Pastor Derek Berry "Don't Waste Your Life" - (5/17/2026)

Life passes quickly, and Moses understood this when he wrote Psalm 90:12, asking God to teach us to number our days and gain wisdom. Moses witnessed an entire generation of Israelites waste their lives wandering in the wilderness because they chose fear over faith when God called them to enter the Promised Land. The psalm contrasts God's eternal nature with human frailty, describing life as grass that withers or a watch in the night. True wisdom comes from living intentionally for God's kingdom rather than drifting through life. Jesus exemplified this in His 33 years, making every moment count for God's glory. We must ask ourselves what legacy we're building and whether we're living for ourselves or for God, choosing to make our numbered days meaningful rather than wasting them on temporary things.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

I've been reading this psalm and hope it'll resonate with you. And reading it the last couple weeks in my own life, it's a lot of changes have taken place in regards to my kids getting older. And as they get older, you reflect on things and see things differently because as they get older, I get older. And um although my mind, I still think I'm young, um, think I'm 16 years old and could do anything. But you think on those things. Um we had to go to the fifth grade graduation for my middle child. And um our first Sunday here, she was in a baby care, 10 days old, and graduates fifth grade. That next morning, Montgomery was graduating from kindergarten, and now, you know, next year I'll have a high schooler, two middle schoolers, and two elementary schoolers, and it's just crazy how life changes super quickly. And I began to think on these thoughts, and I was reading in Psalms about I want to be sure that I live my life of the Lord. I don't want to have any wasted life. I don't want to waste my life away. And if you find the book of Psalms, it's dead center in your Bible, and you can open it. That's how I used to learn to find it growing up. But in chapter 90, we'll get to it and we'll read the verses in a little bit. I was just thinking about how I make sure that I don't waste my life. The Lord has allowed me to live for Him and save me, and I want to live the rest of my days serving Him. And it encouraged my heart because Moses says some things in these words that help us, you know, because life is short when we think about it. And wisdom is learning to live every day for what truly matters. And he uses some words in the text about wisdom and some uh other um uh important uh truths that he'll paint together for you and I to let our minds realize some stuff. And I was thinking about it, all the change that's taken place, and I was thinking about some funerals that I go to a lot of funerals, it seems, at times, and there's one thing that I notice as I go to some funerals. It's like when people get up to speak, whether it's the family members that are giving their memories of the loved one, I realize that they don't talk about what that particular person owned or what they drove or what kept them busy. Typically they'll talk about how they loved people or how they stood for this or how kind they were. And I began to think about that. The last funeral I was at, and I jotted it down, and I asked myself, this has crossed my mind, what would they say about me? Maybe you've been there before and you thought, man, what would they say about me? Now, what I didn't write down is what I would want them to say about me. Because that's easy. I won't be there to make sure that they do. I'll be in heaven praising the Lord and shouting it down up there. But what will they actually say? Because one day that is not going to be a hypothetical question. It's gonna be real. And I guess I thought about that as I'm thinking about my kids getting older and life changing the way that it does, because this is real. This is the truth. We're moving towards that day. And that's, I think, the exact perspective that Moses gives when he opens up this word in verse number one and gives you and I some encouragement right here. Because Moses, I thought, I think he thought about life differently because he watched an entire generation die. And he wrote in verse 12 of our text, so teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Moses' words here. Let's go back to verse number one and we'll get to 12. But in my study Bible, it talks about the eternity, the eternity of God and the shortness of man's life. Verse number one, the word says, Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. I love the first few verses here because it speaks and it praises God for God being eternal forever. And Moses writes it out saying that, man, you talking to God, he's writing this song and this praise unto the Lord, you have been our dwelling spot. Our dwelling means a refuge. This would be equivalent to the New Testament when you and I can read in John 15 about abiding in Christ and he'll abide in us. He's essentially saying, man, there has been times where I have dwelt in you. I have abided in you. You have been my safe haven. You have been my refuge. You have been my savior when I'm worried and when I'm struggling. He's saying in verse number one, Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all of our generations. Verse 2, then he goes on and says, and he's still talking about God as eternal, before the mountains were brought forth, or ever are you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, he says, You are God. Now the important is that the uh ancient people looked at mountains as some level of stability and uh something that had been there forever. Mountains were precious to them because they thought, man, how massive are they. So he uses this terminology of mountains here, and then he says, from everlasting to everlasting, I mean that God will is eternal. Then he follows it up in the end of verse number two and says, You are God. That word God there is Elohim. He's essentially saying, God, you are the most powerful thing. You are the creator of all things. You are the creator of these massive mountains that I see and look at as stability and consistency. You have always been. You were here before those mountains were created. You were here before they were formed, is what he's essentially saying in the