INTRODUCTION
• TODAY AS WE DIVE INTO THE SECOND MESSAGE IN OUR SERIES, “THE BIBLE: PRIORITIZING GOD’S WORD IN OUR LIVES,” WE WILL FOCUS ON THE BLESSING OF THE WORD.
• LIFE OFFERS SO MANY OPTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES.
• WE HAVE TO EVALUATE WHAT WE WILL RECEIVE BACK WHEN WE INVEST OUR TIME, TALENTS, AND TREASURE INTO ANY OPTION IN LIFE.
• MANY INVEST THEIR MONEY IN STOCKS, BONDS, AND OTHER MONEY-MAKING OPPORTUNITIES.
• WHEN CONSIDERING ALL OF THE INVESTMENT OPTIONS AVAILABLE, ONE HAS TO LOOK AT MANY FACTORS BEFORE PULLING THE TRIGGER ON TAKING THE DIVE TO MAKE THE INVESTMENT.
• ULTIMATELY, WHEN ONE INVESTS, THEY ARE LOOKING FOR A GOOD RETURN ON THEIR INVESTMENT.
• THE SAME PRINCIPLE IS TRUE CONCERNING THE INVESTMENT ONE MAKES IN THE PATH ONE CHOOSES TO FOLLOW.
• HAVE YOU CONSIDERED THE COST AND RETURN OF WHERE YOU ARE INVESTING YOUR LIFE?
• HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THE PATH YOU ARE CURRENTLY INVESTING YOUR TIME, TALENT, AND TREASURES IN?
• WHEN IT IS ALL SAID AND DONE, WHAT WILL THE RETURN ON YOUR INVESTMENT BE?
• TODAY WE WILL DIVE INTO PSALM 1:1-3.
• WE WILL EXAMINE TWO INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR LIFE AND THE RETURN YOU CAN EXPECT ON YOUR INVESTMENT.
• THE FIRST PSALM IS AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ENTIRE BOOK OF PSALMS.
• IT CELEBRATES THE “PERSON WHO IS ‘BLESSED’ BECAUSE THEY MEDITATE ON THE TORAH, PRAYERFULLY READING AND OBEYING IT.
• THE HEBREW WORD ‘TORAH’ SIMPLY MEANS ‘TEACHING,’ BUT IT ALSO CAME TO REFER TO THE FIRST FIVE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE THAT CONTAIN THE FOUNDATIONAL LAWS OF JUDAISM.
• IT SEEMS THAT THE WORD HAS BOTH OF THESE MEANINGS IN PSALM 1.
• THE BOOK OF PSALMS IS BEING OFFERED AS A NEW TORAH THAT WILL TEACH GOD’S PEOPLE ABOUT THE LIFELONG PRACTICE OF PRAYER AS THEY STRIVE TO OBEY GOD’S COMMANDS IN THE FIRST TORAH” (THE BIBLE PROJECT, READ SCRIPTURE: ILLUSTRATED SUMMARIES OF BIBLICAL BOOKS [PORTLAND: THE BIBLE PROJECT, 2017], 36).
• PSALM 1 IS A WISDOM PSALM, MOST LIKELY WRITTEN BY DAVID.
• THE AUTHOR OF THE PSALM ENCOURAGES THE READER TO FORSAKE THE LIFESTYLE OF THE WICKED AND INSTEAD BE LOYAL TO GOD AND HIS WORD.
• WHAT WE FIND IN PSALM 1, IS A CONTRAST BETWEEN THE DESTINY OF THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED.
• THE PSALMIST OFFERS A PROSPECTUS ON THE RETURN ON THE INVESTMENT ONE CHOOSES TO MAKE IN LIFE.
• LET’S TURN TO PSALM 1, AND WE WILL BEGIN WITH VERSE 1.
PSALM 1:1 (NET 2ND ED.)
1 HOW BLESSED IS THE ONE WHO DOES NOT FOLLOW THE ADVICE OF THE WICKED, OR STAND IN THE PATHWAY WITH SINNERS, OR SIT IN THE ASSEMBLY OF SCOFFERS.
