You know in His ministry Jesus mentioned two roads. He said that there are two roads, one leads to life everlasting in the presence of our Lord; the other road leads to eternal torment and punishment.
Have you ever thought about those two roads? When you think about those roads do you think of them like a four lane super hi-way with bumper-to-bumper traffic moving 90 miles per hour with a little sidewalk on the side with one or two people on it. With the super hi-way being the easy road with a great multitude on it, and the sidewalk being the road less taken. Is this how you see those two roads?
Well let me change your perspective a little bit. When Jesus was talking about these two roads, He was not talking about two separate entities, but He was talking about a small road that is hard to travel that is placed in the middle of this super hi-way with all of it’s traffic fighting against those people on the small road trying to drag them into the flow of traffic and derail their mission of reaching their goal.
Today we are going to look at a text from the Word of God that applies to all of us, but today it is directed towards our fathers in particular. Today as we look to God’s Word, let us see how He has revealed for us to be as the man in the home.
Psalm 1
You will remember with me, back in the book of Genesis. God created the Heavens and the earth. Then He continued on to create everything in them. God went so far as to create creatures and then, in His own image, He created man. Genesis 1:26-30,
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.
30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
God created man and He gave man dominion over all of creation. God even created a helpmate for man, not a footstool, but a helpmate for him. God created man and woman and He created them in His image.
God had in mind even from the beginning that man should be the head of the household, and woman should be his helpmate. God intended for His creation to enjoy the blessing He had for us, Gen 1:28 and it was only after our disobedience that we found the cursing Gen 3:14-19. God had a plan from the beginning and He has laid that plan out in detail in Psalm 1.
Let’s look at Psalm 1 together in detail.
Verse 1
We see here not what the righteous man does, but we see what he does not do. He does not walk in the council of evil. He does not walk with the ungodly.
The Christian life is described as a walk with God. And in your walk with God you are to progress by applying Biblical truths to your life. As a child of God we are told to walk carefully to ensure that though we are in this world we are not of this world.
Let me tell you about Peter, John 18:8
8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.”
Jesus said that Peter should go. Jesus told them to release Peter and for Peter to leave, but we see just a few verses later in John 18:15
15 Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest, 16 but Peter stood outside at the door.
Jesus told him to go, but Peter did his own thing and he walked after Jesus.
Then Peter stood in the company of the wrong crowd in John 18:18
18 Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.
Now Peter has disregarded the will of Jesus and walked with the ungodly and now he is standing with them.
Soon afterwards, we see Peter sitting, in Luke 22:55
55 And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them.
Peter walked with the ungodly, He stood with the sinners and then he sat with the scornful, and you know what followed…He denied his Lord 3 times.
There is a progression of verbs here, First acting on the principles, then cultivating the society, and finally permanently conforming to the conduct of the wicked.
Verse 2
Now we see what the righteous man does do. He delights himself in the Law of the Lord. He is saturated with the Word.
Think about a sponge for a minute. If you put a little bit of water in it, then you will see it swell a bit, but you get nothing out if you squeeze it. But if you put it under the faucet, then when you squeeze it you will have water everywhere. It is the same with the Bible. If you put John 3:16 and Genesis 1:1 in then squeeze, then nothing comes out, But meditate on the Bible, read it, enjoy it, and remember it, then when you are squeezed by life the Word of God almighty comes out and He is your strength.
A person who fellowships with the Spirit is controlled by the Spirit, and they walk in the Spirit.
Verse 3
Have you ever seen pictures of the desert? There aren’t many trees there are there? If you look at a map of Iraq then you will see that all of the trees are near Baghdad, because there are two rivers there. The trees are planted near the waters. And in the Bible, the stream is a representation of the Holy Spirit of God. If you are planted near the Spirit of God then you will grow, you will bear fruit in season, you will be strong and not wither, and you will prosper.
If you plant a tree and then give it no water, it will wither and it will not give any fruit, but with proper nourishment, it will provide the fruit it was designed for.
God designed you to be blessed, and to enjoy the blessings He has for you in life, all in return He asked for was you to delight in His Law. Follow His Law. Keep His commandments. Love Him.
Verse 4
Here we see the other side of the fence. Here we are introduced to the man who has decided to live without Jesus.
The godly person was described as a strong tree, planted by the water, bearing fruit in season and prospering. Now we see that the ungodly person is not so. They are the opposite. They have no roots, they are blown with the wind, and they are useless in the plan of God. They are neither beautiful nor fruitful.
Verse 5
Here we have one of those therefore’s again. Therefore, the ungodly will not stand the judgment.
Rev 20:11-15 tells us about the Great White Throne of Judgment and how it is the final judgment for sinners where their worth to God will be revealed as chaff and burned up because they are useless to Him.
Therefore, since they decided to live against Christ, they will not stand the judgment. They will be burned up in the final day; they will not enter into the kingdom of God.
Please do not be fooled by anyone who says our God loves you and He would not send you to Hell, because if you live without Christ now, then in eternity you will live without Him.
Verse 6
God knows the righteous. He has a deep personal knowledge about the righteous person, but the ungodly will perish.
It is in black and white. God placed you as the head of the family. He charged you to guide the family in His law. He wants you to enjoy His blessing by Meditating on His Word, and by fellowshipping with Him. God rewards those who are faithful, and He has condemned those who are disobedient.
On this Father’s Day, are you living for Christ? Are you leading your family to Christ? If you have Christ, then you are free from the power of sin (Rom 8:1) and Here is the call of the Word of God today…Micah 6:8
8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness,and to walk humbly with your God?
