Delighting in God’s Word: Choosing God’s Wisdom in a world of Folly

Introduction

This morning we are in Psalm 1- Delighting in God’s Word.

This Psalm, presents us with two paths: one that leads to blessing and another that leads to destruction. At the heart of this divergence is a simple yet profound concept - delighting in God's Word.

Remember what it means to delight in Something?-

To find deep joy and satisfaction in it. It's to savor it, to long for it, to return to it again and again because it refreshes our souls and nourishes our spirits.

In a world that constantly bombards us with messages, philosophies, and worldviews, God's Word stands as an unchanging foundation of truth.

It's our compass in the storms of life, our light in the darkness of confusion

When we delight in Scripture, we're not just gaining information; we're being transformed. We're aligning our hearts, minds, and lives with God's perfect wisdom.

Delighting in God's Word isn't a mere religious exercise - it's the key to living a life of true blessing and fulfillment.

Our Delight in God’s Word, or lack thereof is what shapes our character, it’s what guides our decisions, and it’s what determines our destiny.

As Jesus said in Matthew 4:4 , "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God"

When we truly delight in God's Word, we're not just fulfilling a religious obligation; we're nourishing our souls with the very bread of life.

Brothers and sisters- Delighting in Gods’ Word is central to living a blessed Christian life!

Now, let's dive into this rich passage and see how delighting in God's Word can radically transform our lives, leading us from the shifting sands of worldly wisdom to the solid rock of God's eternal truth.

in the first two verses the Psalmist describes to paths the Christian can go down. One that delights in the Worlds Wisdom and One that delights in Gods Wisdom

Look with me at verse 1 where He describes the Path that leads to destruction.

Transition:

I. The Slippery Slope: Delighting in the World's Wisdom (verse 1)

Psalm 1:1 (ESV)

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;

The Psalmist wants the reader to Know how they can be blessed by God…”Blessed is the Man-”

The Word translated as Blessed is the Hebrew Name Asher- meaning The blessed one. or the one who is happy.

The author’s point with this entire psalm is to teach us what it takes in order for our lives to be blessed by Him.

Look at what He says - Blessed is the Man who does not walk stand or sit with sinners.

These verbs describe the progression of the one who will not be blessed.

The first thing He does is He walks with the wicked.

walking with the wicked.

Now, this isn't about taking a stroll with some questionable characters. it’s not even about being around people who are not Christians.

It's more of a description of the direction we're heading in life. Its a description of where we are looking toi find our delight!!!!

Our walk is what describes our goal - the path we are headed down in our lives.—

It’s the choices we make each day that we believe will help us get closer to our life’s goal. To what we truly are delighting in!!

Imagine you're out on a hike and you come to a fork in the path, and You know that both trails will eventually end up in the same place, But One path will lead you through a beautiful Meadow with a cool stream running through it ( the path the sign recommends you take, but the other will take you to the edge of a dangerous cliff -a place of adventure, a place where you can tempt your fait with Danger- a place where many other expert hikers have fallen to their death.

Your choice in this moment matters, doesn't it?

You either chose the path that you know is right - the path you know will lead you to where you are to be going or you chose to go down the path of temporary pleasure the path that if your not perfectly careful could lead to the destruction of your life,

Christians We have a choice to make on where we are going to walk-

Unfortunately, Our human curiosity over takes our hearts and too often we want to see the pleasures that comes from that dangerous cliff and so we leave the path where Christ intends for us to walk - and we turn towards the thrill of the pleasures of this world, Hoping that we will be strong enough not to slip and fall.

The Psalmist says the first step down the wrong path is to follow the advice of those who do not love God.

Think about what the advice of this world tells us.

the more we get -the happier our life will be, so live your life getting the stuff you need so that you can be happy,

Christian to walk in the counsel of the ungodly means that you stop looking at the wisdom of God to leads your path and you start listening to the advice of this world,

At the moment you chose to veere off the narrow path that God intended for your life, your delight has begun to shift from the wisdom of God to the wisdom of the world.

The Psalmist is saying that when we chose to walk down the path of the wicked our eyes begin to convince our hearts that this toxic advice is good for our lives.

and guess what Happens when the wisdom of the world is all we see around us?

TRANSITION:

we start to see the world’s counsel as “good” and Our walk stops, and we begin to stand in their midst.

To put it into our hiking illustration- We stop at the edge of the cliff- just to take in a bit of pleasure from the view slowily inching forward to the edge of the cliff hoping to experience more of the thrill-still thinking that we are strong enough to not fall

This is where things get a bit more serious.

We are no longer just passing through; we're pausing, considering, and maybe even admiring what we see.

