For those not familiar with an Anglican Service; there are four Scripture Readings before the Sermon. The Scripture Readings for this day were: Proverbs 31:10-31; Psalm 1:1-6; James 3:13-4:8 and Mark 9:30-37.
You only go around once in life, .....so you've got to grab .....for all the gusto you can."
Some of you may remember that television commercial.
But, what exactly ......is gusto?
Webster defines it as ....."Hearty or Keen enjoyment."
And according to that commercial,..... you gain it .....by drinking a certain brand of beer..... Schlitz!
I don't know about that, ..... but the question that commercial raises .....is important.
As human beings, ....we are all .....looking for gusto.
But where do we find .....this elusive..... gusto?
What road do we take ....to arrive ......at gusto?
The psalmist begins by telling us...... that there is a road to avoid ....when seeking happiness ..... when seeking..... gusto.
The road to avoid is .....ungodly counsel ..... that is ....counsel...... with the wicked.
"If you want to go to Greensburg (Blairsville) from here,..... You do not turn left on Route 30 (Route 219 North).
That road will get you to Somerset (Indiana), .....But not to Greensburg (Blairsville)."
The Psalmist is clear .... crystal clear,.... "If you want to find true happiness ....if you want to find true joy .... if you want to find gusto, ....do not go the way ......of the ungodly.
Do not seek counsel .....with the wicked."
Do not seek council ......with the unrighteous.
So, ...where then do we find gusto ....where do we find ......true happiness?
Well, a good place to begin...... is God's Word.
Psalm 1 begins, BIBLE "Happy .... Blessed are they ....who have not walked ....in the counsel of the wicked ....nor lingered ....in the way of sinners ....nor sat ...in the seat.... of the scornful." END
"Blessed" ....is often translated.... happy ....in the scriptures.
Blessed are the pure in heart ..... happy are the pure in heart.
Here the psalmist says, .....Happy is the person who does not walk with the wicked, ..... who does not stand ....nor linger with the sinners, ..... who does not sit .....with the scornful.
Happiness ....has more to do with..... what we are .... than who we are.... or what we have.
Happiness at one time was,... "a chicken in every pot" .....then it was ....a "car in every garage."
Too often ..... we look in the wrong places ....for happiness.
Too often... we expect ....a fairy tale ending.
If you turn to the last chapter in the book of Cinderella.
The last verse reads..."and they lived happily ever after."
If you turn to the last chapter in the book of Sleeping Beauty.
The last verse reads..."and they lived happily ever after."
Finally, ....if you turn to the last chapter..... in the book of Snow White.
The last verse reads...... "and they lived happily ever after."
We all ....long for ....the fairy tale ending.
We have yearned for it .....since our childhood. (Pause)
We want to be able to live ..."happily ever after".
We desire happiness, .....we long for it, ....we search for it, ...we want it in our lives.
Our search for the fairy tale ....will often cause us ...to seek happiness ...from sources.... other than God.
In fact, ....sometimes our search ....actually leads us .....away from God ...to a place of... sinfulness.
A place where God ...is no longer ....at the center ....of our life
Our Lord has been replaced.... by another person, ....possession, ....pleasure or.....ideology.
This leading away .....is typically ....a very subtle thing ....but if we continue to stray ...over time ....we feel ourselves ....falling into ......the happiness trap.
If you seek happiness ....as an end in itself ....you will never find it; .... it will always ....escape you.
It is like catching a soap bubble ..... you think you have it, ... then it bursts ....and it is gone ....and there is .....nothing left. (Pause)
The Scriptures are not confusing.... They are very clear:
Happy is the person ....who does not walk with the wicked, ..... who does not stand nor linger with the sinners, .... who does not sit ....with the scornful.
One form of happiness ....and a tremendous blessing to many.....is having children....or grandchildren.
And one of the great things in having little ones around us .... is to remind us .... of the growth process.
Most of you will remember ....when your children (or your grandchildren) ....were able ....to sit up.
At first ...we watch their attempts ....to stay upright ....without slumping over.
Then we get excited ...when they learn to crawl ....and pull themselves up ..... to stand.
Then they start walking... by holding our hands ....or supporting themselves ...by holding on ....to the furniture.
Then it isn't long ...until they start walking on their own.
That is how growth .....progresses.
(Slow) As we mature... we learn to sit, .... then to stand ....and then to walk.
It is a natural progression .....sit, stand, walk.
Yet.... Did you notice ...in this first verse of Psalm 1 ....how the person's progression.... is backwards?
The growth is reversed.
The person begins... by walking in the counsel ....of the wicked.
Then they.... stand in the way ....of sinners.
And, ...finally,....they sit ....in the seat of scornful.
For them ...the progression.....is reversed .....it is: walk, stand, and sit.
The momentum is going backwards ..... until they sit.... Until they stop completely.
They begin ...by being able to walk ....and they end up ....They finish...... immobilized.
Do you see the progression ....It is reversed, ...they go from "walking" to "standing" to "sitting"?
Now Usually ....we do not jump right into the middle of sin.
Usually.......It goes in stages.
Teenagers .....(or adults for that matter).... start to hang out ....with the wrong crowd.
