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Amen, so the title of the sermon tonight is evidence of a blessed life evidence of a blessed life And you know, there's a lot of different evidences that we could point to that We're living a life that is blessed or what at least what the Bible would call a blessed life and Psalms 128 Just you know, I think has a couple just quick points that we could look at and see you know what it means to live a blessed life because you know people have a lot of different ideas today about what it means to Live a blessed life and they would say things like oh, you're very blessed If you have a lot of money or if you have a lot of clout at your job or things like that But really the Bible kind of points to a few things here in this Psalm and you probably picked up on them as it was being read that You know would tell us that's you know, the answer is different the biblical answer is, you know Not necessarily having great wealth. Although the Bible does talk about how God will bless us if we work hard He gives us strength to get wealth But you know That's not the only measure of success or the only evidence of the fact that you are living a blessed life And let's just get right into it It says there in Psalms 128 verse 1 it said blessed is everyone that fear at the Lord that walketh in his ways For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands and happy shalt thou be and it shall be well with thee so the first evidence that I want to point out tonight that we're living a blessed life is the fact that you know We're gonna have the ability to labor that we're gonna be able to labor And that we're going to be able to eat of that labor and you might say are you telling me that? Working is an evidence of being blessed and the answer is yes, because that is what the Bible says And you know, we're living in a society today and this probably the point I'm gonna spend a little bit more time on than the others We're living in a society where you know, people are all about not working, you know you get into I've had certain jobs in the past and I've said this of them that I've never seen a group of people work so hard at Not working, you know, they'll get into a job and it instantly just becomes about the pension They're just counting down the days until they can retire They're just counting down the minutes till they can punch out and they're they're not really interested in putting in, you know long days hard days but you know the Bible does say that That you know Laboring is something that is you know A blessing to us that if we have the ability to go and labor that is the blessing from God I mean just think about it from the the aspect that to be able to go out and to labor to work hard You know requires physical health, you know If you're somebody who can put both feet on the ground when you wake up in the morning and stand up You know and draw air and move around of your own volition And are able to go out there and put in a hard day's labor either You know in a secular job out there Or maybe you're a wife and a mother you're able to get up and to teach your children and instruct your children You're able to cook the meals and do all the tasks Around the house that need to be done or even if you're a child a young person who has the ability to get up And to do your school work and to you know, have the cognitive function, you know I know it's questionable among some of us right to be able to actually perform those duties and to Turn in the work and to do all the hard work that's involved there, you know That's a blessing just to be able to have the physical ability To do those things in and of itself is evidence that you know, you are living a blessed life That's something to be grateful for that's something that we ought to be thankful for That we have the ability to go out there and to do our jobs and to complete the tasks That have been given unto us to do if you would keep something in psalm 128 But just go over ecclesiastes chapter number five ecclesiastes chapter number five They say are you really gonna get up there and tell me that working is a blessing from god Well, if you think about it, you know Genesis the bible says that god was made to labor You know god made man and put him in the garden of eden, you know to to swing in a hammock and to just you know Eat whatever he wanted and lay around all day No, he put him in the garden to dress it and to keep it, you know, man was built and designed by god to labor You know and we understand that that labor became more intensive and became more of a burden if you will When man fell and god cursed the earth and he said, you know now you're going to labor in the sweat of your face But even prior to that prior to curse when man was blessed of god before he fell He was still designed to go out and work, you know, and and specifically when it comes to men, you know Men have something in them at least they should You know that that compels them to want to work compels them to want to go out And accomplish something get their hands dirty do something And get involved in even physical labor and doing things of that nature And the bible talks about this, you know in several different passages We'll just look at a few but the bible says you're there in ecclesiastes five But it says in chapter 2 verse 24 that there is nothing better for a man than that He should eat and drink, you know, we'd like to just put a period right there and just say hey There's nothing better. The bible says we should just eat and drink that there's nothing better to do, right? Well, yeah, it's there's nothing better that he should eat and drink and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor you know when man can Work hard and come home and have a you know, a good nutritious meal and he can eat the fruit of his labor You know, that's a very good thing. That is a blessing from god Look, that's an evidence that god has blessed you when you're able to go out there and work hard and enjoy The good