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VERY REV. A.B.A. AYILARA’S 80TH NATAL DAY ON WEDNESDAY 8TH JULY, 2020
Theme: Secret of longevity (Asiri emi gigun).
Text: Psalm 34:12-14 cf 1Peter 3:10-12
“Who is the man who desire life, and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil; And your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it”
“Okunrin wo ni o nfe iye, ti o si n fe ojo pupo, ki o le ma ri rere? Pa ahon re mo kuro ninu ibi ati ete re kuro ni etan siso. Lo kuro ninu ibi, ki osi maa se rere; maa wa alaafia, ki o si lepa re.”
- Like Psalm 25, this Psalm 34 is written with the Hebrew letter (alphabets) in an acrostic (puzzle) way.
- The background has to do with David’s dangerous experience with the Philistines in Gath (1Sam. 21:10-21:1), after which he fled to the cave of Adullam and he was saved by God at last.
- The Psalm centers on the fear of God (vs. 7,9,11) and total trust in his goodness (vs. 8,10 & 12) for human salvation and deliverance.
- There are four (4) main instructions for those who trust God for happiness and long life today in Psalm 34
Learn to bless the Lord (Ps. 34:1-3)
Learn to seek the Lord (Vs. 4-8)
Learn to fear the Lord (vs. 9-16)
Learn to trust the Lord (vs. 17-22)
Fear the Lord and live happily. Those who fear the Lord do not need to fear anything else (Ps. 112:1). Pa Ayilara, what you need now is happiness for the rest of your life, but you must continue to live in the fear of God.
When we fear the Lord, he provides all that we need at the right time (v. 9 cf. Matt. 6:33, Ps. 84:11) If we don’t receive what we think we need; it means those things are not good for us, and so we don’t need them at this time. (Rom. 8:28)
SECRET OF LONG LIFE:
- Desire what is good (v. 12) – Abundance life (John10:10) which Christ came to give is part of the promised goodness. Christians must therefore love good character, be faithful and honorable, and take delight in doing God’s will. (Ecc. 2:17-20; Ps. 37:4)
- Speak what is true (vs. 13) If everyone of us can control his/her tongue, such person can as well control his/her body. (James 3:1-12; Prov. 21:23) Though it is not easy to speak truth today, but we can and we must (Ps. 141:3-4) Pa. Ayilara at 80, you must speak nothing, but the truth.
- Purse what is right (v. 14) It means abandoning sin once and for all. Do good, be a peace-maker, and not a troubleshooter. (Heb. 12:14-21) Pa. Ayilara you are now an octogenarian; you must represent righteousness.
- Expect what is best (vs. 15 & 16) – Those who live by faith shall surely live long, because they trust God for guidance, care and help. (Ps. 32:8) His eyes are always on us but his face is against anyone who tries to do us evil (Acts 12) This is the assurance we all have as God's children.
I wish you Happy birthday and many pleasant surprises in Jesus name, Amen.
Let us pray.
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