They are not doing anything wrong, ..... just hangin'.
But, fairly soon,.... they are no longer walking, ....they are standing in the group, ....and eventually they are immobilized in their walk ...... doing the same .....ungodly things.
And Paul wrote the familiar warning ....when he shared this truth,.... "Evil company ...corrupts ...good habits." (1 Corinthians 15:33).
My grandmother put it this way:
You are judged..... by the company ....you keep.
The following Fable Helps illustrate this:
The Fable is called "A Donkey and His Purchaser".
A man wanted to buy a donkey, ....and agreed with its owner ....that he should try out the animal ....before he bought it.
So he took the donkey home... and put it in the yard ...with his other donkeys.
The new animal ...left all the others ...and joined up at once ...with the donkey.... that was the most idle ....and the greatest eater.... of them all.
When he saw this,... the man put a halter on him, ....and led him immediately ....back to his owner.
When he was asked how, ...in such a short time, ....he could have tried him out,... he answered,.... "I don't need to try him out; ....I know that he will be just like the one he chose for his companion."
The Psalmist goes on to say"
BIBLE "Those that are happy ....delight is in the law of the Lord, ....and they meditate on his law .....day and night." END
They meditate on His Law... On His Word... Day and Night.
So Beloved....What delights you?
Is it seeing the stock market rising?
Is it getting a promotion at work?
Is it straight A's on a report card?
Is it buying a new dress?
Is it purchasing... a new car?
These things might make you happy ...for a few hours ....or a few days.
Yet Here,... in Psalm 1, ...we learn that a person who wants to experience real gusto ....to experience lasting happiness,... is delighted, ...when they read ..and meditate... on God's Word.
You may ask: ....What can be so exciting ...about sitting around ...reading and meditating .....on the Scriptures?
For many the fifteen or thirty minutes spent in daily devotion .....seems like a long time.
But the psalmist ...did not spend all day reading ....the Scriptures.
What he did constantly,... day and night, ....was think about what the Scriptures were saying, ....what they meant,.... and how they could be applied.... in his life.
That is meditating ....on God's word.
Now remember, ....the Psalmist did not have a pocket-sized copy of the Old Testament ....that he could stick in his coat pocket ....and pull out to read ...while he was ....tending his sheep.
So,... all week, ....he spent time ....thinking about ...what he had heard on the Sabbath,.... meditating on what God's Word meant .....to his life.
What is practical for us.... is this to read a few verses ....from God's Word ....when you rise in the morning.
Then meditate on them ....think about them.... during the day, ....what is God saying ....to you?
How can the scripture.... you read that morning ..... be applied to your life?
If we meditate.... (focus) on God's word, ....then Satan ...and the world ...are just ....a mere annoyance.
But if we Allow our focus ....to be compromised, ...then we put ourselves.... and true happiness at risk.
And....The psalmist ....also has something to say .....about compromise.
He states that....We cannot compromise ....with that .....which is wrong.
If we do .... we allow evil ...to work its way ....into our lives.
It often happens.... so slowly, ....that we hardly realize ....it is taking place.
But over time ....evil will immobilize you ....and strip you ....of your gifts.
There is and old children's story ....about a bird who meets a fisherman with a can of worms ....and asks him for one.
The fisherman says, ..."Sure, ...all I ask in return.... is one of your feathers."
Well,... a feather for a worm ...seemed a reasonable exchange to the bird,.... so he made the trade.
The next day ...the bird was hungry again.
He weighed the inconvenience ....of searching for food ...against the expediency ...of trading with the fisherman ...and decided in favor ....of the easier way.
After all, ...it was only ....one feather.
But after a few weeks of making such a trade, ...the bird had exchanged ....so many feathers ....that he could not fly.
At this point, ....the fisherman ....picked up the fat, naked bird ....and had a very filling meal.
It is very easy ....for the same thing ...to happen ...to us ....spiritually.
We make an unwise decision.
We say that it will not affect us spiritually .....and, ...in fact,... we may not be able to see ....the effect.
But slowly, ....one rationalization ....leads to another.
Go ahead and do it... God will forgive you.
Until ...before we know it ....we find ourselves ...down a road ...that we never ....intended to travel.
Our text from James points the way to victory.
BIBLE "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil,... and he will flee from you...... Draw near to God.... And He will draw near...to you." END James 4:7-8.
We need to resist ...even the slightest temptation ...to compromise what is known to be wrong.
We need to ....meditate on God's word ....and ignore the words ....that Satan ....is whispering.... in our ear,
"Oh, go on.... God won't care if you eat that fruit."
The fairy tale ending ....is not attainable ....through things ....of this world.
Blessedness.....Happiness does not come ....from others.
It comes by abiding in Jesus.
It comes by abiding ..... and if you do.... the fruit of the spirit ....will be manifested ....in your life.
Beloved..., go for the gusto.
Be Blessed ...and let true happiness ...fill you to overflowing.
Meditate on his God's Word. ....Delight in God's Word.
And if you do.... Beloved our Lord will take you....from glory ....to glory.
Amen and Amen!
I received much insight for this message from the Sermon "Of Gusto and Hungry Bears" by John Beehler. I commend it to you.
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