of your labor, you know, the bible says this also I saw that it was from the hand of god You know, so I want god to bless me Well, you know, he's giving you physical strength to go out there and to earn a living And to you know be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor. That's that is the evidence of a blessed life And again, we're living in a society today that would rather just go collect the welfare check They'd rather just sit around in unemployment. They would rather just not labor not work not you know, break a sweat doing anything You know, but ask yourself this are those people truly blessed of god and you would look at their lives and often They're very, you know miserable people. They're very depressed people Look at ecclesiastes chapter 5 verse 12. It says the sleep of a laboring man is sweet That's verse 12 whether he eat little or much that the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep You think oh if I could just you know Strike the win the lotto if I could just get the scratch off and hit it big Just get a million to take off the edge, you know, just a cool million That's all I need to just pay off a few things You know that you know that I would be able to just take my knees, you know I would be able wouldn't have to work so hard The bible says, you know if you made it if you got rich if you just came into this abundance of wealth Then I would actually not suffer you to sleep You'd be worrying about what how the the markets are performing you'd be worrying about You know how you're going to spend that money if someone's going to come and take it if it's going to get You know embezzled by some investor or whatever You know, but the sleep of a laboring man is sweet whether he eat little or much You know the guy who puts in an honest hard day's work puts in a long day You know He has a real easy time just laying his head down on the pillow Knowing that he's put in a hard day's work and he sleeps very sweetly the bible says that's a blessing from god I mean isn't sleep a blessing You know when you don't you don't believe me. We'll go without it for a little while, you know Don't get enough sleep for a while, you know, a lot of the mothers in here are probably thinking Yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about what they would give for just you know A moment's rest a moment's respite just to be able to lay down their head and get a solid eight hours or six hours Without being interrupted throughout the night You know, that's a you know, not being able to sleep is a is, you know, a very difficult thing You know that can really have a toll on our health and our mental health our physical health, you know But the man who labors that's the man that's blessed of god, you know that evidence of god's blessing is the fact That you're able to lay your head down and sleep And have peace and have sweet sleep because of the fact that you're working hard. Look at verse 18 Behold that which I have seen it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink And to enjoy the good of all his labor Again, we want to just end up eat and drink, right? And we do enjoy the the eating and the drink. I mean this is back to church. Amen. We enjoy it You know, we we get together we have the potlucks when we get together and have fellowship We do the eating and the drinking but you know What else we do is we are enjoying all the good of our labor that has been undertaken under the sun You know think about the people that are going out and soul-witting especially this time of year that are getting under the sun You know, they enjoy the eating and the drinking both before and after the soul-witting, you know They go out there they labor hard in the sun And then they're looking forward to the cool drink, right? Whereas if you were just sitting around in the ac all day that that refreshing beverage probably wouldn't be as satisfying, right? Look, we want to enjoy these good things in life. Those are blessings from god, but they're made sweeter They made better by the fact that we're able to labor to get them that we work hard to get those things That is an evidence of a blessed life The fact that if we find ourselves working hard because people, you know will teach the exact opposite They'll say oh god's blessing you, you know, you're just going to come into all this wealth. God's just going to bless you You're going to get all these great things, you know have this prosperity gospel And say oh you're not going to work so hard. Well, I mean, what does the bible say though? It seems to me like the bible saying the evident, you know The evidence of a blessed life god's blessing manifests itself through the fact that we have the ability to work hard And that's what allows us to enjoy these things that god blesses us with Excuse me Look at verse 19 every man also To whom god hath given riches and wealth and hath given him power to ether of and to take his portion and to rejoice in his labor This is the gift of god. So if that labor leads to wealth, you know that also is the gift of god For he shall not much remember the days of his life because god answerth him in the joy of his heart Now if you would go over to second thessalonians chapter number three second thessalonians chapter number three How do you know that you know laboring that that working hard is a blessing from god because you know god actually condemns not working God condemns not being somebody who's laboring and putting in Uh, you know hard days work if you're one who's just kind of laying around being lazy not working The bible actually condemns that And says, you know that not working is a sin Bible says infusions 4 let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor Working with his hands the thing which is good that he'd be able to give to him that needeth You know god wants us to be working look at second thessalonians chapter number three now We command you brethren in the name of our lord Jesus christ that you withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly and not after the tradition Which he received of us then he goes on to tell us what it means to walk disorderly And what is this tradition that they had received of paul? Verse 10 for even when we were with you this we commanded you that if any would not work neither should he eat You know and that you know, that's what needs to be Uh quoted to these bums on the street That that are begging, you know, they're saying oh just i'm hungry. It's like no you're you're uh, You need to get your fix is what's really going on there Oh, i'm hungry. I haven't eaten days, you know, and the people hand them food and then they just they don't even eat it They don't even finish it Because what they're really out there for is to so they can keep doing drugs. Look that's just the facts And the bible says, you know that those people should not eat And that you know what's so infuriating me is not the people That are necessarily out there panhandling and try to take you know Get other people's hard-earned money so they can go spend it on booze and alcohol and go to the strip club and get you know You know shoot things up in their veins and whatever it is that they do these derelicts with other people's money You know, what's really more frustrating that is the people that you see roll down the window and actually hand them You know money and say hey carry on keep doing what you're doing here. Let me enable you to keep doing that Look i'm sure there's people out there that have genuine needs, you know, but There's other avenues for people like that to go find the help that they need and they sit there and panhandle on the street And you know, we're being overrun by this in our nation where people are just setting up on every off-ramp They're setting up camps all over the place. I mean, we've got it here phoenix other states. It's way worse And we're now even you know, the city, you know city governments are saying oh, it's okay They can they can camp out wherever they want we can't tear it down where they're being You know, they'll they'll drive look in some cities like portland they'll even during the hot months They'll they literally will send out a trolley like a vehicle like a big bus or whatever it is So that all the homeless people can come in and get out of the heat and just drive them around That's your tax. That's those people's tax money at work What they should be told is hey, uh, you know, if you're not going to work and you're not going to eat And when people start to get hungry, you know, they'll start to clean up their act They'll start actually start trying to make an effort to to to uh, you know better themselves You know, that's what the bible says you say is that the solution everything? I don't know You know my job as the preacher isn't here to solve all the world's problems just to tell you what the bible says And the world can do with it whatever they want But that's what paul said. He said look and when it comes to the brethren, you know We should withdraw from them if there's some brother who's going to come into church and just start being a bum and not working And not putting in a hard day's work That's somebody we should withdraw from and I don't think it means we should just ignore him and not shake his hand I think it's something that's actually worthy of being kicked out of church if people have different interpretations. That's fine. This is mine He says in verse 11 for we hear that there's some which walk among you disorderly. So there it is There we're to withdraw from them that walk it disorderly and there are some which walk among you disorderly What is the disorderlyness that they have working not at all, but are busybodies? You know, they're it's they're working on it all but they're staying busy, you know You know running around talking to people being busybodies, you know, these guys are out on the street with the sign, you know waving it And and asking for money. It's like You know, they actually pay people there's actually legitimate jobs where you would you know You could go work and do that exact same thing being a sign waver You're like waving signs so much, you know, once you go get a job where they actually pay people to do that You know you go at you're already advertising out in the heat on the side It's like why don't you go get a legitimate job? I'll tell you why they don't do it is because they probably make more money doing that than working a legitimate job Because there's people out there that don't understand this They don't understand that, you know, they shouldn't be feeding the bums. Where's the bumper stickers? Don't feed the bums You know, they have signs all over the parks when you when you're dealing with dangerous animals don't feed the bears You know, how about don't feed the bums? Because if you don't feed the bears the bears won't come around and start scratching and clawing at your window You know and seeing what you want to see what you taste like Right, you all you give me marshmallows. Maybe you're just a big marshmallow, you know And some of us might resemble big marshmallows more than others, but you know, it's the same thing here. Don't feed the bums You know and they'll quit, you know fogging up our glass, you know and staring at us at stoplights You know and actually go get a shave and a shower and try to make something of themselves When people stop, you know paying that I know i'm kind of ranting right now, but so what look at verse 12 It says now that we uh them that are such we command and exhort by our lord Jesus christ that with quietness they work and eat their own bread because that's the blessing of god That's the evidence of a blessed life When you're able to stand on your own two feet carve out a living for yourself And eat your own bread with quietness and work with your own two hands look That's the evidence of a blessed life and the bible's showing us here that you know It's the the opposite of a blessed life, you know in one respect is that you're a bum You're going to tell me these people