Teach Us to Number Our Days
Pastor Tan Thai
This sermon, based on Psalm 90:12, calls believers to number their days in order to recognize the brevity of life, remember God's lordship, and live with wisdom. The pastor reminds the congregation that God alone holds all things, and we are merely stewards of what He has entrusted to us.
The sermon opens with Moses' prayer in Psalm 90:12, asking God to teach His people to number their days so that they might gain a heart of wisdom. The pastor references 9/11 and the COVID-19 pandemic as vivid illustrations of the unpredictability of the future, showing how humanity's hopes for a new millennium of peace were shattered. These events serve as powerful reminders that human life is brief and fragile, like a breath, and the future lies beyond any person's control.
The second section of the sermon identifies three attitudes people can have toward God's lordship: rejection, indifference, and submission. The pastor places special emphasis on the danger of indifference — living and planning without any thought of God, as described in James 4:13-14. Drawing from Jeremiah 2:31-32, the sermon compares Israel's forgetting of God to a bride forgetting her wedding dress or a woman forgetting her jewelry. This forgetfulness is described as ingratitude and betrayal, especially in light of God's eternal love recorded in Jeremiah 31:3 and Romans 8:38-39.
The third section explains what it means to let God be Lord of one's life, using the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25 as the primary illustration. The pastor affirms that we are not owners of our lives or possessions but stewards entrusted with what God has given. Multiple scriptures including Psalm 24:1, Leviticus 25:23, and Haggai 2:8 are cited to establish God's absolute sovereignty over all property and life.
The sermon refutes the mistaken notion that God's will means hardship or the removal of joy. Citing Jeremiah 29:11 and John 10:10, the pastor emphasizes that God desires abundant life for His children — thoughts of peace, hope, and flourishing. Trusting in God's lordship is not a chain that binds us but a source of genuine hope and freedom.
The sermon concludes with a practical call to cultivate an ever-closer relationship with God through His Word and faith, recognizing His grace in every day of life. Moses' prayer in Psalm 90:16-17 and James' counsel to say 'if the Lord wills' are not mere formulas but expressions of wisdom — continually acknowledging that every success, every possession, and every family relationship is a gift from God.