SERMON
I. THE PATH TO RUIN.
• WHEN YOU LIVE LIFE, THERE COMES A POINT AT WHICH YOU REALIZE YOU MUST DECIDE HOW YOU WILL LIVE THAT LIFE.
• AS YOU WALK THE PATH OF LIFE, YOU INEVITABLY REACH THE POINT WHERE YOU MUST CHOOSE A PATH.
• VERSE ONE DESCRIBES THE PATH THAT LEADS TO RUIN, OR PUT ANOTHER WAY, THE PATH THAT, IF WE CHOOSE TO INVEST OUR LIFE, WILL OFFER A HORRIBLE RETURN ON OUR INVESTMENT.
• NOTICE IN VERSE 1, THE PASSAGE BEGINS WITH HOW BLESSED.
• THE PALMIST TELLS US THAT IF WE FOLLOW THE PATH IN VERSE ONE, WE WILL NOT BE BLESSED.
• THE WORD BLESSED REPRESENTS THE HAPPINESS THAT GOD-GIVEN SECURITY AND PROSPERITY PRODUCE.
• THE TERM “BLESSED” DOES NOT IMPLY THAT GOD HAS GIVEN SOME PARTICULAR FAVOR; A DIFFERENT HEBREW TERM IS USED TO INDICATE THAT.
• INSTEAD, IT MEANS THAT THE PERSON HAS SO CONDUCTED HIMSELF THAT A CONDITION OF BLESSEDNESS HAS RESULTED.
• “OH, THE HAPPINESS THAT MAN EXPERIENCES,” THE PSALMIST SAYS.
• AND IT IS A HAPPINESS THAT IS VERY DEFINITELY RELATED TO CONDUCT.
• THE GOOD LIFE IS ATTRACTIVE AND BRINGS REAL, NOT SUPERFICIAL HAPPINESS.
• WHEN YOU DIG INTO VERSE ONE, WHAT YOU SEE IS A PROGRESSION.
• THE PROGRESSION IS FOLLOW, STAND, SIT.
• WE WILL EXAMINE THE DOWNWARD COURSE AND THE DEEPER LEVEL OF INTIMACY WE FIND AS ONE STARTS DOWN THE PATH OF RUIN.
• THE FIRST STEP ON THE PATH TO RUIN IS TO
• VERSE 1 SAYS HOW BLESSED IS THE ONE WHO, FIRST OF ALL, DOES NOT FOLLOW THE ADVICE OF THE WICKED.
• THE WORD FOLLOW DENOTES WALKING ALONGSIDE, GOING THROUGH, AND GOING WITH.
• ONE OF THE FIRST STEPS IN WALKING ON THE PATH OF RUIN IS WHO YOU CHOOSE TO GO TO FOR ADVICE.
• WHEN YOU SEEK WHERE TO PLACE THE INVESTMENT OF YOUR LIFE, WHO DO YOU GO TO?
• IF YOU WANT TO SEE BLESSINGS FROM GOD, YOU NEED TO CONSIDER WHO YOU WILL FOLLOW.
• THE RIGHTEOUS PERSON DOES NOT SEEK THE ADVICE OF THE WICKED.
• WHO ARE WICKED PEOPLE?
• THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT A PERSON WHO DOES NOT WALK WITH GOD IS WICKED.
• WICKED SOUNDS HARSH, BUT WHEN YOU REALIZE THAT THERE ARE ONLY TWO SIDES, GOD OR SATAN, YOU CAN SEE WHY THIS IS TRUE.
• BY MAN’S STANDARDS, YOU HAVE TO BE PRETTY ROTTEN TO BE WICKED, BUT IN GOD’S SIGHT, ALL IT TAKES IS A PERSON WHO DOES NOT WALK WITH HIM TO BE CONSIDERED WICKED.
• WHEN WE GO TO THOSE WHO FOLLOW JESUS, WE CANNOT EXPECT TO RECEIVE GODLY COUNSEL.
• HERE IS WHY.
1 CORINTHIANS 1:18 (NET 2ND ED.)
18 FOR THE MESSAGE ABOUT THE CROSS IS FOOLISHNESS TO THOSE WHO ARE PERISHING, BUT TO US WHO ARE BEING SAVED IT IS THE POWER OF GOD.
