—Ps 1:6
A. One of our most pleasant pastimes, as North Americans, is to make choices. Women love to go to the Shoe shop and choose between dozens of different kinds of shoes. Our entire retail industry is based upon the premise that people want selection, they want to choose.
B. VIDEO - Remember the FRAM T.V. commercial about the mechanic holding up ruined bearings, "You can pay me now, or you can pay me later. The choice is yours"
Ps. 1:6 The way of the righteous or the way of the ungodly
- Now the choice is ours
- It is not whether the righteous is stronger than the ungodly,
- It is their relationship to the Lord
- The final award is not with man but with God.
- The destiny of the righteous and the ungodly is as distinct as their character.
- The one lives, the other dies.
Choices
Life is always associated with obedience or righteousness,
Death s always associated with disobedience or unrighteousness.
The Ungodly His way is of pleasure, of pride, of unbelief, of profanity, of persecution, of procrastinating, of self-deception, etc.: all these shall come to an end.
❶ Jacob Started Out Ungodly
- Struggled with sin
- Called a Cheat , Over thrower, Up rooter, Worm (Is. 41:14)
- Cheats his brother’s birth right – Ge.25:27-34
- Lies to his father Isaac – Ge. 27:19-20
- Haunted by Esau’s promise of revenge – Ge. 27:41-42
- Runs for his life – Ge. 28:1-5
- Complaint against Uncle Laban –Ge. 31:7
- Sneaks away from Laban – Ge. 31:20-23
- Fearful of Esau’s coming – Ge. 32:6-7
- Disciplined with affliction – Ge. 32:24-25
❷ Jacob’s Transformation
- Jacob wanted a blessing – Ge. 32:26-31
- Name changed to Israel the Prince of God / God will rule
- Note Ge. 32:30 – Peniel = “My turning to God”
- Back to Psalm 1:6 (AV)
6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Psalm 25:8 (AV)
8 Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
Jeremiah 6:16 (AV)
16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
Isaiah 42:16 (AV)
16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.
❸ Evidence of Jacob’s Transformation
Isaiah 30:21 (AV)
21 ……. This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
1. Get Back to Worship – Ge. 35:1
- “ARISE”- Confirm, Establish, Continue
- Build the altar
2. Live Righteous Lives - Ge. 35:2
- Make a decision - Ge. 35:2 (It affects people around you)
a.) “Put away” – Decide to change what you have been following
b.) “Be clean” – Examine & Confess your sin
c.) “Change your garments” – Pursue holiness
3. Obedience to the Command
- Comparing Ge. 35:1, 3
4. Renounced All Sin – Ge. 35:4
- Removal of the evidence of sin
- Earrings – Their superstation = Today’s popular thinking
- Buried – Put to death
❹ Promised Blessing
- God’s presence known - Ge. 35:9-12
Isaiah 58:11 (AV)
11 And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
Psalm 37:18 (AV)
18 The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
