Blessed

2023 Spring Branch

Psalm 1:1-3

Blessed: Sit, Walk, Stand

“Hey Ryan, hey there, hey brother, how are you?” “I am blessed.” I have been made happy; I am enjoying spiritual happiness and the favor of the Lord through Christ.

Verse 1 – Blessed… “I am blessed.” From a position standpoint, we are blessed, or we have blessed position with God… a divine position with God. We are in Christ, blessed and highly favored, sitting in the heavenly places, with eternal promises and rewards. We have Christ in us, going before us, preparing a home for us… we have a hope and a future… we are in a joyous blessed state.

We are no longer under the curse and under a wrathful state, without divine favor. God sees the righteousness of Christ on us and we are declared children of the Kingdom.

Church: As the Church, We are blessed.

In this verse, blessedness is witnessed and experienced by individuals who do something. In this sense, blessedness is being described as that deep-seated joy and contentment with God.

There will be individuals who will enjoy God’s presence and will experience an abundant life with Him, with joy unspeakable and full of glory… and there will be those who will forsake this experience with Him… By not obeying Him and by not walking in faith with Him.

How can we walk and experience God’s blessing through life?

1. Do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. Walk…

2. Do not stand in the path of sinners. Stand…

3. Do not sit in the seat of the scornful (the contempt, the despised). Sit…

*In the 1930’s, God raised up a brother in China, by the name of Watchman Nee. He witnessed, made converts and established local churches in China. Many came into the Kingdom through his ministry. He was arrested in 1952 and was killed in 1972. Before he died, he wrote, he wrote some books.

One of the books was called “Sit, Walk, Stand.”

From Ephesians, Nee focuses on Sitting in our Position in Christ, Walking out Faith in the World, and Standing firm against the Enemy as we live. His words are : “To be useful in God’s hand, A believer must be properly adjusted in respect of his position, his life, and his warfare.”

Matthew 5:3-11 – The blessed man is spelled out in greater length. The blessed man recognizes his spiritual poverty, mourns over his sins, practicing repentance. The blessed are meek, self-controlled by the Spirit of God, and they hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness and not their own. The blessed ones will be the merciful ones, the pure ones, and the peacemakers. The blessed ones will also be the ones who are persecuted for doing what is right and following Christ.

The blessed ones are resting in Christ. This is their position. These will be the blessed ones.

Back to Psalm 1: The blessed man… the joyful, happy, happy, happy man of God avoids associations with the ungodly and counsel from them. The Bible says to walk and learn from the godly. Proverbs 11:14 an 15:22 says that with counselors, there is safety and with advisers we will succeed.

*With godly/wise counselors; surround yourselves with these folks.

1 Cor. 15:33 – Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” Prov. 13:20 – Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. Proverbs 27:17 – As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

Going back to Psalms 1. But what must we do?

Verse 2 – Blessed is the man who delights in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates (ponders it, thinks and talks about it) day and night.

This must be the Christian’s spiritual discipline and practice throughout life.

These will be the spiritually happy ones. The ones that meditate on the news? No. The ones that meditate on novels, movies, drama, lies, porn, work all the time, fishing all the time? No.

Isaiah 26:3 – You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Joshua 1:8 – Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips, meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Philippians 4:8 – Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable – if anything is excellent and praiseworthy – think about such things.

There is this prayer: Psalm 19:14 – May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Romans 12:2; Philippians 2:5 – Renew the mind and have the mind of Christ.

These will be blessed throughout their lives. Which ones? The ones with the mind of Christ. The ones whose mind is filled with God, His truth, promises, commands, will and so on.

These will know and walk in the light. The word will be the lamp to the feet and a light to the path. It will shed light on the here and now and for the future. It will keep us from stumbling and hopelessness. Read Psalm 119:97-104 – Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day…

What will it be like for those who meditate on the Word of God like this? Verse 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. He will not wither away. He will not dry up and rot.

*Read John 15:4-5; Galatians 5:22-23 – Abide with Jesus, seek His counsel and be fruitful.

This is the will of God for us, and it is for our good. Our joy will remain and we will experience a blessedness, a fullness of joy, as we live… if we will abide, sit, walk, and stand in His Word.

Blessed is the one who does these things… Does this… Practices this… has a lifestyle of this