text. You have always, now you and I have a hard time grasping eternal eternity past. Now I can look forth and say, man, I will be with God forever and ever. But I think about eternal past, meaning God's always been. There never was a time where he wasn't. And sometimes for you and I, I have a hard time getting a hold of that because God always was. We know the heavens and the earth was created by the Creator God, but yet he has always been, and that's what Moses is praising God for right here. Then he gets to verse number three, and as he gets to verse number three, he begins to speak about how life is really short. He goes, You turn man to destruction and say, Return, O children of men. For a thousand years is your sight, or like yesterday when it is passed, and like a watch in the night, meaning a guard at night. Then he says, You carry them away like a flood. They are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows. In the morning it flourishes and grows up. In the evening it is cut down and withers. He's speaking about the plush uh landscape of that area and how the soil was necessarily thinner than ours, so their root system wasn't as deep. And so sometimes in the morning the grass would look luscious and nice, but because of the sun throughout the day, it would then begin to wither away tomorrow morning, it would be back to luscious and green again. He's refer referencing that our life is short, meaning we may wither away, but God is eternal forever. Then Moses continues in this prayer in verse 7 and talks about the consequences of sins. In verse 7 through 11, he says, For we have been consumed by your anger, and by your wrath we are terrified. They're speaking about the respect they have for God. And you have set your iniquity before you, our secret sins in the light of your continence. For all our days have passed away in your wrath. We finish our years like a sigh. The days of our lives are seventy years, and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet uh their boast is only labor and sorrow. For it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Who knows the power of your anger? For as the fear of you, so is your wrath. Speaking about God's wrath, and we know that we serve a patient God, but just like anybody else, the patients sometimes tend to run out, and they ran out with them. But he's still praising the Lord through it. He talks about the consequences of the sins that they had. And then the verse 12, where we started, wisdom we get from from means living intentionally. Look what he says here. So teach us, because of all that, so teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Don't waste your life. Moses begins this prayer talking about God of power of creation, Elohim. Speaks about the mountains and the symbolicness of what mountains are, long-lasting and dependable and durable, never going to move away. Then he transitions and begins to talk about some different facts about life being short and the consequences of sin and living intentionally. And as I try to wrap my head around this particular psalm, I have, to me, I had to sort of like truly understand it and to apply it to my life because it encouraged me as I read this because it changes my perspective. I don't get mad that I have a, that I've lived my life a certain way. I look forward to what I can do from here. I can't go backwards, I can only go forward. So for me to digest this and to grab a hold of this, I've got to think about a few thoughts. Who wrote this? Well, I know it was Moses. And why is that important in this particular text? Sometimes when you're reading other Psalms, you'll read that David wrote it. Well, what was he going through when he wrote it? Maybe that puts a different meaning behind it or some depth behind it. Moses wrote this, and we know the life of Moses. Moses delivered Israel from Egypt. That was a cool task right there. Wouldn't that be cool if you got to do that? Yeah, we've read the end. We know how it works, but in the moment he didn't know what was going to happen. Moses delivered Egypt from bondage. Think about as they were exiting Egypt, the sea was in front of them, and what did God do? Opened up the sea and allowed them to cross on dry ground. Moses led these people out of bondage, millions of people out, and they crossed an impassable body of water because of God's hand moving the water up. Now, visually visualize that because they saw it firsthand. That's very important as we understand what he's trying to speak of in this moment. So he got them out. They passed by some water that was impassable because of God's miraculous hand. And then later on, he gets on top of Mount Sinai and receives the word of God, the law of God. Think about those moments that he was in and the conversations that him and God would have had to have had for him to have that much confidence to deliver the law to this person. That's Moses, the writer of this particular psalm. Now, the question is, I get who wrote it, but why would he write this? Why would Moses see fit to write this? I understand that all scripture is given by inspiration. God spoke it into an existence, and God would use the pen of man to write it. So at some point, God impressed it upon Moses' life to sit out and begin to jot this down as he praised the Lord. And then God saw it fit to preserve it throughout all of our life so that you and I can read it in the full canon of Scripture. Why? There's got to be a reason behind it. There's got to be some validity, some understanding behind why he wrote this. I think ultimately, Psalms 90, if you read it in context, I know that we're going to focus on the first 12 verses, but if you look at the full one 17 verses, you'll understand that it's a deeply reflective prayer about several things. About the shortness of life. The older I get, the shorter life seems. I can look as an eight-year-old, ten-year-old kid, look like, man, I'm going to live forever. And now I've half over, and I'm thinking, man, that went by quick. He's reflecting on that. That's real. He's also reflecting, it's a highly reflectable prayer. He's reflecting on the holiness of God. It shows us in the first couple verses. The holiness of God, Elohim, the most powerful, the creator of all things. It's also reflective prayer of the consequences of sins, and you and I will face those. If we sin, we've