out there are blessed the farthest farthest thing from it You know god blessed they'll put on the science like well, he's not blessing you, buddy because the evidence of a blessed life is the fact that you're able to work hard that you're willing to go out there and Make a living for yourself So yeah, god's blessing me, but I don't see him blessing you Verse 13 Ye brethren be not weary in well doing and if any man obey not our word by this epistle Note that man and have no company with them that he may be ashamed Yet count him not as an enemy but admonish him as a brother You know One of the evidences of a blessed life is being able to work hard to go out and labor and enjoy the fruit of that labor You know, that's that's the portion that god has given to man You know and not working is probably one of the most depressing things that a man can go through I mean i've known people several people throughout, you know In my life where it's not they're not even unemployed yet There's just this prospect that they might have be without work or there might be a season Where they don't have and these men and men will start to fret over that they'll start to worry And naturally so, you know because they want to provide for their family and things like that where it'll actually kind of affect their mood And it's not that they're they're unemployed. They're just it's just there's this prospect You know that things might not turn out the way they want, you know, it's why because not working is depressing And there's been seasons. I know where i've been between jobs. That's like You you think oh, you know, you're kind of looking for jobs. You're at home You know, you got time to spend with the family. It's like believe me those seasons in life. The family doesn't want me around You know it i'm not exactly a happy camper when i've found myself between jobs. It's miserable You know and it's depressing to not work You know and even the cdc understands that you know unemployment is consistently associated with high rates of depression among adults They've done whole studies on it that people who don't work are more depressed more chronically depressed Because man is built to work man woman boy girl adult child They're all built designed by god to be people who labor who endeavor to accomplish things and to enjoy the fruit of that labor you know and sometimes and I and it even kind of made me think about the fact that You know part of my job, you know As someone who is pastoring this church down here is to be available to kind of counsel people and help people you know something and and Sometimes people get depressed and go through things And I know we're kind of a smaller church, you know, and and just not a lot of time has elapsed But i'm i've never really been approached by that i've never really had You know grown men come to me and say hey i'm really struggling with this and I start and i'm wondering sometimes Is it because i'm just that unapproachable? Is it just because i'm just that grumpy and and is it just because is it the look on my face? You know, is it is it the uh, the deodorant or lack thereof, you know, do I need to change the oil so to speak? Is it just i'm so repulsive or something like that or maybe is it that you know the men in this church? You know just don't suffer from that because they're all working hard Because they're not depressed because they're they're out there earning a living I like to think that it's the former or the latter rather. I like to think that it's because all the men, you know They're not struggling with this because they're already living a blessed life Hey deacon, we don't need your your help here because we're doing all right because we're all working because we're doing a good job So that's the first evidence of a blessed life The ability to go out and work and to be blessed in that labor, you know That is something that is the gift of god that god has given to us. That is the portion Given to man in this life, you know another evidence there in psalms, uh 118 where we were Or 128, excuse me Is you know the uh, another evidence would be and again, this isn't a an exhaustive list, but these are just a few points You know would be the ability to marry and raise children You know that that would be part of a blessed life and i'm not saying if you don't have these things that you're not blessed But I am saying this that if you do have these things you certainly are blessed You know, and this is important to remember today because of the fact that you know, especially nowadays We're having people grow up with this philosophy That says you know marriage is just something you have to kind of put off as long as you can That children are nothing but a burden in fact, you know If you can abort them, you know that we want to be able to do that You know, we should want to control when we can have children and when we don't want to have children, you know But the bible makes it abundantly clear that having uh children of the youth having children in abundance Is a blessing that god gives to us So that's how it should be approached that marriage and childbearing is a blessing not without its difficulties not without its its hardships Just like laboring isn't necessarily the easiest thing I'm sure not everyone pops out of bed every morning like a little toaster strudel, you know All warm and crispy ready to go, you know looking forward to the day when they got a long day's work ahead of them But you know what when people put on a hard day's work they get to the end. They feel pretty satisfied When they do something hard something they didn't want to do they have the satisfaction that they accomplish something Well, it comes the same thing to marriage and having children. It's not always easy. It's not always the most pleasant thing, you know to be dealing with the sickness and the diapers and And the frustration of child rearing and everything that goes along with it But you know what when you start turning out godly children who are blessing to