https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/The-Better-Way.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: I Peter 4:1-6<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. What is accepted and praised in the world isn’t always what is best for people<\/p>\n
A. Jesus’s sermon on the mount began with startling facts – Matthew 5:3-12<\/p>\n 1. When you take the opposites of what Jesus states brings true happiness,\nyou find a list of things most people seek after: riches, happiness,\nassertiveness, fullness, revenge, do as you please, troublemakers, and\navoiding trouble.\n
2. Yet, none of the world’s ideas truly bring about happiness.<\/p>\n
B. As a result, the world doesn’t understand – I Corinthians 2:14<\/p>\n
II. Might doesn’t make right<\/p>\n
A. Proverbs 16:32 – Those who rely on strength don’t often take time to think<\/p>\n
1. They see no need to restrain themselves.<\/p>\n 2. At times you find books and movies glamorizing the berserker – the guy\nwho goes mad with fury, destroying all who oppose him\n
3. Yet anger rarely produces righteousness – James 1:19-20<\/p>\n
4. Strength is found in overlooking wrongs done to self – Proverbs 19:11<\/p>\n
B. Proverbs 14:29 – People who don’t think act foolishly<\/p>\n
C. Thus wisdom beats strength – Proverbs 21:22<\/p>\n
1. A wise person is strong without needing physical strength – Proverbs 24:5<\/p>\n
2. Illustrated – Ecclesiastes 9:13-18<\/p>\n
3. But because it isn’t “showy,” it isn’t honored as it should be<\/p>\n
D. Better to have integrity – Proverbs 28:6<\/p>\n
III. Money can’t buy you everything<\/p>\n A. Having wealth doesn’t make up for people hating you and giving you grief –\nProverbs 15:16-17\n
1. Righteousness and love excel every time.<\/p>\n
2. Proverbs 16:8 <\/p>\n
B. It can’t give you a quiet spirit – Proverbs 17:1<\/p>\n
1. It has no stability – Proverbs 23:5<\/p>\n
C. Striving for riches gives you more trouble – Ecclesiastes 4:6<\/p>\n
1. Better to be content with what you have – Ecclesiastes 6:9<\/p>\n
D. Wealth doesn’t buy you wisdom – Proverbs 16:16<\/p>\n
E. It can’t buy you love – Song of Solomon 8:6-7<\/p>\n
IV. Personal pride doesn’t bring satisfaction<\/p>\n
A. Humility is better – Proverbs 16:18-19<\/p>\n
1. A proud person doesn’t watch where he is going<\/p>\n
2. Thus he easily falls – I Corinthians 10:12<\/p>\n
B. Better to be alive and connected than death in your pride – Ecclesiastes 9:4<\/p>\n
1. Pride has no weight – Psalm 62:9<\/p>\n
C. A proud man is rarely patient – Ecclesiastes 7:8<\/p>\n D. The proud end up putting their own desires first and won’t submit to God –\nProverbs 28:14\n 1. I Peter 5:5 – Submission affects more than just immediate relationships in\nthis world.\n
V. Lies doesn’t make life easier<\/p>\n A. Proverbs 19:22 – Lies are often justified as an attempt at being kind to someone,\nbut lies are not truly kind.\n
B. Proverbs 27:5 – Open rebuke is better than concealed love<\/p>\n
C. A liar doesn’t see the ramifications of his lies – Proverbs 19:1<\/p>\n
1. He is caught up in his own lies – II Timothy 3:13<\/p>\n
D. There is no stability in lies – Psalm 5:9-10<\/p>\n
VI. The wicked don’t have more fun<\/p>\n
A. Righteousness is better evil – I Peter 3:17<\/p>\n
B. But the evil become beasts to be destroyed – II Peter 2:12-19<\/p>\n
C. Fun is found in a simple life – Ecclesiastes 2:24; 3:12, 22; 8:15<\/p>\n
D. Or as Paul put it – II Thessalonians 3:12-13<\/p>\nVII. Which shall it be for you? Fruitless pursuits of temporary pleasures or working for a solid\nhome? – Hebrews 11:24-27\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Peter 4:1-6 I. What is accepted and praised in the world isn’t always what is best for people A. Jesus’s sermon on the mount began with startling facts – Matthew 5:3-12 1. When you take the opposites of what Jesus states brings true happiness, you find a list of things most…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[392,38,375,126,1210,576],"class_list":["post-28010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-lying","tag-morality","tag-pleasure","tag-pride","tag-strength","tag-wealth"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14765,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-pursuit-of-happiness\/","url_meta":{"origin":28010,"position":0},"title":"The Pursuit of Happiness","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 11, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"What Does Happiness Look Like? by Oscar Miles The Pursuit of Happiness (Series)","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54895,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/contentment-and-happiness\/","url_meta":{"origin":28010,"position":1},"title":"Contentment and Happiness","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 23, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Warfel","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45080,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-to-be-happy\/","url_meta":{"origin":28010,"position":2},"title":"How to be Happy","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Philippians 4:1-7 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Are you happy? Truly happy? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0For many people the answer is \u201cI would be happy, if ...\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If something changed, then I could be happy. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes the change is something simple. \u201cOnce I lose another ten pounds, I\u2019ll be happy.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a03.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But too\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14529,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-wants-me-to-be-happy\/","url_meta":{"origin":28010,"position":3},"title":"God Wants Me to Be Happy (Hamilton)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 128 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The same plot repeats through the stories of people\u2019s lives \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A woman finds a man who pays more attention to her than her husband, so she divorces her husband to marry this other man because \u201cGod wants me to be happy.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Andy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29411,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/drinking-in-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":28010,"position":4},"title":"Drinking in the Bible","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 4, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Old Testament Sermon with Audio: Drinking in the Old Testament Article: Old Testament Beverages New Testament Sermon with audio: Drinking in the New Testament Article: New Testament Beverages","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/scan0013_tif-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":86723,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-if-this-was-my-last-sermon\/","url_meta":{"origin":28010,"position":5},"title":"What If This Was My Last Sermon?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Warfel Download Audio","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28010\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}