Two Options

Introduction:

As we continue with our worship of the Lord this morning and turn to His word, I want to start with a question: What do you want out of life?

If you could think of your dream life and had to pick one word to describe it, what would it be?

Many people will answer that question by saying they want to be happy. They want a good life. Now, I know that means different things to different people. Some people when they say the good life, or the happy life, they mean that they want a life without pain and suffering. They want all of their dreams and wishes to come true. Some people will answer this by saying they want a lot of money. Some will say they want a nice house with a nice car. Some will say they want a life where they can do whatever they want and never have to worry about anything.

But let me ask you, if you had an earthy life of no pain and suffering and everything that you wanted, but in the end, you ended up in Hell, with no chance of escape, would that still be a good life? The answer is NO! That is not the good life. That may be the life we think is good, but it shows itself to be empty and destructive in the end.

Don’t get me wrong, the desire to have a happy life is NOT WRONG! I would even say that is a good desire to have, but the problem is that we don’t know what the GOOD LIFE IS. That is where our wires are crossed. We spend so much time and energy on things that we think are going to bring us happiness, but in the end, they show themselves empty. They do not satisfy the longings in our souls. So, we keep chasing and chasing, but we always come up short.

So what does it mean to have a good life? In large part, this is what we are going to explore through the summer as we kick off our series called: Summer in the Psalms.

Out of all of the books in the Bible, when doing a search online for what is the most popular book of the Bible, Psalms ranks #1 on that list. The Psalms speak to our hearts in a way that other books don’t.

We as humans often do not know how to handle our thoughts and feelings. We don’t know how to express ourselves to God very often. We know that life is full of joy and pain. There are times when we are able to stand on the mountaintops and just praise God for who He is, and then there are other times when we feel so crushed that we are not even sure if we are going to make it through the day. We look out at our world and everything that is going on in our nation, and we wonder what in the world is happening. Everything seems to be changing so fast right in front of our eyes. The wicked seem to prosper. The righteous seem to suffer.

This is why the Psalms are so popular. We see all of these different things going on in the world. We face so many different emotions that we are not sure how to handle them, but the Psalms give us the words that we need to express our hearts and to give us proper understanding of what is going on in the world.

Through the Psalms, we learn about man and our sinful character. In contrast, we learn about God and His righteous character. We learn not to look to the things of this world or what the world tells us to be true, but rather to look to God. The world tells us that there is nothing wrong with our sin, and the Psalms beckon us to come to God with our sin and to lay it all down before Him.

In the Psalms, we are given language in terms of praise, lament, and thanksgiving. We are given hope through the Royal Psalms, Enthronement Psalms, and Messianic Psalms. We are called to action by the Wisdom Psalms.

You see, the Psalms touch every facet of our lives. There is not one area in your life, or one thing that you are going through in your life, that the Psalms will not touch. And what is so different about the Psalms than the therapeutic counsel of our day and age is that they point us to God. It is in a relationship with God that a person can find this blessed life or happy life.

This is precisely what we see addressed in the Psalm we are going to look at today. How do we have a happy life, and what does that look like?

Body: If you would, go ahead and turn Psalm 1 with me…and no, I know what you guys are thinking, we are not going to walk through all the Psalms….there are like a 150 of them and I can see the fear already in your eyes…some of you are thinking….3 years in Psalms…NO! But we are going to start here, and really, we will actually hit the first two in the first two weeks because they set up the rest of the book.

Hear the Word of the Lord this morning... 1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish (Ps 1:1–6).

As we think about these words, let's pause here and pray together as we study the word together. Let’s Pray Together.

Main Point: To live a blessed life, one must have their focus on the Lord!

In this Psalm we see a contrast between two different groups of people: The righteous person and the wicked person.

The Psalm starts off in verse 1. Look there with me. Blessed is the man..... That is what many of us are aiming for, right? We want to be blessed. Other Translations word this by saying something like, “How happy is the Man...” This is our aim. We want to live a happy life. When we think of the word happy, we typically think of being in a good mood, or at least that is what I think of…the word means more than that here… it literally means to “express the sense of joy and satisfaction in one’s state or circumstances. One commentator said that it is “often the result of blessing that comes from trust and obedience to the Lord.”

So, how is this man happy?  What does that look like in his life? How does one be happy?

