The choice

Psalm 1 ESV

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; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 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. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Series Recap

Last week we started a new seires called, “The Summer Psalm Series”

And through it we are looking at the book of psalms, specifically 4 psalms in the book of psalms

and uncovering four very different things that god is speak through them.

Uncovering wisdom for our lives as we journey with christ..

Last Week

Last week we discected psalms 97

and through it we were reminded of the foundation that every thing in our lives is built upon..

that being Gods rule and reign as the ultimate king of creation.

We went on a journy for a fresh view of just how big, how magestic, mighty, powerful, and glorious our God really is..

today

Today, I want us to go all the way back to the begining of the book

and we’re going to take a look at the opening psalm

Psalm 1.

Introduction

Psalms 1, as its name suggests, is the first psalm in the book of paslms as it is today.

But Many theologians agree that the psalms was origionally multiple books and sets..

composed of many different writers and authors..

Never the less

psalms 1 today is psalms 1..

and i believe the reason it was placed first can be very easy to discerned through its reading.

All Psalms

As an overview, many of the psalms in the book of psalms are considered part of a bigger section of the old testament that

this section is considered widsom literature

These books are Scripture that give us, as their name implies, wisdom to live by

they are insites into gods ways

They are instruction for life.

They are warnings of things to look out for

and direction for the reader.

Psalms 1

And psalms 1, as the opening psalm becomes an introduction if you will to the reader of wisdom literature and life in general.

Because Psalms 1 describes a choice between to paths and their outcomes..

One path being that of the wicked..

The Other of that of the rightous..

Crux

and psalms 1 can be summerized as this.

And this is what I want us to unpack today as we dig into this psalm.

If you choose the way of the wicked and all that comes with it, the outcome will be that your life will end in destruction

But if you will choose to live by Gods word, to listen to wisdom, you will prosper in all you do and you will see eternal blessing.

Recap

Psalms 1 truelly is the best psalms to be first

because it is the warning that tells us, you can either listen to the wisdom of scripture and be blessed

You can take heed to the rest of the pages your about to reed and discover real life..

or ignore it and be cursed.

and we need to understnad that we have a choice.. and thus we can choose out outcome..

Choice

There are many in the world today who will say.. I cant believe that a loving god would send his creation to a place of suffering and torment..

Psalms 1 refers to it as pershishing or Failing judgement..

They would I cant believe a loving god would send anyone to hell

But lets be reminded thats not gods desire at all..

peter

peter reminds us in 2 peter 3:9

2 Peter 3:9 ESV

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Gods desire for his people..

is repentance and restored relationship..

his desired is the blessed fruitful life seen here in psalms 1..

and in fulfilling this desire.

God offers us a choice..

to live by his laws and comands..

to be redeemed by christs work on the cross..

and to live gods way..

GOD DOES NOT SEND ANYONE TO HELL..

IN CHOOSING TO REFUSE TO LIVES GODS WAYS..

PEOPLE CHOOSE FOR THEMSELVES JUDGEMENT..

choice

You see we have a choice..

we can lives gods ways..

and enjoy the free gift of salvation by choosing to make Christ lored..

or we can choose to live our won way..

and accept the outcome that comes with it..

Jesus

Jesus reminds us of this reality as well.

He tells us in Matthew 7:13-14

Matthew 7:13–14 ESV

“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. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Jesus says.. You have a choice..

You can enter eternity through the wide gate..

the gate of live how you want..

turn your nose to god.

ignore his existances and ways..

and find judgment..

or you can enter through the narrow gate..

the more difficult path..

and have eternal life..

Wide

A wide path, a path where we just do what we want..

live how we want

and ignore all widsom and instrcution of scripture

a path that lives by feelings and desires..

and ignores the reality of the creator..

the wide path represents eternal death..

the second death that is refered to in revelations.

never ending suffering and damnation..

It represents hell, and eternal seperation from god..

Narrow

but the narrow path..

the particular path..

is that one that has been laid out for us through the word of god..

through wisdoms instruction

and christs example.

The narrow path represents relationship with god..

It represents eternal life and salvation..

and it is gods desire for you and i..

a redeemed and restored relationship

creator with creation..

Jesus tells us that he is this path

John 14:6 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

and

John 10:9 ESV

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

both

Both psalms one and matthew 7:13-14 are speaking of the same choices..

We can choose to embrace widsom and righteousness by keeping gods laws.. liveing gods ways..

of we can choose to live out wordly ways and in the end receive the curse that comes with it..

AND THESE ARE THE ONLY TWO CHOICES..

LIVE FOR GOD AND FIND ETERNAL LIFE..

OR LIVE FOR THE WORLD AND FIND ETERNAL DEATH..

Two choices

Psalms 1 lays out these choices, their related actions and their outcomes for the reader.

and in the end we are left with the option for which one we want to live..