• ANOTHER REASON FOR BEING CAREFUL WHO YOU GO TO FOR LIFE COUNSEL IS THE DIFFERING VALUE SYSTEMS.
2 CORINTHIANS 6:14 (NET 2ND ED.)
14 DO NOT BECOME PARTNERS WITH THOSE WHO DO NOT BELIEVE, FOR WHAT PARTNERSHIP IS THERE BETWEEN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND LAWLESSNESS, OR WHAT FELLOWSHIP DOES LIGHT HAVE WITH DARKNESS?
• WE ARE CALLED NOT TO FOLLOW THE COUNSEL OF THE WICKED.
MALACHI 3:18 (NET 2ND ED.)
18 THEN ONCE MORE YOU WILL SEE THAT I MAKE A DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED, BETWEEN THE ONE WHO SERVES GOD AND THE ONE WHO DOES NOT.
• WHEN CHRISTIANS START FOLLOWING THE WORLD'S ADVICE, WE WILL FIND OURSELVES IN DEEP TROUBLE.
• WHEN WE BEGIN DOWN THE PATH OF RUIN, IT STARTS WITH FOLLOWING.
• THEN AS WE FOLLOW, THE INTIMACY GOES DEEPER AS WE MOVE TO STANDING WITH THOSE ON THE PATH TO RUIN.
• WE ARE BLESSED WHEN WE DO NOT STAND IN THE PATHWAY WITH SINNERS.
• NOTE THE PROGRESSION—“WALKS, STANDS SITS.”
• THAT IS THE NATURE OF INVOLVEMENT IN SIN.
• ONE BEGINS BY TUNING IN ON EVIL COUNSEL.
• HE NEXT VENTURES AN OCCASIONAL INDULGENCE IN THE PRESENCE OF BAD COMPANY, EVEN IF IT MEANS A VIOLATION OF HIS CONSCIENCE.
• THE PATH SPEAKS TO THE LIFESTYLE OF THOSE ON THE PATH TO RUIN.
• WE MOVE TO CLOSELY ASSOCIATING WITH THEM IN SINFUL BEHAVIORS.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:33 (NET 2ND ED.)
33 DO NOT BE DECEIVED: “BAD COMPANY CORRUPTS GOOD MORALS.”
• THEN WE TAKE THE FINAL PLUNGE; WE SIT WITH THE SCOFFERS.
• WE ARE BLESSED IF WE DO NOT SIT IN THE ASSEMBLY OF THE SCOFFERS.
• A SCOFFER IS AN ARROGANT INDIVIDUAL WHO LOVES CONFLICT.
PROVERBS 22:10 (NET 2ND ED.)
10 DRIVE OUT THE SCORNER AND CONTENTION WILL LEAVE; STRIFE AND INSULTS WILL CEASE.
• TO SIT WITH MEANS TO COMPLETELY IDENTIFY WITH THOSE ON THE PATH TO RUIN AS WELL AS EMBRACING THEIR PROUD, SINFUL WAYS AND BEHAVIOR.
• BEFORE WE REALIZE IT, OUR LIFE CAN BECOME CAST IN A NEW MOLD.
• THE CHANGE BECOMES SO COMPLETE THAT WE BECOME ONE WHO TAKES DELIGHT IN SNEERING AT GOD AND HIS PEOPLE AND WAYS.
• LET’S MOVE TO VERSE 2.
PSALM 1:2 (NET 2ND ED.)
2 INSTEAD HE FINDS PLEASURE IN OBEYING THE LORD’S COMMANDS; HE MEDITATES ON HIS COMMANDS DAY AND NIGHT.
II. THE PATH TO BLESSING.
• IN CONTRAST TO THE ONE ON THE PATH TO RUIN, THE PATH TO BLESSING BEGINS WITH A DIFFERENT MINDSET.
• THE PATH TO BLESSING AND HAPPINESS IN ONE’S LIFE HAS MORE TO DO WITH WHAT ONE DOES VERSUS WHAT ONE REFRAINS FROM DOING.
• ONE DOES NOT REFUSE TO WALK ON THE PATH TO RUIN BECAUSE OF GUILT, BUT RATHER BECAUSE YOU KNOW GOD HAS A BETTER PATH, A BETTER WAY TO WALK.