got to face the consequences of them. It's reflective because it's a need for wisdom. I believe it's a deeply reflective prayer about the importance of living in with intentionality. Living intentional. Sometimes in life I might get thinking that it's just drifting here and there, and whatever happens, happens. No. Intention is important. Being intentional. I try to live my life with intention, meaning I go out of my way to speak to people because I care for you. I'm intentional as how I pray. I want the Lord's hand to be in your life. I want God to do this or do that. I'm very intentional because God has taught me that in my time of prayer and reflection. Moses understood the importance of deeply being intentional and he's laying it out to the Lord. And so I get who wrote it. I understand perhaps why he wrote it. But now the question is, is when and what was going on in his life as he wrote it. Because I think to fully understand it, I've got to know who wrote it and where, sort of, and sort of the reasoning behind it. But now I've got to look at what was going on and when did it take place that it was written? Here's what I think. Psalms 90 was written as they were wandering around in the wilderness. Now, why would that be important for us to understand? Because if you understand the Exodus as they got rid of it, what were they leaving to go to? The promised land. The land where the milk and honey flows. That sounds good to me. I'm just be honest with you. I like milk and I like honey. And if you don't, I don't know what's wrong with you. You understand? In my house, honey don't last. I look over there, Maverick will have the pantry door open, and he is squirting the honey in his mouth. If you come over to my house, just be prepared. The honey has been like this. Well, we just eat it. It's good. Listen to me. Who wouldn't want to go there? So why would they, why would he be in the wilderness for 40 years? Okay, think about a couple things, and I'll give you, and I know that I'm giving you some historical facts and some historical truths before we get to a few points I'll give you for application, but follow me. It's important that we sort of take it this route, trust me. So where was he at? In the wilderness. In the wilderness, wandering around. What does that mean if he's in the wilderness? It means that Israel had already been delivered from Egypt, but they had rebelled against God in the wilderness, therefore they're still there. The first time that they got to Kadesh was two years after they left. And they got there, and what did the Israelites do? They refused to obey God. They refused to obey. So, because of their refusal to obey God and trust the Lord, for the next 38 years they wandered around in circles. Now, if I could get my study Bibles maps out and put it on the screen for you, visualize this. My six-year-old son Montgomery, let me give him a piece of paper and give him a pen and say, draw something. That's what their missionary journey looked like, their willingness journey. It was just circles and squiggly lines. Why? Because they didn't obey God. What a waste it would be that if I lived my life not obeying the Lord. Now I think about what they witnessed before this. They witnessed the Exodus, they witnessed the parting of the sea. They actually saw the hand of God do some mighty things. And then they get to Kadesh. And you and I can read it in Numbers 13 and 14. They get there and they refuse to take the next step to get into the promised land. And now you're worried about taking the next step into the promised land? And I know none of us have ever done that. We've seen the work of God in many things. Oh, I've seen miraculous miracles take place in lives. I've seen God work out things in my life that I never thought would be humanly possible because they wasn't. God worked them out. What kind of moron would I be not to trust the Lord? But the truth of the matter is I'm flesh. And there's times where I'm scared and I'm nervous, and I allow fear to cripple me rather than having the faith continue to propel me. And that's essentially what happened here. In the moment of their refusal to obey God, they had already been delivered from slavery. They had already seen the sea parted. Think about this. They were fed every day from the bakery of heaven. Now listen to me. God didn't give them, hey man, here's 40 years' supply of bread. He didn't say, here's a week's supply day. Why? He was teaching them to trust and have faith in God day by day. See, every morning the sun would open and they would open up their tent and there'd be a fresh loaf of breath, bread straight from heaven. Why? And they were praising the Lord. If God could deliver bread from heaven, don't you think he can take care of you in the promised land? He was teaching them day by day what happened. They would trust them to eat, but they wouldn't trust them in the promised land. Man, they didn't have GPS like you and I do. Man, I can put the address down and go. My mom will say, How'd you get there, Derek? I said, Mom, I followed the lady on the phone. I don't know. She wants to know road names and which highway. I said, I don't got a clue. But I didn't got there, Mom. Just put it in your phone and hit start. I don't know. Listen to me. They didn't have that back in. They didn't have the lady on the phone tell them which way to go. No, what'd they do? God in heaven let a cloud of a pillar of cloud by day guide them every step of the way. Man, I'm talking about at night, they didn't have to worry. Man, he would let a fire come down from heaven to guide them every step of the way. And just because they saw that fire, they knew God had not forsaken me. But yet as they got to Kadesh, what happened? They refused. They refused. I'm not going to enter. They refused to trust. Why do they refuse to trust? Because they followed their self of fear rather than following faith. They send ten spies to scout it out. You can read this in the Old Testament. And the ten spies come back and say, we can't do it. They were scared. So he sent two spies, Joshua and Caleb. Hey guys, go check it out and see what's going on over there. Here's what the scripture says they came back and says, God will give us the land. There were consequences for them not following the Lord. The people decided to listen to fear rather than listening to faith.