Overall the instruction of psalms 1 is to live a rightouse life..

and avoid the pitfalls of the wicked that end in destruction..

The writers tells us..

If you want to be a blessed Person..

If you want a blessed life..

and you want to stand secure on the day of judment..

then heres what you need to do..

and what you need to avoid..

1. Be careful who you surround youself with..

first thing, be careful who your crowd is..

Psalm 1:1 (ESV)

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 writer says..

If you want to prosper and be blessed..

If you want to be rooted and produce fruit..

then who you surround yourself with matters..

If you take the advice of the wicked..

and you hang around with the sinner

and you make scoffers you normal crowd..

they will eventually influence you enough that you will end up like them..

YOU are what you eat

have you ever heard the phrase you are what you eat?

If all you eat is fatty foods..

guese what..

you probably wont be skinny..

But if you eat healthy foods..

then theres a good chance you will be at least more health..

The same if true for your friend circle…

If you hang out with gossips.. guess what.. your gonna become a gossipt..

if you hang out with drunks.. guese what.. theyre gonna convinve you to drink..

if you hang out with people who have a filthy mouth..

your probably gonna end up with a filthy mouth..

because the poeple you dweel with you will become..

If you surround yourself with ungodly and wicked people..

they are going to affect you at some point.

Suttle

and i want you to understand the subtle nature of this fall..

Its not normally that the devil sends the most wicked person to take you out..

your too smart for that..

You know better..

But notice the progression..

Walks..

stands…

sits....

When you start to walk down an unrightouse path with unrightous people..

IF you dont pull yourself together..

Youll end up standing..

and then sitting with that crowd..

Scoffers.

and of those three types of people scoffers are the worse..

many scolars agree wicked and sinners is mostly likely the same type of person..

but scoffer is much worse..

a scoffer is someone so entrenched in their rebelion that they refuse to be disicpline or receive wisdom..

If other words by the time you become a scoffer..

the enemy has a firm hand on you..

why?

because you chose to go down a path with some people you should have not allowed to dwell in your life..

2. We have to learn to dwell on godly things

instead of dwelling with wicked people..

the psalmist says..

dwell on the law of the lord..

and meditate on it..

Paul

Paul say it this way..

Philippians 4:8 ESV

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.

If you want to be a blessed fruitful christian..

You have to learn to dwell on the things of god..

and refuse to live with the things of the wicked..

Meditate..

The psalmist says meditate day and night..

thagt word meditate means to dwell on it..

turn it over in your mind over and over again..

really think about it..

in other words the things of god should not just be a 15 minute session in the morning..

or a devotion in the eveing..

If your going to be a blessed person of god..

You need to let the ways of god and the things of god take up full residence in you house..

and if you will do that they will kick out the other..

Dwell on the things of god..

Delight

And look he uses the word delight..

hes not talking about grudgingly living gods way..

but chosing to take delight in doing so..

Two outcomes..

our choice, to live gods ways..

or live the way of the wicked..

has signifigant ramifications..

The psalmsist tells us these..

look what he says..

Rightouse..

of the one who chooses rightouse living..

Psalm 1:3 ESV

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.

He says..

If you would dedicate you life to living godly ways..

taking delight in gods ways..

You will be grounded..

rooted..

and fed by the waters..

Jesus

In John Jesus reminds us that he alone gives waters that will never let us thirst again..

He is the living water we need..

Fruit

He says.. youll yeild fruit..

and prosper…

the psalmist is telling us that if you will choose to live this way..

You yourself will propsper..

but the people around you will be blessed as well.

Fruit if not for the tree..

its for those who encounter the tree..

If you will delight in living gods way..

you will be blessed and so with those aroung you..

Wicked..

But if you choose to live the waysof the wicked.

If you choose to ignore gods law..

and live in rebellion..

live loosly..

You will be fruitless..

and your life like chaft..

Chaft is the worthless part of the grain that is blown away in the wind during the harvest..

it has no value to anyone..

and even more so..

ultimatly the psalmist reminds us that the wicked will perish..

that they will not endure the ifnal judegment..

but rather will fall..

conclusion..

heres the bottom line..

Jesus reminded us in the new testament..

there is a heaven..

there is a hell..

There is an eternity..

and the way you and I choose to live our lives in this life will determine how we spend that eternity..

its not because God sent us to hell..

ITs not simpluy because we were good enough to go to heaven..

but rather out destination is an outcome of our choices and lifestyle..

Jesus

We can either choose to accept Jesus as lord, and make him lord of all.. and spend eternity in heaven..

or we can ignore him..

defy him..

live our own way..

and choose cursing and judgment in eternity..

THERE IS NOT OTHER WAY TO HEAVEN..

John 14:6 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Which direction are you going?

Which way have you chosen to live your life?

what will the outcome of your choices be?

What is your eternal destination?