Notice what happens here. The Psalmist does not first go into a how to list; instead, he goes into what not to do.

He has to start off with not being a friend to the world. I know that language can sound harsh to us at times. We know that Christians are to be in the world, but not part of it. So, what in the world does actually look like not to be a friend to the World?

The Psalmist describes it in three different ways. Some people have said that there is a progression to this person’s actions, but I don’t think that is the case here. The Psalmist describes the same point in three different ways.

Listen to how this is described. Blessed is the Man who doesn’t....

Listen to worldly counsel. The person who is happy is the person who doesn’t listen to those who are far from God and can mislead you. Think about what that means in our day and age. This means that a person who is blessed is a person who is not getting their advice from social media… or from their friends who do not know God. This means that the person is not buying into the ideas that are so popular out in the media. This person is not buying into the lie that “I am an autonomous person, and I can do whatever I want. It's my life and no one can tell me what to do. I will do whatever my heart's desire.” That is worldly wisdom. That is unwise counsel. Our hearts, as the Bible says, are wicked and deceived. We can’t always trust our initial thoughts or feelings. That can put us in a pretty bad spot. We have to reject the wisdom of our culture because a lot of times it only will lead us to a place of brokenness and away from God.

The second example given is someone who...

Stand with Sinners. This is a person who has allowed their friendships to become those they have chosen to associate with. This group is their primary group. This person is not hanging out with those who agree with his thoughts and morals. These could be the people that a person looks up to. This could be the dominant group at work. This could be the popular kids… to use that phrase. You get what I am saying. However, this group is characterized by their sinful actions.

The third picture is Sit with Scoffers. What is a scoffer? A scoffer is someone who makes fun of someone …especially when it comes to someone else's faith.

Do you get the idea here? You do not obtain the blessed life by listening to those who are far from God and don’t know what in the world they are talking about. They cannot be the people who we are getting our advice from. They don’t know how life works best…. They are making it up as they go. They are only following what their own minds or the minds of those who are just like. It is like the blind leading the blind.

Listen, we see this language through the Scriptures: James 4:4 4 You adulterous people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God.

1 John 2:15-17 15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.

The call for Christians is that they do not value the same things that the world does. Christians are to live different lives…so, if we are going to be happy, we cannot take all of our advice from those who don’t even know Christ. They are not going to point us to godliness!

Instead, what we find here in this passage is that the happy person rejects all of these false claims…or I would say false knowledge and His eyes are on the Lord.

Look at verse 2 with me. but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night (1:2)

Instead of listening to those who are far from God who does the happy person turn to? He turns to God. Instead of letting those who don’t know God pour into his life we see... Blessed is the man.... Who Delights in the law of the Lord.

DO you know what it is to delight in something? What does that mean? You cannot get enough of it, right? You want more and more. It is the place where you find your soul satisfied….and the Happy person finds himself delighting in the Law of the Lord, or as some translations say it “the instruction of the Lord.” He finds delight in the Word of God. When we hear the word, “Law” we tend to think that it means to the 10 commandments. Maybe some people might think of the Torah. that would be the first 5 book of the Bible, this was often called the Law for that is what Torah means. However, although it certainly does mean those things.... the phrase “the law of the Lord” is often a reference to God’s revelation. Thus, it is about all of God words to His people. It is applied to this whole Book. This is what the person who is bless delights in. He is delighting in the Bible- The Word of God. The only thing that is perfect and without error.

He finds delight in not only hearing it but also applying it, thinking deeply about it…. you see that when it says that “he meditates on it day and night.” TO meditate is not this picture of the guy sitting around going, “UMMMMMMMMM” That is NOT what the Text is saying! TO meditate literally means to chew it over. They would say the text over and over again to themselves….it is the idea of thinking deeply about each word that is said…I don’t know about you, but I don’t do this very well…but I want to get better at this for my own soul.

If I were to put verse 1-2 in a single point, I would say this....To be blessed we must turn from ungodly advice and turn to Christ through the Word.

Look what happens when we do that…. look at how the Psalmist describes the person who does this…look at verse 3.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers (Ps 1:3). When I think of this…. here is what I see. I see this beautiful crystal-clear blue river flowing….and this big, beautiful apple tree planted right on the bank. You can see the green leaves a mile away…and as you look at this tree…you see these gorgeous Red Juice Apples all over the place…. You can tell that this tree is healthy by the fruit that it is producing.