others, you know, that is a very satisfying thing You know when they are blessing back to you That is something that is a blessing that comes from god go to psalms 127 It's just one chapter where behind where we are. It makes me always think of you know, joseph, right when when when uh when joseph was being blessed of uh, Of israel, you know, he he was giving out the blessings to his 12 sons and he says joseph is a fruitful bow Even a fruitful bow by a well whose branches uh run over the wall And he goes on to describe what he means by that. Well, what does it mean to be a fruitful bow? For joseph to be that He says it goes on. He shall be blessed with blessings of heaven above blessings of the deep that lieth underneath Blessings of the breasts and of the womb he's saying look one of the blessings that joseph is going to have Is the fact that he's going to have a multitude of children He's going to have the blessings of the breasts and of the womb that's talking about Children having children, you know Being able to marry and raise children is an evidence of a blessed life And I get it, you know some people they they might even be married but not able to have children That's not to say that they're not blessed. There's other complications involved. I understand that, you know people have things that they have to overcome And and god has his purposes, you know, he's the one that openeth and shut at the womb and You know There is that okay. I understand that there's that caveat there But you know the bible does say in one psalms 127 verse 3 where you are low children are in heaven Are in heritage of the lord and the fruit of the womb is his reward You know, that's not a philosophy that the world's going to embrace today that would say. Oh, yeah children are a blessing from god They're a reward You know people today will sit there and say oh children are just some kind of you know Uh hardship that we have to endure just so that the human race doesn't go extinct You know That's their that's sometimes the philosophy a lot of people that have out there this attitude that they have I mean, I remember when I was uh when I was engaged to be married I was taken aside and told You know, you should just not have children for the first couple years And just spend time getting to know each other and you know that went right out the window that I was I dismissed that out of hand You know and i'm glad that I did because you know, i'm one who got married, you know, not later in life You know, I was about I think I was 29 years old when I got married I was practically 30 years old and i'm grateful for the time that i've had being married I it's been a blessing me i'm grateful for the children that I do have but often i'll think you know if i'd gotten If we had gotten married even younger, we could have had the chance to have even more children You know, we could have a few more kids you say you've already got five. How many do you need? Uh more that's how many I need, you know, and now we're getting a little bit older, you know We're approaching into that time of life where you know in the next probably within the next decade We'll as a couple, you know, my wife will cease to have children You know and and now I find myself just praying can can lord can I have at least one more two more why because Children are a blessing from god. They're not easy. It's not always the most uh, Pleasant thing to raise children, but I tell you what it's a huge blessing you know and what kind of jarred this sermon, you know, what kind of you know, uh made me want to preach this is you know, I was recently I was away from home for a whole like Two days not even you know like oh four to eight hours it's like People like oh it must be nice to travel, you know traveling is fun for about eight hours You know the older i've gotten i'm like I then after eight hours I'm, like I no matter how good a time i'm having part of me It's just like I want to be at home. I want to be at home I think oh what about all the eating out? You know all the all the great food you're gonna get to enjoy it's like no i'd rather just be eating You know, whatever my wife's making you know at home and be there with my children, you know And then you start to see i'm at the red hot i'm seeing all these other kids You know all these other couples and all their small, you know They're small children and they're these families there and i'm thinking what a blessing, you know What a blessing to be a part of something where people are being encouraged to have children to get married and to have kids and to be fruitful and to multiply like the bible commands us to And you're surrounded by people who are happy who are enjoying life who are evidently blessed of god because of the fact That they are you know They have these children and it makes me want to go home and enjoy the blessing of my children, you know even more The bible says they are in heritage of the lord that they are the that the fruit of the womb Of his excuse the fruit of womb is his reward And again going back to you know, the psalms 128 where we were He says thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house, you know She's that that main plant that kind of has grown up. We all seen you know, those those, uh, you know those Thomas concade, you know, that's his name that does the is that his name the guy who does like the you know, the real pretty Puzzles and things the paintings, you know the the little cottage with the wheel, you know the little Water wheel and it's next to some you know ideal lake and there's this beautiful sunset and often you'll see that You know, he'll those type of paintings. They'll have that that wall, you know That's just overgrown with a vine, right? And it's just showing you know that you know what the bible is painting here is that it's it's fertile, you know It's something that is growing It's something that brings forth fruit and he's saying that one of the evidences of a blessed life is having A wife who is going to be fruitful. She's