SPEAKER_00 18:53

In that moment of fear, they complained. Does anybody like complaining? I don't. Yesterday I was at soccer with my kids. I like watching my kids, but I'm it was hot. And my kids say, Daddy, I'm hot. You know what I say? I feel the same thing you do. Be quiet. Alright, I don't want to hear about it. Daddy, I'm hungry. You just ate. Daddy, I'm bored. Me too. Be quiet.

SPEAKER_01 19:23

I don't want to hear him complain. Why? It gets on your nerves. But these people complained. And their complaining led to rebellion. And then eventually they made some comments like, Man, I would rather have died in Egypt in slavery than you have took us out here to make us starve to death in the wilderness. They were questioning everything. And what was God's response because of their unbelief? God declared that that generation would wander for forty years, and during those years an entire generation died. Now, why is that important to know? Think about Paul or Moses' words here as he wrote this down, verse number 12, teach us to number our days. What did Moses witness in the forty years of walking around in the wilderness? You mean to tell you?

SPEAKER_00 20:11

How many burials did he see? The entire generation, other than Joseph, uh Joshua and Caleb died.

SPEAKER_01 20:20

How many funerals did he have to perform or do? And all the time he realized these people are wasting their life rather than living for the Lord, and they could have been in the promised land, drinking milk, eating honey, having a good time, but because of their uh uh disobedience, they're wandering around. Moses saw death after death, an entire generation fade away. And I think that's important for us to fully get a hold of what Moses is speaking about in Psalms chapter 90. Let me give you a few things quickly so you and I can apply to our life. Here's the first thing we're gonna see in verses 3 through 6. Life is short, whether you acknowledge it or not. Life is short whether you acknowledge it or not. Listen, it doesn't matter if you accept that or not, life is short. Now, as a young child and dad and mom say that, I wouldn't believe it. As the older I get, I get it. You may be in a situation or a point in your life, you're like, man, this seems like it's not, but it is. Whether I acknowledge it or not, it is short. And you know why I know that? It's because he compared it to eternity. And as you compare our human life to eternity, of course, human life is very short. What did Moses compare to our short life in verses three through six? If you remember, he compared to the grass. He says, in the morning it's luscious and flourish, but in the evening it's withering away, according to verse number five. You carry away like a flood, like they sleep in the morning. They are grass, uh they are like grass which grows up. In the morning it flourishes and grows up, and in the evening is cut down and withers. He compares it to grass. He compares it to a flood, he compares it life, the shortness of life. As a watch of night or a guard at night. Listen to me. This is not a theory that Moses thought through. This isn't a hypothesis. This is not an educated guess. No, this is a factual thing that he witnessed because he was in the wilderness with them. Life moves faster than we think. Verse number four says that for a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past. What's he speaking about? What Moses is ultimately telling you and I is compared to eternity, our life is super short. Now I know that Moses was trained up. According to Acts chapter number 7 and verse number 22, the Bible tells you and I that Moses was trained by the Egyptians and they were smart. They understood mathematics and they understand all the things of the atmosphere. They were intelligent people, intellectual. And what this shows me in studying this text is that yes, that is good, and that's great. But listen to me, Moses learned that the greatest lessons that he can ever learn in life were how close he was when he the lessons that he learned as he walked with the Lord. Moses shows you and I, listen to me, he was trained by the Egyptians according to Acts chapter number 7, verse number 22. But the greatest lessons that he ever learned in life was the ones that he learned as he walked with the Lord. And he's using the wisdom that he gained from God to pray and to praise God so that you and I can grab a hold of it in chapter number 90 of Psalms. The older I get, the more I understand that life is brief. And I know then the text in these few verses, these four verses, three through six here, he reiterates that God dwells in eternity and he's not limited by time. That's important to me because everything that you and I do is governed by time. We have to be here before this time. We have to go there before that. Other night, Megan and I was, the kids were finally in the bed. She's like, Can we go to Walmart? I'm thinking, uh, sure, you know. That's what I want to do. You know what I'm saying? Well, we get to going. And she was a little hungry or hangry, I think that