Proverbs 13, verse 3, it says, He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life. But he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction. That's consistent with what Peter is saying, with what David said in Psalms 34. Keepeth, this word is kind of a military picture here of this action, this centurion that's standing guard. There's a watchman there. guarding over, and we are to learn this discipline in order to protect our life and its own happiness. He that keepeth his mouth. You must learn to stand guard. One of the worst things we can do is just to blab without any guard watching what comes out. If you want life to be meaningful and full, this is what you have to do. He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life. We say your life is in your own hands, but here, your life is in your mouth. Want a good life, you're gonna have to guard the mouth. Let it run in a direction it should not go, you're going to end up destroying, ruining your life, right? That's what Proverbs says. He that openeth wide without any guarding at all just lets it all out, right? He's going to make a miserable life for himself and others. Look at Proverbs 21, one other one. There's many, by the way, in Proverbs that you could search out. Proverbs 21 and verse 23, a similar thing, listen to it. Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles. You simplify life, you make it easier on yourself, more enjoyable. When you set a watch, whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles. many in the Old Testament, but for the sake of time, jump to the New Testament, a couple here for us. Look at Ephesians chapter 4. We're just supporting Peter's view and understanding and idea about how important it is for us to manage our tongue, the words that come out of our mouth. We are encouraged to be a guardian, a watchman over our mouth. In verse 29 of Ephesians chapter 4, Paul gave a directive here, let no communication, no corrupt communication. And so here's the, we are not to allow any at all. Let no corrupt communication, this is what is putrid words. Contains the idea of the logos, the words that can be putrid. Don't let any of this come out, corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth. How are you going to do that? How are you going to fulfill that? What, you're gonna set a watch over your mouth? and you're gonna fill your mind with the word of God and submit to its authority over you when you're in those positions of wanting to respond in a way that you shouldn't. That no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth. But this is God's purpose for your mouth, this apparatus of mouth, tongue, and lips, right? but that which is good that can be used to edify, that can be used to build up, that it may minister, serve your hearers, those who hear your words, minister grace unto them. This is why God created the mouth. provided your communication skills and abilities, first and foremost, to praise Him, but also to edify one another, to bless each other. He has an interesting statement in Colossians, Paul does, look at that as well, chapter number four, Colossians 4. And verse number six, let your speech, and again, this is a personal thing. It has to do with each of us personally. Peter emphasized that. Let your speech, let it always be with grace. Kind. Kind. That means we have to give a lot of tension to the words coming out of our mouth to guard ourselves so that we don't do this, but rather we are doing that. And here he is saying, let your speech be always with grace, a kind, a kind words that flow out of your mouth, words that have been seasoned with salt, kind of an interesting expression about things that have been preserved. It denotes according to this next phrase, so that you may know how you ought to answer every man, that you have given thought You have given consideration. The words that come out have been seasoned with salt. They just don't come out unprepared as it were. Let your speech be this way. So, knowing that God has given us some very clear directives about what our speech ought to sound like, what it ought to accomplish, and we know that God has called us to this mission, this task of being watchmen over our mouth, guardians of our words, keepers of the gate of our lips. One other quick portion, just a couple of verses out of James, though James probably says more about it than most authors. Chapter three, I would refer you to chapter three as a real good examination of your tongue and how to use it properly, biblically, godly, in an honorable way. Look at, study James chapter three. But here, I'll just pull a verse from James that captures all of this in chapter one in verse number 26. James says this, in agreement with David and Peter and Paul, if any man among you seem to be religious, oh, there's a religious man, there's a pious woman. and they don't bridle their tongue? They have deceived their own heart and this person's religion is vain. Does that strike fear into you? It does me. Real religion is measured by the use of our tongue. And of course, chapter 3 gives some wonderful explanations here. So, as we wrap this up in our thoughts of Peter here this morning. In his statement that he made to us in these two verses, we're looking at verse 10. For he that will love life. Oh, what a precious thing the grace of life is. And to love that life is a good thing. And you want to see good days. Yeah. You want to pull out of this journey that we are on many good days? How do we do that? Well, where do we start? Let him refrain his lips, his tongue from evil and his lips that they speak no guile. First step to the road of happiness. The first step to having a fulfilled life starts with our tongue. This wonderful apparatus that God has given us to communicate that we have so often perverted, we have allowed sin to use it in such a foul way. But God's people ought to be a people who are characterized as he defined in verses eight and nine, and if we follow that lifestyle, then we will also be doing these things because there's no way to do that lifestyle effectively unless we refrain our tongue from evil. And this is a personal choice. I'm so glad, and you ought to be glad, I'm sure, that no one determines your happiness No one has the power to decide your happiness, but you. It's in your power by observing these things that God has said to us this morning. If we desire to truly love life, to love the life that God has given to us, And if we want to enjoy the good of life, then here's the formula, the secret to a happy life, happy and fulfilled life that every person, every one of God's people can achieve. The skill of managing the tongue, is not a single victory. It requires constant watching, setting a watch, not letting out any corrupt thing. And this task is so great that we need special grace in order to even be effective. And God has provided that for us from his Word and Spirit as we Take His word in concerning these things and we abide by them. We submit to their authority. They will rule. They will be the centurion that stands watch over our mouth. But But while we memorize a lot of scripture about many things, I suppose this is not one of those subjects that we spend a lot of time memorizing scripture on, but it should be. And I want to challenge you this morning to make that commitment. I want to close with Psalm 141, if you'll look there. I'm going to read the first three verses and listen closely here to David's dependency upon God in his crying, his appealing for God's aid and help in his life. Lord, I cry unto thee. Make haste unto me. Give ear unto my voice when I cry unto thee. Do you hear the urgency and the appeal that is there? Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Lord, set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth. and keep the door of my lips. When I read this, I'm humbled to know that I can't do this alone. I can't do this in my own strength. I need God. What a prayer to cry out to God. How many of you have done this? Cried out to God concerning this matter? Oh Lord, right? Do you hear the earnest urgency in his cry? You, oh Lord, set a watch. And in doing that, that means that there's something that we know we have limitations in and we have a great need for the Lord himself to come alongside us and help us concerning this matter. We could say it's his word, it's his spirit that does this for sure. But notice that David knows he does not have the power in and of himself. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth and keep the door of my lips. I trust that we will do our part for sure and then we will humbly ask God to help us in what seems like an impossible task at times, managing this mechanism, this apparatus of a mouth, a tongue, and lips. What a gift, but yet, what potentials for evil. I pray that God would make us all better at this as we move forward in the coming months of our Christian journey. Father, thank you for your word and the reminders that are here. May you use these truths, Father, to make a change in us, an improvement in us where we are deficient. And may we learn to actively, not only day by day, put on that which is appropriate and right in order to deal with our tongue, but may we also cry out to you that you would enable us and strengthen us and be there with us to help us accomplish this great task, important task that you have given to us as your people to use our mouth rightly. Thank you for the things we hear from your word. Thank you in Christ's name.