Pastor Allan Kircher
Shell Point Baptist Church
Oct 13th 2013
Psalm 1:1-6
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SUCCESSFUL BELIEVER
See how this Book of Psalms opens with a benediction,
Who wants to be blessed of God?
• Most would answer "I do."
• Your presence/indicates your interest/God's blessing
• Your desire to be blessed of the Lord.
The First step in God's way of blessing is salvation.
• The message of the entire Bible.
• There is no formula/blessing does not begin with faith.
Faith:
• Foundation/Christian character/security of the soul.
• In Christ basis of all working, all sanctification, and all hope.
• Gives birth to prayer/trust/godly desire
• Finally to blessing from God.
• Psalm 1 assumes that salvation has already taken place
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There are many yardsticks by which men measure success.
• wealth, power, position, prestige
• All indicators of worldly success.
• However, measuring your spiritual success
• Your success as a Christian is a little more difficult.
Often, there is little tangible, visible evidence, which you can put your hands on to prove you are living a successful Christian life.
Generally, success/believer/more internal than external.
Small amount/external evidence we produce
• Result of much internal activity in our hearts and lives.
That is why it is difficult for God’s children, who live in a materialistic world, to gauge their success in their walk with God.
Thankfully Psalm 1 exists.
In this worthy doorkeeper to the psalms, we find insight into what
makes a believer successful.
As/plumb line/God’s Word moves alongside your life
• See how you measure up/God’s standard for successful Christian living.
• As we move through this Psalm, allow me to share with you The Characteristics of the Successful Believer.
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I. v. 1 THE PATH OF THE SUCCESSFUL BELIEVER
Successful believer is separated in his walk of life.
• Devil is active and will put obstacles in your way.
• He will use those who are his to hinder and hurt you.
1. He doesn’t Believe like the wicked
He/man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly.
• doesn’t listen to their counsel
• to the invitations to evil
• Hearing is turned a little higher!
• He takes wiser counsel/walks/commandments/Lord his God.
To him the ways of piety are paths of peace and pleasantness.
• Footsteps/ordered/Word of God
• Not by the cunning and wicked devices of carnal men.
Rich sign of inward grace when the outward walk is changed, and when ungodliness is put far from our actions.
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1. He doesn’t Behave like the wicked – 2 Cor. 5:17
• The old man has been put forever away!
• Stand not in the way of sinners.
• not mean standing against them
• But with them, agreeing with them.
• No, his company is of a choicer
• Although a sinner himself, he is now a blood-washed sinner, quickened by the Holy Spirit, and renewed in heart.
• Standing/rich grace/God/congregation/righteous
• He dares not herd with the multitude do evil.
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2. He doesn’t Belong with the wicked – 2 Cor. 6:17
• "nor sits in the seat of mockers"
• Feels out of place when surrounded/devil’s crowd.
• Finds no rest in the atheist's scoffings.
• Let others make a mock of sin, of eternity, of hell and heaven, and of the Eternal God
• Too much sense/God's presence/endure/hear His name blasphemed.
• seat/mocker may be very lofty/very near/gate of hell
• Flee from it/soon be empty/destruction swallow up/man who sits there.
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Watch out for these dangers. Notice the progression.
• The downward progress!
• Walking in the counsel of the ungodly. Accepting advice.
• Standing in the way of sinners: being a party to its ways.
• Sitting in the seat of the mockers adopting its attitudes.
When men are living in sin they go from bad to worse.
At first they merely walk/counsel/careless/ungodly
• the evil is rather practical than habitual
• after that, they become habituated to evil
• they stand/way of open sinners who willfully violate God's commandments
• if let alone, they go one step further
• Become themselves pestilent teachers and tempters of others, and thus they sit in the seat/mockers.
Successful believer realizes there is a vast difference between him and the world he was saved out of, and he lives accordingly!
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II. v. 2 THE PLEASURE OF THE SUCCESSFUL BELIEVER
The successful believer is genuinely/completely/love/Word/God.
A. The Word Has Captured His Full Affection – Delight = Pleasure!
• Word/God isn’t a Book of fables, myths and legends.
• To/child of God/very Word of Truth.
• It is God-breathed and infallible, inerrant/absolutely perfect.
• He loves it and he lives it
• Finding/pages all he needs to grow and prosper for Jesus.
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The value of the Word:
1. It is Food – Matt. 4:4 “Man does not live by bread alone….”
a. Milk/baby – 1 Pet. 2:2…crave pure spiritual milk, so you may grow up in your salvation.