was actually the word, hangry, you know. And so, angry, hungry, okay, for the for ones who didn't get that. And so she's like, I need something to eat. And I mean, it was a little after 10. And I pull up the I'm like, who closes at 10? Well, everybody. You understand what I'm saying? It seemed to be. And where do I get? I said, you got two choices Waffle House or McDonald's. Which one is it? Oh, I'll take McDonald's. I'll take two cheeseburgers. I'm like, oh gosh, okay. Well, since they were the only person open, imagine the line. And for some reason of somebody upstairs, the CEO, if you're watching, the kiosks don't work. Understand? Where's the lady to take my order? Go to McDonald's at 10.30 at night and you'll see. There's nobody to take your order. You have to use this massive iPad. And guess what? Since there's nobody to work, there's nobody to put the little paper to print out your receipt in there. And I wasn't quick enough on my phone to take a picture of my number. So they're calling all kinds of numbers. I don't know what food I left with, but I left with food. You understand? She woofed it down, and it was, praise the Lord, she's full now, okay? And then we get over to the Walmarts, get a few things. I wasn't in there for six minutes. Some lady on the PA, Walmart's closing in four minutes. I thought they were open 24-7. When did this change? Yeah, my whole life I thought you'd go to Walmart any time of the day, but not the one in Rock Martin. It closes at 11 o'clock. I said, Megan, you better buy everything you can buy in four minutes. We got to get out of here. Listen to me, we were going. We were trying to get out of there just as fast as we could. Listen to me, why? We were stuck. Time held us back. We got four minutes. We got to get everything we do in life is constrained by time, but not God. He is eternal past, eternal present, eternal future. He's always been, he always will be. So when when Moses makes this reference about life being short, he speaks about it in a comparison to God. Because in God of eternity, everything seems to be short. When you compare with eternity, even a long day like yesterday has already passed us. Our God is eternal. Humans will be swept away slowly. That's why he uses the word floods or whatever in this text. I thought about what James said in James 4.14. What is your life but yet a vapor? Why? Because James is measuring his life compared to eternity, which is just going to be quickly and fast, and then it's all over. And he's trying to give you and I some wisdom. You can stop and look up. Years are going to pass faster, your kids grow up quicker, seasons change, and life moves. You and I might say, I've got time, but you may not. I don't want my life wasted. I want to live for the Lord as long as God gives me breath. And that's the greatest thing that you and I can do as followers of Him. I can't deal with it later. No, I've got to do it now. Time doesn't slow down. Here, I'll give you this and then I'll move on to verse number seven. Life is short, don't live like you have forever. Life is short, don't live like you have forever. Verse 7 changes gears a little bit and he begins to show you and I in verse 7 through 11 that life can be wasted when it's lived without God. And there's times in our life where we get away from the Lord. Let's just be real. That doesn't mean I'm gonna be depressed about it. It just means that, man, I'm gonna let the Lord fix my lost years. I can take you to the principles in Joshua where he did it for him. Listen, I don't want to be down about it. I want to stop and change for the future. I can't go backwards and change anything, but I can change tomorrow by how I act today. Life can be wasted when it's lived without the Lord. Look at verse 7 through 11. He says, For we have been consumed by your anger. He's talking about the consequences of sin here. His patience are running thin. He mentions in verse number 8, you have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your countenance, meaning there's nothing secret in your life. We see it all. Moses, I think, was reflecting on Israel's sad experience and excuses that they made at Kadesh. I referenced it earlier in Numbers 14 and Numbers 13. The nation who had witnessed all the miraculous things of God stood there at the border ready to go in and refused. I think it was tearing him up that they refused to obey the Lord and enter the promised land. And because of that foolish choice that they made, it led them to four decades of wandering around in the wilderness. I think Moses, being wise in the Lord, saw it and was trying to get them to change. The truth of the matter is, if they would have followed him in obedience, that whole wilderness wouldn't even be here. There's times in my life where I say, Lord, am I wandering in the wilderness? Is there something that I haven't followed through and trusted you on that I need to because I do not want to waste my life, although I might keep myself busy and I might think that I'm a compliment of life. If it ain't for the Lord, it's all