BEING BLESSED
Psalm 1
Everyone wants to be blessed. I have never met anyone yet who wanted to be cursed and not blessed. The sad thing is that most people either do not know how to be blessed or if they do know they refuse to do what it takes to be blessed.
An old Chinese proverb says, “If you wish to be happy for one hour, get intoxicated. If you wish to be happy for three days, get married. If you wish to be happy for eight days, kill your pig and eat it. If you wish to be happy forever, learn to fish.”
I like to fish but fishing won’t bring you blessing or happiness. So let’s find out from Psalm one how to be blessed.
I. THE BLESSED MAN
A. THE BLESSED MAN IS NOT CONTROLLED BY THE WORLD
1. HIS COUNSELINGS ARE NOT OF THE WORLD “walketh”
- If we listen to the world for our advice on how to live and handle life we will be in trouble. The world will steer us away from Christ.
- Too many Christians get their counsel from the wrong sources.
- Be careful who you listen to when it comes to making decisions.
- The word walk in the Bible always gives reference to living and lifestyle in this context.
- So the blessed man isn’t living based on the principles of the world. His lifestyle isn’t that of the lost but the saved.
2. HIS COMPANIONSHIPS ARE NOT OF THE WORLD “Standeth”
- Stand here denotes that of someone who is comfortable associating with the lost.
- If you show me someone who feels more comfortable around the world than at church I will show you someone who isn’t walking with the Lord.
- God’s people should never feel comfortable having close companionships with the lost.
- God says we are to be in the world and not of it. We are to be friendly to the lost but not friends. Many today act and talk like the lost and wonder why they have no influence in the world.
- We are called to be different. If we are the same then what do we have to offer them?
3. HIS CONVICTIONS ARE NOT OF THE WORLD “sitteth”
- This shows now that the man has become one of them.
- The progression is that of living by their principles, so you start walking, then you stand with them or spend time as friends, and then you become one of them and sit.
- But notice they are scorners. It all may start innocently but it ends being scornful.
- There have been those over the years who grew up in church but began to walk with the world and then listen to the world and went to hanging out with them to becoming one of them.
- This is why it is so important that parents and grandparents guild the lives of their children. If left alone to themselves the Bible says they are bound for hell.
B. THE BLESSED MAN IS CRAVING THE WORD
1. HE IS IN THE WORD HAPPILY
- Notice it is his DELIGHT to be in the Word of God.
- Delight- greatest pleasure and purpose.
- One reason so many are not blessed is because they spend so little time in God’s Word.
2. HE IS IN THE WORD HABITUALLY
- It’s not just an occasional action but it’s a habitual daily action.
- He spends day and night or we would say continually in the Word.
- This shows that the blessed man makes the time and takes the time to spend with God.
- If we don’t spend time alone with God I promise you that hearing sermons won’t make you Godly.
- Illustration: Lt. General William K. Harrison was the most decorated soldier in the 30th infantry division. He received every decoration for valor except the Congressional Medal of Honor - being honored with the Distinguished Silver Cross, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star for Valor, and the Purple Heart (he was one of few generals to be wounded in action).
General Harrison was a soldier’s soldier who led a busy life, but he was also an amazing man of the Word. When he was a twenty-year-old West Point Cadet, he began reading the Old Testament through once a year and the New Testament four times. General Harrison did this until the end of his life. Even in the thick of war he maintained his commitment by catching up during the two and three day rests for replacement and refitting which followed battles, so that when the war ended he was right on schedule.
General Harrison’s story tells me that even the busiest person can systematically feed on God’s Word. No one can be busier or lead a more demanding life than General Harrison.
Vs.2b “. . . and on His Law he meditates day and night.”
- Church and sermons should give you things to go home and study each week as well as share with your children.
- Family devotions could and should be that of discussing what we learned in church on Sunday morning and Sunday night. That is one reason why I believe in taking notes at church. NOT PASSING NOTES TAKING NOTES.
C. THE BLESSED MAN IS CULTIVATED BY THE WATERS
1. WHERE HE IS PLANTED
- Water is a picture of the Holy Spirit throughout the Bible.
- Many believe based on the Hebrew word here for River that it can mean one of two things. (1) The idea of having deep roots that are being fed by very deep underground springs in the desert area. Picturing God’s people who live in a spiritual waste land and desert that must have spiritual roots that go deep to survive. (2) The other picture is that of someone who makes an irrigation system that stems off of a spring or river. They keep their crops waters good because of channels and trenches they would make and would be able to keep large farms waters good.
- Either way the idea is that of being surrendered to the Holy Spirit of God so he can take the Word that we learn to make us grow as Christians.
- If we stay baby Christians for a long time it’s because we have not planted ourselves by God’s river.
2. WHAT HE IS PRODUCING
- I hear people all the time say, “If it wasn’t for bad luck I’d have no luck at all” Maybe we just need to be planted by the waters so we can get more production out of our lives.
- His leaf shall not wither. You show me someone who is not producing spiritual fruit and I will show you someone who has moved their tree.
- There can be no fruit without roots. Too many Christians are more concerned about the leaves and the fruit than they are the roots, but the roots are the most important part. Unless Christians spend time daily in prayer and the Word, and allow the Spirit to feed them, they will wither and die.
- If we are planted in the right position we will be producing the right product.
II. THE BOUND MAN
A. THE BOUND MAN HAS NO SPIRITUAL PROFIT
1. They would crush the grains in Bible days and then go on a hill in a field and on a windy day shovel that grain in the air and the wind would separate the hulls form the wheat.
2. One day God’s winds are going to blow strong and when it does it is going to separate the wheat from the worthless.
3. While on earth man has a chance to be blessed or bound based on their choices and sad to say most choose to be bound.
B. THE BOUND MAN HAS NO SPIRITUAL PAROLE
1. (6) He will perish. His ultimate end is to spend eternity in Hell paying for his sin.
2. (5) Stand- to be acquitted. They will not get off in God’s court. There is no buying the judge or jury.
3. He is bound to his sentence for eternity.
4. Mat 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. The wicked are like chaff in two ways. Chaff is worthless, and chaff is burned. This pictures the futile, empty, worthless life of the godless, as well as their future judgement.
5. A fan is a winnowing fork that was used to toss the grain in the air.
Conclusion:
A companion of a newly converted Christian said to him one day, “Can you tell me where hell is?” After a moment’s hesitation the young Christian said, “Yes, it’s at the end of a Christless life.”
We are surrounded by those who are unconcerned about their soul. May God help us to be blessed so we can help those who are bound.
