Sermon Title: Blessed by Design
Psalms 1:1-3
1 Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper. (NKJV)
The 1 psalms speaks of Life’s two roads….
1. The life of the faithful person is contrasted with
2. The life of the faithless person.
Now what is faith?
Webster’s defines faith as:
1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : LOYALTY b (1) : fidelity to one’s promises (2) : sincerity of intentions
2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust
3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs
That’s fine and good, but I like what the bible say’s about faith in Hebrews 11:1 :” Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Now I don’t want you to get it twisted now, everybody aint blessed. Everybody aint walking with God… the only people on this planet that are blessed are His people. The ones He has chosen, in 1 Peter 2:9 9But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
Every one is not blessed. The Webster’s dictionary states that the word bless means, “Etymology: Middle English, from Old English blEtsian, from blOd blood; from the use of blood in consecration
1 : to hallow or consecrate by religious rite or word
2 : to hallow with the sign of the cross
3 : to invoke divine care for
4 a : PRAISE, GLORIFY
5 : to confer prosperity or happiness upon
I want you to Know that the Psalmist was talking about the people of God, His Saints…
A Blessed man will follow the voice of the Lord… In Deuteronomy 28: 1 it say’s
1 "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:
3"Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
4"Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
5"Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
6"Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7"The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
8"The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
9"The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. 10Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you. 11And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. 12The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. 14So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
There’s a blessing in obeying the word of the Lord….
In Deuteronomy 7:12-15
12"Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. 13And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you. 14You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female barren among you or among your livestock. 15And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you.
I like what Solomon said in Proverbs 16:7 7 When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. People you’ve been fighting with for years , will be at peace with you when you start pleasing the Lord, instead of everybody else…
Quote: What is a Saint.
Daddy, what are saints? The youngster asked . And I paused before making my reply. “ Do we know any saint’s right here on earth, or do they all live with God in the sky?” We entered the church of God just then, as the morning sun shone bright and fair through the stained glass windows, wide and high, and the reverent figures painted there. “These are all saint’s my son” I said and his face took on a rapture new.” Oh, I know what saint’s are now, Dad They are the people God’s light shines through.”
Jack Gormley (The speaker’s quote book)
A blessed (saved) man doesn’t listen to the wicked, (world)…
He doesn’t stay in sin….
He doesn’t indulge in sin…
He is happy with the word of the Lord he finds joy in doing the will of God
And he chews on the word day and night….
He is planted firmly on the ground, and his roots, (Knowledge) is deeply rooted in the truth of the gospels….
And when his time comes, (His season), he will be ready to share his faith to the point that whosoever he is talking too…the seed will be planted, and watered.
What ever he starts for the Lord will last, even after he has gone on to glory….
I’m so glad for the blessed man named Jesus….I’m glad he stayed the course hat God had for Him, He lived a sinless, life, when confronted by Satan, he spoke the word’s of God, with power, and knowledge. And sinned not, he died on a cross on a hill called Calvary, Stayed in the grave…
All Friday….
All Saturday….
And Sunday morning he showed how truly blessed he is…cause he got up with all power in His hand.
There may be someone out there right know, saying, “ Brother Hoggan, I hear what your saying, and I want God on my side too, But I left him, I left Him for …
Women…
Men….
Drugs…
Money…
What ever the reason you left him I want you to know that in 2 chronicles 7:14 it say’s
“ 14If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
If you’ve backslidden the bible say’s
· Repent
· Pray
· Search for Him
· And leave those old wicked ways behind
And HE will hear you, and pick you up, and turn you around, then place your feet on sold ground!
Because God want’s all His children to be Blessed, after all that’s how he designed it.