not going to be worth it anyhow. And the truth of the matter is, it's saying, God, I need you to show me. God is slow to anger, yes, but his patience can run out just like mine, just like yours. Our patience have ran out before. Sin and unbelief was a waste of a life. Moses probably was reflecting on how they were delivered from bondage and given opportunity, but now they never stepped into what God had for them. What a shame is what Moses was saying. Israel in the wilderness, God brought them through it, protected them all the way, and they chose fear over faith. Now let's reflect on ourselves for a moment. How many times have we followed fear rather than faith? And the only thing I can do is not do that tomorrow. I can't go back and change it from the past. Listen, so instead of walking in the promised land, they wandered for 40 years. Now you think about it in that moment in the text, and even in verse number 10 of the text, he says, the days of our lives are 70 years, and if by reason of strength they are 80. What's he speaking about then? I thought people in the Old Testament lived to like 800 years old. Listen to me, they did at times. Methuselah lived to be 969 years old, the oldest guy in the Bible. But eventually, sin got a hold of folks, and they didn't live as long. You can see that in the day in the generation that we live in. You can sort of see when somebody's had a sinful life. You can observe it. But in the text, these 20-year-olds, when they were at Kadesh, eventually would be now 60. They were went through it. And why is that important? Because if you remember, if my math is correct, Moses died at 120 years old. Joshua died at 110 years old. Now, maybe we'll live to 110, I don't know. Imagine what we'll look like at 110. I used one of those little apps one time to see what I looked like when I was old. And it didn't look too good, to be honest with you. But it left my hair, so praise the Lord, okay? But just a lot of wrinkles. But you know, you think about people who live a long time. Listen, David lived at 70, but I can also go through the life that they've lived. Rough. Rough at times. Sin can take a toll on human life. You know, I don't see the lifespans that was once seen. The wilderness was never supposed to be their home, and we want to remember that. It wasn't supposed to be their home, but unbelief kept them there. That still happens today. You know, understand that people get saved, people get blessed, but then they feel stuck. Like, why is that? Did I trust you? What is it? Am I second guessing everything? I just want to live for you, Lord. There's times in my life that I can look back and put my finger on and say, I didn't truly trust you in that decision, in that moment, in this. How do I not do that again? Man, I've got to trust Him, trust and obey. See, I think a wasted life is not a life that ended too soon. What is it? It's a life that never lived for what mattered the most. It's a wasted life. I want to fulfill my purpose that God has in me while I'm still able to. Let me leave you with this and then we'll go to verse number 12. A life without God's direction will always fall short of God's purpose. A life without God's direction will always fall short of God's purpose. Let's look at verse number 12, the meat of the message, the main spot. So teach us, Moses says, so teach us, because of everything we just laid out, the God's eternal, life is short, sin has consequences, and because of all that, teach us to number our days. Teach us not to waste our days. Teach us to live for you in all that we do. Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. It's important because wisdom, there's two kinds of wisdom according to Scripture. James says that there's earthly wisdom and heavenly wisdom. And James is so good, he tells us, man, if you need some, ask, and God will grant it liberally. And I don't know about you, but I'm like, Lord, hook me up. I need more wisdom than you've ever given me before. But I want it heavenly, not just earthly. Now, earthly wisdom's good. Common sense can fix a lot of things or break some stuff too. You understand what I'm saying. But that's just life. But heavenly wisdom, it's where it's at. And that's what he's talking about in verse number 12. He's saying, Count your days. You don't want them wasted. I think Moses realizes in this moment wisdom is learning to live life intentionally. I don't know about you, but most things that we do was intentionally. You chose to show up today. You intentionally got up and got ready. You intentionally put on those clothes, or your wife told you to wear that, whatever, right? You intentionally did it. You intentionally drove here. You're intentionally apart and partaking in. Listen, you can sit here and not listen, or you can intentionally try to grab what God has for you through the scriptures. You and I have choices that we make all through life. It takes some level of intention. And Moses is trying to get their mindset to change and ours to change for you and I to number our days. Let me not waste anything