• WHEN IT IS A CHOICE BETWEEN THE COUNSEL OF THE WICKED AND THE WAY OF THE LORD, IT IS NO CONTEST FOR THE ONE WHO IS ON THE PATH TO BLESSINGS.
• WHEN WE ARE FORCED TO DO SOMETHING WE DO NOT WANT TO DO, THE THING WE ARE FORCED TO DO BECOMES A BURDEN.
• THE PATH TO BLESSING IS NOT JUST ABOUT DOING WHAT IS RIGHT; IT IS ABOUT FINDING PLEASURE AND JOY IN DOING SO.
• THAT JOY AND PLEASURE SPRING FORTH FROM ONE’S LOVE FOR GOD.
• THE MINDSET MOVES FROM FIGHTING GOD TO FINDING JOY IN HIM.
A HANDBOOK ON THE BOOK OF PSALMS (PSALM 1:2)
THE LAW OF THE LORD (LORD’S COMMANDS): HERE THIS TERM REFERS TO THE TORAH, WHICH IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES, THAT IS, THE FIRST FIVE BOOKS (TRADITIONALLY KNOWN AS THE BOOKS OF MOSES).
THE WORD “TORAH” MEANS TEACHING, INSTRUCTION, GUIDANCE.
IT STANDS GENERALLY FOR THE HEBREW FAITH, YAHWEH’S REVELATION OF HIMSELF AS THE GOD OF THE HEBREW PEOPLE, AND PARTICULARLY FOR THE WRITTEN RECORD OF THAT REVELATION IN THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES, ESPECIALLY THE FIRST FIVE BOOKS
• BECAUSE ONE OBEYS THE COMMANDS OF GOD, ONE FINDS PLEASURE, PEACE, AND JOY!
• JESUS REPEATS THIS SAME THEME IN JOHN.
JOHN 14:15 (NET 2ND ED.)
15 “IF YOU LOVE ME, YOU WILL OBEY MY COMMANDMENTS.
1 JOHN 5:3 (NET 2ND ED.)
3 FOR THIS IS THE LOVE OF GOD: THAT WE KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. AND HIS COMMANDMENTS DO NOT WEIGH US DOWN,
• NEXT, WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU LOVE SOMETHING OR SOMEONE?
• YOU SPEND TIME WITH IT OR THEM.
• YOU THINK ABOUT THEM OR IT CONSTANTLY.
• YOU PLACE YOUR FOCUS ON THEM OR IT.
• THE ONE WHO FINDS PLEASURE IN FOLLOWING THE COMMANDS OF THE LORD WILL MEDITATE ON THE WORD OF THE LORD DAY AND NIGHT.
• THE PSALMIST PAINTS THE PICTURE OF A PERSON WHO “MEDITATES” ON GOD’S TRUTH ALL THE TIME, BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO MEDITATE?
• OFTEN, WE PICTURE MEDITATION AS STEEPED IN EASTERN SPIRITUAL PRACTICE.
• POP CULTURE OFFERS MANY EXAMPLES.
• FOR EXAMPLE, ON THE MUPPET SHOW, JAMES COBURN ATTEMPTS TO TEACH ANIMAL TO MEDITATE.
• OR THEN THERE WAS THE TIME ON THE OFFICE WHEN MICHAEL TRIED TO RELIEVE STANLEY’S STRESS BY TEACHING EVERYONE TO MEDITATE—ONLY TO DISCOVER THAT HE WAS THE CAUSE OF STANLEY’S STRESS.
• UNLIKE THESE EXAMPLES, FOR THE CHRISTIAN, MEDITATION IS MERELY THINKING WITH INTENTION ABOUT GOD’S REVEALED TRUTH AND HOW IT APPLIES TO OUR LIVES.
JOSHUA 1:8 (NET 2ND ED.)
8 THIS LAW SCROLL MUST NOT LEAVE YOUR LIPS. YOU MUST MEMORIZE IT DAY AND NIGHT SO YOU CAN CAREFULLY OBEY ALL THAT IS WRITTEN IN IT. THEN YOU WILL PROSPER AND BE SUCCESSFUL.