• Gives/baby Christian everything he needs to grow up strong and healthy
• It needs to be prepared and served right however!
b. Meat/growing – Heb. 5:14…But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
• Provides all we need to make us strong in the Lord!
c. Bread for everyone – John 6:51……
• Bread/staple food of the world!
• No matter where you go, people need the Bread of life!
2. It is Light – Psa. 119:105
3. It is Truth – John 17:17. “Sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth.
4. It is a Mirror – James 1:23-25 “Do not merely just listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what is says!
5. It is a Seed – 1 Pet. 1:23 “not of perishable but imperishable.”
6. It is a Sword – Heb. 4:12…..sharper than any two-edged sword
• Penetrates dividing the soul/spirit/joints/marrow
• Judges thoughts and attitudes/heart
7. It is a Hammer – Jer. 23:29 “Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?”
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Successful believer/love/the Bible. He knows that in its pages, he can find all that his soul requires.
Embodies/complete revelation/God to men.
• Meets the need of the Christian life.
• Do you love it as you should?
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B. It Has Captured His Full Attention
• Not only does the successful believer love/Book
• He lives out the Book daily.
• Internalized and it becomes the singular standard for faith and practice.
• Every thought, every move, every decision is made against the backdrop of God’s Word
• The use it for every issue of their lives.
Before life can ever be lived in this fashion
• Bible must be consumed
• Made a vital part of who you are.
• Successful believer spends his days/his nights/pursuit/Book. Does the Bible fill your thoughts?
• Do you find yourself consumed with its content
• Mesmerized in the meditation of it?
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III. v. 3 THE PROSPERITY OF THE SUCCESSFUL BELIEVER
• Promises of this verse are conditional.
• When we live separated lives
• feed our souls on God’s Word
• We can expect these things to happen for us.
A. His Position – By the River!
• Always close/life giving resources.
• Tree planted/river/never dry/wilted, but is green/lush/lovely
The believer who lives close/God will never be dry/wilted either.
• He will be vibrant, lively and productive.
• Many never know the joy of drawing off Christ daily!
• As a result, they are spiritually wilted and dead looking.
The droughts of life and the dry seasons never seem to affect the believer who is planted near the river.
• Connected to an unfailing source of life and strength.
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B. His Prominence – A tree.
• Life/successful believer stand heads above all those around him.
• It is easily seen when a man draws from the Lord.
• Men will know when you have been with Jesus – Acts. 4:13
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C. His Permanence – Planted
• Unlike some plants, which live for a season/die out
• This tree sunk its root deep/has a hidden source of life.
• Value of private prayer and Bible Study.
• Planted – literally "transplanted."
• A tree cannot transplant itself
• Neither can a man transplant himself into/Kingdom of God.
• It is wholly a work of God’s grace.
And, He always plants us in good soil, near the water supply
However, after we are planted, it is our responsibility to draw from the resources, which God has provided.
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D. His Productivity – "Brings forth fruit"
The successful believer/blessing to all those around him, because his fruit is plentiful.
John 7:38.. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.
You may never know just who is feeding off your life!
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E. His Predictability – "In his season"
• This tree isn’t a freak.
• Just as there are seasons of fruit bearing,
• So there are times of rest and growth.
• As believers, we aren’t to worry over the fruit.
• That is the Father’s business!
• When everything else is as it should be
• then the fruit will come in its season – John 15:1-5.
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F. His Perpetuity – "leaf shall not fade"
• Successful believer is like an evergreen.
• He is always surrounded by the green of life.
The trees in the wintertime.
• Hardwoods and leafy trees look dead
• But evergreens stand out as islands of life in a sea of deadness.
• They are unaffected by winter or weather
• They are always the same.
• Our lives should be lives of consistency!
• We are called on to be a stable, faithful and dependable people – 1 Cor. 15:58
• The successful believer is consistent.
• Curve balls of life are unable to knock him off course.
• Thank the Lord for consistent people!
• Life lived by this river in unchanging.
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G. His Prosperity – "Whatever he does, prospers"
In other words, God will bless the successful believer.
His personal/family/business/church/spiritual life will all be blessed of the Lord.
• That isn’t to say that there won’t be stormy seas
• Successful believer will be able to sail thru them with Jesus until they are calm once again!
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Conc: Do you possess the characteristics of the successful believer?
• If so, the Bible, in verse 1, says you are "Blessed."
• I hope you are among these blessed ones.
• Encourage you to walk with Jesus this morning.
• if you saw yourself lacking in some of these areas,
• then Jesus stands ready
• Willing and able to make those things right once again.
• Let’s take whatever steps are necessary to make our lives be the successes they can and should be.
• Let’s take whatever steps necessary to celebrate another 25 years.