away. I want to live for you for all of my days. I think Moses realizes that life is limited on earth. That's why he said what he said in verses 3 through 6. He says, Don't waste it. Don't waste it. Wise people live with awareness. I'm aware that I'm limited. Wise people live with purpose. I don't want to drift away like just toss to and fro. No, I want to decide. Moses saw miracles. Moses led millions. Moses spoke with God. In the end, he understood that life is short. Think about the relationship that God and Moses have. I mean, he says, Lord, let me see you. And he couldn't. What did God do? Put him in the cleft of the rock. He says, bro, you can't see the front of me because you won't make it, but I'll let you see the back of me. That was a conversation that him and Moses had, and guess what? God listened and God did. Man, how awesome would it be for me to say, Lord, I need you to see this. And then he said, all right, Derek, I'll show you this way, maybe not that way. That's a win for me. Listen, this is Moses who saw miracles, who spoke with God, who heard from the Lord, who got the law and brought it down. Moses is telling you and I, listen to me, life is short, life moves fast. Only what's done for God will last. I can take you to the New Testament in 1 Corinthians, man, the things that we do for the Lord will be tested with fire. And the only things that we store up eternity will last. I can take you to some parables of Jesus and show you some of the same things. Listen to me. What I do for the Lord will last, and what I do for self will not. That's true. And guess what? I can choose to live for him or I can choose to live for me. What I love about this psalm in particular is I hit this hit me from the very beginning. This psalm is not some sort of psalm to depress me because life is short. No, this psalm is to encourage me because I want to live wisely, because life matters. God chose me to live in this moment amongst you at this time, and I want to do something to fulfill God's will for my life. I don't want it waste away. I want to live for Him. Moses walks an entire generation waste their lives wondering if they could have been walking, but they could have been walking with the Lord the entire time. Think about that. Moses walks an entire generation waste their lives away wondering when they could have been walking with the Lord in the promised land the entire time. Don't let that be you. Oh, don't be, oh, I will've changed yesterday, but I can do it differently tomorrow. Now think about Jesus for a moment. He's the greatest illustration that I have at this point. Because Jesus only lived 33 years. Now you say, well, that was Jesus. That was different. Man, he was God the Father, God, he was God the Son. Yeah, he was. But he was 100% human at the same time. You know how I know that? Because in all points he was tempted. I can show you in Scripture where it says that Jesus cried. And there's times in my life where I've had emotion and I've been sad that I've cried. I can take you to Matthew chapter number four and show you where the devil himself tempted Jesus as he fasted in the wilderness. Listen to you, I can tell you many, many times where the devil's tempted me. He knew what it felt like to be tempted. Oh, Jesus was 100% human. He knew what it felt like to be hurt because we know that he cried. I know that he felt the pain all the way walking to Calvary. Oh, I know that he felt rejected. I know that he prayed to the Father just like you and I are, ought to. He's crying with all that he had in the garden to the point where blood was weeping from his brow. Listen, he was tired like you and I are, so he slept. He was hungry like you and I are, so we ate. Listen to me. Jesus, yes, was God in the flesh, but he was 100% human. He felt everything that you and I have felt. And guess what? He made his 33 years impactful. What he did in 33 years was impactful. Every moment that he had, he used to glorify God the Father. Think about it. He's wandering around and there's the lady at the well. He gets up and starts talking to her about him, and next thing you know, she got saved and ran and told the whole town about what Jesus did for her. Think about the fact the lady just had to touch the hem of his garment. Think about all the people that flocked in. Think about the parables that you and I read about. Jesus used every and all opportunities to share the goodness of God, no matter where he went. Why don't we? Well, I'm not Jesus. I'm a Christian, I must be like Christ. Okay? I'm not gonna be the pastor to tell the world about Christ, so I just gotta tell them my story and what God did for me. And if you ain't got a story, let's see if God did something for you, right? So we can get you a story so you can start telling the world what Jesus did for you. Listen, God's probably brought you through something before that somebody might need to hear, encourage somebody, listen to me. Jesus lived 33 years, but every moment that he lived mattered. It's not about how long you live, it's about how well you live.