• THE PATH TO BLESSING RUNS THROUGH GOD AND HIS WORD!
• LET’S FINISH WITH VERSE 3.
PSALM 1:3 (NET 2ND ED.)
3 HE IS LIKE A TREE PLANTED BY FLOWING STREAMS; IT YIELDS ITS FRUIT AT THE PROPER TIME, AND ITS LEAVES NEVER FALL OFF. HE SUCCEEDS IN EVERYTHING HE ATTEMPTS.
III. THE BLESSING.
• TO INDICATE WHAT IT IS LIKE TO WALK ON THE PATH OF THE LORD, THE PSALMIST USES THE IMAGE OF A TREE.
• PARTS OF ISRAEL ARE MUCH LIKE ARIZONA.
• BY THE STREAMS! ALWAYS CLOSE TO THE LIFE-GIVING RESOURCES. (THIS WAS MEANINGFUL TO ISRAEL WITH HER MOSTLY ARID CONDITIONS.)
• THE TREE PLANTED BY THE STREAM IS NEVER DRY AND WILTED BUT IS GREEN, LUSH, AND LOVELY.
• THE CHRISTIAN WHO LIVES CLOSE TO GOD WILL NEVER BE DRY AND WILTED, EITHER. INSTEAD, HE WILL BE VIBRANT, LIVELY, AND PRODUCTIVE.
• THE DROUGHTS OF LIFE AND THE DRY SEASONS NEVER SEEM TO AFFECT THE BELIEVER PLANTED NEAR THE RIVER.
• HE IS CONNECTED TO AN UNFAILING SOURCE OF LIFE AND STRENGTH. NOTICE THAT THE PASSAGE SAYS THAT THE TREE WAS PLANTED.
• THE PLACES WHERE YOU SEE LUSH GREEN TREES ARE USUALLY NEAR A STREAM.
• A TREE PLANTED BY A STREAM CAN REACH ITS FULL POTENTIAL OF BEAUTY AND PRODUCTION.
• THE WATER NOURISHES THE TREE SO IT CAN GROW AND BECOME STRONG.
• VITALITY AND FRUITFULNESS ARE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LIFE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, NOT AS A REWARD OR ENTICEMENT BUT AS A NATURAL CONSEQUENCE OF SUCH A LIFE.
• IN BEARING FRUIT, THE TREE IS FULFILLING THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH IT WAS CREATED.
• THE PERSON OF WISDOM IS DOING THE SAME, FINDING ONE’S PURPOSE IN LIFE AND LIFE’S FULFILLMENT IN DOING THE WILL OF GOD.
• ONE OF THE BLESSINGS WE WILL EXPERIENCE FROM WALKING THE PATH TO BLESSING IS THAT WE WILL PROSPER.
THE WISDOM LITERATURE AND PSALMS A. THE THEME OF THE PSALTER (PS 1)
THE RIGHTEOUS PERSON IS LIKE A WELL-WATERED AND FIRMLY-ROOTED TREE, NOURISHED BY THE SUPPLY OF GRACE DRAWN FROM CONSTANT COMMUNION WITH GOD THROUGH THE WORD
• GOD WILL WALK WITH US IN ALL WE DO.
• THINGS THAT SEEM LIKE FAILURES WILL NOT BE FAILURES WHEN WE ARE UNDER HIS BLESSING.
• WE FAIL WHEN WE GET OFF THE PATH.
CONCLUSION
• WHERE ARE YOU INVESTING YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW?
• WHAT WILL THE EVENTUAL RETURN ON THE ALL-IMPORTANT INVESTMENT OF THE ONE LIFE YOU HAVE TO LIVE?
• INVEST YOURSELF IN GOD AND HIS WORD, AND THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT WILL BE OUT OF THIS WORLD!
• GOD LAYS OUT A PATH THAT WILL MAKE YOU SUCCESSFUL IN LIFE IN HIS EYES.
• WE WANT TO BE RIGHT IN HIS SIGHT, NOT IN THE SIGHT OF MAN.
• GOD LOVES YOU AND WANTS YOU TO PROSPER, BUT LEAVING HIM OUT OF YOUR LIFE WILL LEAD TO RUIN.
• DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD!