Dont be fooled into thinking that sin is not attractive to the Christian s Heart—— It still is- the Pleasures of sin still look good to our human nature even for a Christian.

But understand that these pleasure will not last- these pleasure will not satisfy your soul, these pleasures will not fulfill your desires.

they will always leave you unsatisfied and wanting more.

We are now…Stopping our walk and are now

Standing with Sinners

At this point we now find ourselves right in the middle of the danger that God rescued us from at the moment of our salvation.

We have convinced ourselves that there is no way that the foolishness of this world could ever influence our heart,

But the longer we are surrounded by the pleasures of this world the more and more they start to captivate our hearts attention,

and we stand in their midst to consider their benefits of pleasure they could bring into our life.

We are now standing with the sinners gazing at the pleasures that have enslaved their hearts to sin.

and Christian this is where We begin to minimize our sin, and justify the pleasures of this world,

This is where we start looking for loop holes in God’s Word so that our desires for sin seem not so bad.-

This is where we start to twist the words of scripture to make our sin ok.

We stopped delighting in Gods Word-and we try to make our relationship with God fit more in line with culture, so that our sins seem not so bad.

Jesus Himself warned us about this way thinking In Matthew 6:24, where he said

Matthew 6:24 (ESV)

24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Friends You cannot live a life seeking the pleasures of this world and the glory of God- it will not work!!!

Its impossible-Either you live your life for the glory of God Alone or you live your live for your own glory and pleasure.

Friends when we stop walking and start standing around with sinners we no longer seek to delight in Gods Wisdom but are activily looking for delight in the worlds Wisdom,

and It is at this point when we have stood too long gazing at the pleasures of sin that we just sit down in our sin and make it our god, just like the wicked.

Friends at this point We join in with the Mockers of God!

Sitting with Mockers

This is exactly where your sin wanted you to BE!!!!

You’re no longer just passing through or pausing;

You have made yourself at home in the company of those who mock God and His ways.

You have come to the point were you love your sin more than you love your GOD!!!!

Friends it is at this point, That Christians become desensitized to sin,

it is at this point that the our hearts become hardened to the things of God, and our spiritual discernment is dulled to the truth.

its at this point that Christian looks just like the world and not like his savior!

It is at this point when our Christian faith is just a religion and not a personal relationship!!!!

Sin will always take you farther than you want to go It will always keep you longer than you want to stay and it will always cost you more than you want to pay!

Church family- Dont fall prey to the slippery slope of sin. You will not win that fight!

There are really only two ways to walk the Christian life#1

One is to walk down the path God has chosen for his followers- to walk as close to God and as far away from the Worlds influence as you can.

the other is to walk that edge of the cliff, still as a Christian -but oh so close to the World -Hopping that you are strong enough to not fall off that edge.

Delighting in the world's wisdom might seem harmless at first, but it always leads to spiritual decay, moral compromise, and ultimately it leads to a life that is not blessed.

The Psalmist goes on and He now describes the Faith of a Christian who finds His delight in God’s Word

II. The Flourishing Faith: Delighting in God's Wisdom

Blessed is the man whose….

Psalm 1:2–3 (ESV)

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.

In contrast to the person who delights in worldly wisdom, Psalm 1 presents us with a beautiful picture of the person who delights in God's Word.

Think with me for a moment about …

A. The Practice of Delighting in God's Word

Verse 2 says, "But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night."

Delighting in God's Word means finding genuine joy and satisfaction in Scripture, beyond mere duty.

As Psalm 119:16 says, "I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word."

Delighting in God’s Word is about allowing it to saturate and permeate every aspect of our lives.

So what does it look like for a beleiver to delight in God’s Word?

first it begins by

1.Consistently Engaging with God’s Word:

This means that you regularly and intentional take time with your Bible.

Not just to read it but to spend time in it.

2. Meditating In God’s Word

Like the Psalmist says - meditate on it dAY AND NIHT

To meditate means to spend time reflecting deeply on the truths that you are learning from your time reading Gods Word,

This is the idea of thinking through your life in response to what you have just studied and considering its application to your life.

Joshua speaking to the children of Isreal said

Joshua 1:8 (ESV)

8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Delighting in God's Word naturally leads to applying its truths in our everyday situations.

3. Applying the truths of God’s Word

James 1:22 (ESV)

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only

Finally when we truly delight in God’s Word it will lead us to share it with Others,

4. Sharing the joys of God’s Word:

what we delight in will naturally overflow into our relationships with others.

The one who delights in Gods’ Word cant help but share it with others.

In verse 3 the Psalmist gives us a vidid picture "That the person who delights in God’s Word is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers."