going to be a fruitful vine You know and she's going to kind of hold that house together She's going to be you know an attraction in that house and she's going to bear children You know and and again, I know that's not always the case that there's obviously You know a caveat there but generally speaking, you know, that is an evidence of being blessed And not only that, you know, the another evidence is the fact that the children that are born in that house are promising You know having promising children is an evidence of a blessed life And you have kids that are headed in the right direction as it says here in psalms 1 and 28 verse 3 thy children like olive plants round about thy table Now it's interesting it says olive plants because you know an olive What you don't really when you think of an olive you think of the olive tree, right? You don't think of the olive plant And all the trees are obviously very big. It's not really something you're going to sit around the table But you know and whenever I read that I always think about sitting at the table and all my kids Just being literal olive plants like in little potted plants You know, and they're just little striplings. They got a few little branches. They're not necessarily bringing forth an abundant Amount of they're not bearing any fruit, you know, they have to be nurtured they have to be watered They have to be, you know kept upright They have to be staked, you know and and protected and kept out of the elements. They have to be nurtured as a plant but what is the picture there is that those children eventually are going to take root and grow and Develop and become strong and eventually in and of themselves be very fruitful They're going to bring fruit, you know for fruit and they're in their uh adulthood and they're more mature years What are they they're promising children? You know children are a blessing because of the fact of the promise that they bring You know and that they're an investment that we would that we you know, uh pour ourselves into at least we ought to Because they are the blessing from god, you know and and really, you know, they will just you know, if they're gonna If we follow the biblical model, it's our children that are going to sustain us later in life You know my kids thankfully are still fighting over me, you know who gets to take care of dad You know, well, no, he's gonna live with me. Mom and dad are gonna come stay with me They kind of fight for me not all of them. Some of them are just like well, yeah, you can have them Right, but you know that that is a biblical model. I know i've preached about that recently about you know, honoring your parents You know and and requiring your parents in their old age when they have need But you know that is a blessing from god. Don't look at your children like they're just some burden That they're just you know, something you have to endure. They are an evidence of a blessed life if you have kids They reach beyond our years, you know They they're as the arrows of the hand and of a my arrows in the hand of a mighty man The bible says in proverbs 22 So are the children of the youth happy as the man hath his quiver full of them They shall not be ashamed that shall speak with enemies in the gates And I love the picture that the bible points or paints about children It says there as arrows in the hands of the mighty didn't say there as a battle axe or sword. Yes There's still a weapon but you know, what what are you using is an arrow is not it's a it's it's not a uh, You know short range weapon. It's a long range weapon, isn't it? It's something that you reach out someone you could not otherwise You know effect You know you can reach with an arrow You know, that's what children Are the children of your youth are that's the promising of the promise of children That they're going to have a reach that extends beyond your own in the years to come You know when we grow old and pass off the scene Our children our grandchildren if we've trained them up in the way that they should go they will not depart from it They will pick up the torch. They will pick up the mantle and they will carry on and and and and Continue to serve god and make an impact on this world That's how you have to view children. That's how you have to look at uh, you know the children that we're raising they're not just something that we have to just Yes, of course they're like that olive plant that we have to sustain we have to nurture we have to protect But eventually they're going to stand on their own and they're going to be fruitful children are promising That's how children ought to be viewed that'll help us get through those difficult times Those difficult seasons, you know when all of our children are young they're under a certain age. It's it's very stressful It's very difficult, you know, the promise is that later on, you know, they will Uh grow up and they'll be a blessing and return unto us So these are just a few of the evidences of god's blessing in our in our lives and really in closing real quick The last one i'll point out is the blessing of god's working in our lives Now i'm not going to get real specific on this But if you look there in verse five, it says osalm 128 verse five the lord shall bless thee out of zion And thou shalt see the good of jerusalem all the days of thy life A that shalt see thy children's children and peace upon israel You know what god is promising here is that he will preserve us He will preserve us. He you know, I believe he'll preserve us as individuals You know if we are going to serve god and and be blessed by him that we will live long enough to see our children's children, you know, and that's that's something that Uh, you know is very uh should be very near and dear to us. That's a very special thing You know, I was able to see a friend of mine just recently at the red hot, uh preaching conference You know pastor aaron thompson Who's not a whole lot older than me? You know and he's already seeing his children's children, you know, and it was fun to kind of hang around him and and see all of his you know, his his uh His children there with their spouses and all of his I think he's got five or seven grandkids already. I can't remember You know, but and it happened overnight like it was just a few years ago He had none and then just in that short time now He's already surrounded by all these little kids are coming up to him and calling them whatever they call him You know their grandpa they all call him something different, right? And he's able and i'm sitting there thinking man what a blessing that is, you know, and that's the evidence of a blessed life That that you're seeing your children's children that god has preserved you and had god has given you promising children that are bearing fruit That's the evidence of a blessed life, you know, and that's god blessing me out of zion, you know, god's going to be with us You know, maybe not as a nation, you know, it says now shall see the good of jerusalem all the days of thy life You know If everyone was doing what it took to to be blessed of god and i'll cover that with what that is here in a minute You know then and whole nation could could look forward to that to being preserved and have the blessing of god upon it You know, we might not have that as a nation But we could definitely have it as individuals in our lives that we can have the blessings of god In our lives we can have these evidences. So the question is, you know, how do you get this blessing? You know, how do you have these evidences of a blessed life? How is it? that you know you get the the blessing of the ability to to work hard and to Have god bless your efforts and labor and bless your children and and have a blessed life. Well, it's right there It's it's in verse one Blessed as everyone that feareth the lord That's the the basis of a blessed life. We talked I just pointed out a few of the evidences But the basis for a blessed life is a life that is that fears the lord You know fearing god keeping his commandments and doing what's right. That's what leads to a blessed life Not just blowing god off and just saying well, you know I'll just you know, I know god I know the bible's true. I know what the preacher said is true But you know, it's just not for me Well, you know what you just robbed yourself of a blessed life You know and you'll find that out later in life You know, you'll find out later when you don't have these things when the health fails When the grandchildren aren't there, you know that you're missing out on a bless on a blessing in life Look, and I don't want that for anybody in this room. I want people to have those blessings Because you know, I I'm enjoying some of them others. I'm just seeing others enjoy and wanting it You know and i'm saying well what I got to do to what do I got to do to get it? You got to fear god Fear god and keep his commandments. I should keep something in ecclesiastes go to verse 12 chapter 12. We'll end there You know, but in this short psalm in psalms 128 we see Just a couple evidences of what god's blessing, uh is how it materializes You know in our life how it actually manifests itself Strength the labor enjoying the fruit of our labor raising children having a fruitful spout having a healthy home having You know a home like that You know having a home that is blessed And in that short psalm, we're also told twice that that comes as a result of fearing God blesses everyone that fear at the lord that walketh in his ways verse four Bless behold that thus shall the man be blessed that fear at the lord Say I want that we need to fear the lord, you know, I remember Early on, uh, you know when I first got saved When I first started to see families such as we have here such as I now have You know before I got married or have children just just thinking myself man. That's what I want You know, I didn't have that growing up and I remember just thinking as a young person man. I just want A godly wife. I just want godly children. I want just a peaceful stable home, you know the exact opposite of what I had growing up You know and i'm thinking well, how do you get that? Well, it wasn't I didn't get that because I went and you know Found some hoochie down at the bar and tried to make an honest woman out of her You know, I I found that I got that because I stuck it out at church and eventually god brought a you know, a Godly woman into my life that I you know That I was able to fall in love with and marry and have those children and now I have that You know, there was a season where the only thing I could do to get it was just fear God and walk in his ways and keep his commandments And just trust that the promises were true That god would eventually bless that and you know what he did and it continues to bless it But it came through fearing the lord Look at ecclesiastes chapter 12 verse 13. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter Fear god and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man For god shall bring every work and a judgment with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil You know god is going to reward every man according to his works whether it be good or whether it be evil He's going to bring every work and a judgment, you know, so what we ought because of that, you know What that's telling us is that we're either going to receive the blessing of god in this life Or the judgment of god in this life the curse of god in this life So what's he saying? Let well, let's hear the conclusion of the whole matter fear god keep his commandments You know and god will bless us if we do that And then and we as we continue to live this life. Maybe we don't have all the blessings that we want from god You know, but they're promised to the one who's going to fear him who's going to keep his commandments and walk in his ways So continue to do that just fear god You know and and walk in his ways and eventually, you know You'll begin to see the evidences of a blessed life in your life as well. Let's go ahead and pray