That is the picture that we see…. a person who is happy in the Lord is like that tree…. healthy…the Bible uses the word prospers…He is bearing fruit…it doesn’t mean that there won't be bad times…. but it does mean that everything that is going on will bring about change.

We shouldn’t be caught off guard by this language. We see a very similar idea in the book of Jeremiah. Listen to these words... 5 Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. 6 He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. 7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” Je 17:5–8.

But this is not just an Old Testament idea either. Jesus said something like this didn’t he? John 15:4-8 4 Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples.

This is what the Christian life is about. It is about us getting connected back to God…and that is only made available to us through Jesus Christ. It is through being connected to God that we bear fruit‌- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control

Here the Psalmist makes another contrast. We see what happens to those who are delighting in the Lord.... but what about the people who are not righteous? What about those people who have rejected the message of God? What about those people who are not happy?

The picture given of the wicked is nothing like that of the blessed person. Instead of finding life, what we see described is death. There is nothing beautiful about them at all. They are brown…. dried up…. good for nothing…they are compared to chaff. Chaff, in case you don’t know, because I didn’t know, is basically the brown leftover stuff after corn is husked or wheat….it is light and just tossed into the wind…. or sometimes burned…. That is how they are described. It is not a pretty picture at all.

You see this comparison

The Comparison... To be blessed in the Lord is to bear fruit and be healthy….it is to know life! To not know the Lord is to be dead.

This is how the Psalm concludes as it closes out. Look at v 5-6 with me. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (Ps 1:5–6).

“Therefore” because these things are true…the wicked will not be within the company of the righteous. They will not go to the same place. The Bible tells us that those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus will go with him in the end to be with Him forever, while those who have rejected Him will end up in eternal punishment in Hell. I don’t say this to scare you, I say this because I love you and I want to be honest with you. This Psalm places those perspectives before our eyes and makes us think of not only the life that is now, but also what happens when we take our last breath. That is what matters the most. 90 years here is nothing compared to eternity. Think about that.

Here is the reality, “the Lord watches over the way of the righteous.” For those who are following God, He is watching over them. He is their protector. This doesn’t mean that bad things don’t happen, because they do…. But it means even in the middle of those bad things we know that God is with us every step of the way. I don’t know about you but knowing that He is there is a whole lot better than believing I must do this on my own. We are not alone! However, for the wicked…. their way leads to destruction. That is their end. Not only in this life because the things of this world will not satisfy your soul, but in the end those who have rejected Christ will spend eternity away from Him.

I want you to hear these words from the book of Revelation 21:1-8. Here in this passage, we get to see what awaits those who have trusted in Christ and those who have trusted in their ways. 21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also, he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Re 21:1–8).

Conclusion: This Psalm offers up for us two different paths. One leads to the blessed life…in this life and in the life that is to come, or we can go down the second path that only leads to death.  There is not a third option in this matter.

Jesus says something like to us.... 13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Mt 7:13–14).

Listen to me. The world is going to tell you a billion different things in this life. Kids, teens, young adults, older adults, the world is going to try to sell you a billion different lies on what it is to live a blessed life. The things of this world are not going to satisfy your heart and longings. They will leave you only empty and searching for more. We have tried that way already. We have all run away from God and tried to do life our way. That only leads us to brokenness and if we die in our sin, it will lead us to eternal destruction.

But God does not want that for you. God loves you so much that He sent Jesus to come and die for you and your sins. Jesus took the wrath of God for you when He was on that cross. Jesus was then buried and 3 days later He rose again defeating sin and death, and now He offers you forgiveness and eternal life with Him.

You see, when we talk about delighting in the Word of God, not only does the Bible show us how life works best.... but Jesus also said this... 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life (Jn 5:39–40).

The Word of God points us not to rules to earn God’s love and forgiveness… it points us to a person: Jesus Christ. You find the blessed life when you repent and place your faith and trust in Him.

To live a happy life... One must have a right relationship with Christ. Christ must be our delight.

As we think about this text this morning, Which path are you going to take? Are you going to take the path that so many do and follow the ways of this world, or are you going to take the path that may be harder but actually leads to the good life?

What will it take for you to delight in God’s Word?

Let’s Set Our Hearts On Christ.

Let Him Become Our Delight.

He Will Never Fail us.

Let’s pray together.