SPEAKER_00 38:54

Ask yourself this: what am I living for? Living for yourself or living for him? What really matters? Your happiness or his?

SPEAKER_01 39:07

I don't know happiness until I'm in the will of the Lord. I would rather be in his will than personally happy because I'm never gonna be truly satisfied. That's why people that try to live out their lives and I will do whatever it takes to be satisfied, they're never satisfied nor content. Because when you do it outside the will of the Lord, you'll never be content. That's why I wake up saying, God, I want to please you today. I want to satisfy your will. It's not about me, it's about you. Now we say it, but the truth of the matter is we gotta do it. Not me, but your will be done, just like Jesus. A meaningful life is not accidental, it's intentional. I've got to intend to do it.

SPEAKER_00 39:41

Don't count your days, make your days count. I got a fourth one I want to give you. Fourth one. A life live for God leaves a legacy that lasts.

SPEAKER_01 39:56

A life live for God leaves a legacy that will last. Your life will outlive you. You realize that? Figure out Moses. We'll use him as this illustration. He never entered the promised land, but he his life pointed so many to it. He died before he was able to enter it. But yet, how many people went to the promised land because of him? A life lived for God doesn't end, it multiplies. Man, how awesome will that be for my life to send more people to Christ than anything else. People will remember what you live for, but they'll also remember what mattered to you the most. What you live for today will outlive your tomorrow, just like it did for Moses. That'd be a good story to be told about you after you're gone. Live a life that matters long after you're gone. That's what I want to encourage you to do. As we close in just a moment, life is short, time is moving, and every day you're spending your life. I did some math and I started thinking, man, what how much time do I have left to live with the Lord? And I did some math and I started thinking, man, if the average person lives to 80 years old and they're 20 years old, they got 60 years left. That seems like forever. When I was 20, I thought I was never gonna die. But I broke it down. That's 3,100 weeks, that's 22,000 days. But when you're 40, that means I've got 2,000 weeks. 14,600 days and 350 hours. When I'm 70, that means I've got 500 weeks, 3,600 days and 87,000 hours. Listen to me, that is not a downer, no, that's an encouragement to say that, man, whatever time I got left, I wanted to supersede anything I've ever done for myself so that I can point more people to Christ. Doesn't mean to scare you, no, it's meant to wake you up. Why? Because what did Moses say in verse 12? Teach us to number our days. Right now, you're writing your story.

SPEAKER_00 41:53

You're writing it.

SPEAKER_01 41:54

You're building your legacy right now. You are deciding what your life stands for. Don't waste your life on things that don't won't matter when it's all over. Would you pray with me? Lord, I come to you this morning thankful, God, for your word. Thankful, Lord, for the truth that you put on Moses' heart, for him to pour it out unto you.