When we delight in God's Word, Our life becomes saturated with the Wisdom of God,

“we are like trees planted by streams of water. “

Brothers and sister when you read ands meditate on Gods Word it will not leave void - it will penetrate your life-

As we read and study Gods Word, Our roots go deep into God's truth, drawing constant nourishment from its wisdom.

And This leads to consistent spiritual growth and fruitfulness in our lives.

Paul describes this fruit that is produced from the one who delights in Gods Word in Galatians 5:22-23

Galatians 5:22–23 (ESV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit ( the fruit that comes form the wisdom of Gods Word) - is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Heres the point church-when we delight in God’s Word it will radically change our lives, We will no longer want to sit our stand or even walk in the counsel of the Ungodly, But as Gods word continues to mold us to be more and more like Jesus His desires will become our desires and the fruit of our lives will look more and more like Him.

and When our focus and desires align with the wisdom of God, everything we do we will prosper, because it is in line with Gods Sovereign plan.

Paul understood that in order for a Christian to live an abundant life for the glory of God He must find his delight in Gods Word… and this is why he wrote

Philippians 4:8 (ESV)

8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

The first half of this Psalm deals with godly person- It is warning to not mess around with the dangers of the World’s wisdom,. it is an exhortation to delight in God’s Word Because you know that is contains everything you need for life and Godliness.

This Psalm now concludes by shifting focus from the godly to the ungodly, presenting a stark contrast that should stir our hearts with both caution and compassion.

He is reminding the followers of God who they are messing around with when they start to listen to the counsel of the ungodly,

III. The Stark Contrast: The World's Delight and Its Destiny (verses 4-6)

Listen once again to our text

Psalm 1:4–6 (ESV)

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.

While the righteous are likened to healthy fruitful trees that produce good fruit,, verse 4 describes the wicked as "chaff that the wind blows away."

This imagery is powerful and sobering.

Chaff is the worthless husk separated from valuable grain during the threshing process.

It's lightweight, rootless, and easily scattered by the wind.

This represents the ultimate emptiness and instability of a life built on worldly wisdom rather than God's truth.

But this stark contrast isn't meant to make us feel superior. Rather, it should prompt us to recognize the desperate need of those who don't know God.

They may seem prosperous and substantial by worldly standards, but from God's Holy perspective, their lives lack true substance and are heading towards eternal fire.

Verse 5 warns that "the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous."

This verse points to a coming day when God will separate the wheat from the chaff, the believers from the unbelievers. No one who has rejected God's wisdom will be able to stand in His presence.

In Matthew 3:12 John the Baptist is speaking of this coming judgement and He says

Matthew 3:12 (ESV)

12God’s winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Do you understand that the chaff is right next to the seed of grain, but when the threshing begins- One will go into the barn and is used for Good and the other is burned up in the fire.

Friends people in your life- Who do not Know Jesus- Who follow the wisdom of this world are headed to a threshing floor where they will be seperated and burned in the eternal fire we call hell.

The psalm concludes in verse 6 with a profound statement: "For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will Perish."

The word "watches over" here implies more than mere observation. It suggests God's active care, guidance, and intimate relationship with those who delight in His Word.

Look at the contrast we see in this Psalm- the 1st word in this Spalm is blessed and the last word is Perish.

The one who delights in Gods Word is Blessed for all eternity

and the one who finds his only delight in the Wisdom of this world will Perish in the eternal lake of Fire.

This contrast presents us with both a warning and a mission. We must continually choose to root ourselves in God's wisdom to avoid becoming like chaff.

But we're also called to reach out to those who are currently on the path to destruction.

Until the final judgment, we have the opportunity - and responsibility - as the church- to share the life-giving wisdom of God with others.

Our mission as church is to Make and Equip followers of Jesus - that means that want to help as many as possible find the true stability, fruitfulness, and eternal life that come from delighting in God's wisdom.

Lets Bring it Home

BRING IT HOME

As we conclude our journey through Psalm 1, we're faced with a crucial question: In what are we delighting?

Delighting in God's Word isn't about following a set of rules or checking off a religious duty.

It's about finding our deepest satisfaction in God's wisdom, allowing it to shape our character, guide our decisions, and determine our destiny.

I love the words of Psalm 119:11

Psalm 119:11 (ESV)

11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Friends How we view Gods word in our life makes all the difference whether we will follow the wisdom of this world or the wisdom of God in our lives.

Hide Gods word in your heart,

Apply Scripture to your daily life.

Look for ways to put God's wisdom into practice.

.Share what you're learning with others.

And Be a gospel witness to those who are still blinded by the worlds wisdom

Let's pray: