“The Blessing of a Man who fears the Lord”
Bombs Squad Graduation Sunday • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Handout
1 How happy is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!
2 You will surely eat what your hands have worked for. You will be happy, and it will go well for you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house, your children, like young olive trees around your table.
4 In this very way the man who fears the Lord will be blessed.
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion, so that you will see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life
6 and will see your children’s children! Peace be with Israel.
Intro:
Intro:
-Legacy: something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past
-Legacy: something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past
-Read Article by Jim Rohn- Leaving a legacy for others to follow is part of what drives me. I followed others who went before me; they left a legacy for me. Now, I am making sure that those who come after me will have a trail to follow as well. You see, leaving a legacy is important.
Think about those who left a legacy for us to follow and for you specifically:
Your parents
Your grandparents
Your aunts and uncles
Your schoolteachers
Your coaches
Your neighbors where you grew up with
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who saw us through the Great Depression
The many men and women who defend our liberties so that we can live in freedom and safety
John F. Kennedy, who called us to explore space and set us on course to have a man walk on the moon
Martin Luther King Jr., who left us a legacy to pursue the dream of racial equality
There are literally thousands of men and women who lived in a way that affects our lives today. And, yes, the list goes on from there. These are the people we knew, the people we lived with and who shaped us deeply, for better and sometimes for worse.
You see, a legacy can be anywhere on the continuum, from very bad to very good—it all depends on how we live our lives. How we live our lives is critically important. I want to challenge you to take a look at how you live. I want to challenge you to think deeply about the major areas of your life where you can and should leave a lasting legacy.
Why is leaving a legacy important?
-This word is a neutral word meaning that value is attached to it based on what information is passed on from one generation to another.
I. His Work
I. His Work
1 How happy is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!
2 You will surely eat what your hands have worked for. You will be happy, and it will go well for you.
(v.1) “How blessed(happy) is everyone who fears the Lord.” This is a powerful statement because it sets the whole tone for all the subsequent verses. It also tells you the verses and blessing that follow are conditional upon this verse right here. That makes this verse the thesis for this whole Psalm. This theme of “fearing the Lord” is a consistent theme interwoven through the entire bible let’s take a look:
24 The Lord commanded us to follow all these statutes and to fear the Lord our God for our prosperity always and for our preservation, as it is today.
19 How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you. In the presence of everyone you have acted for those who take refuge in you.
1 Hallelujah! Happy is the person who fears the Lord, taking great delight in his commands.
13 he will bless those who fear the Lord— small and great alike.
16 Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure with turmoil.
23 The fear of the Lord leads to life; one will sleep at night without danger.
4 Humility, the fear of the Lord, results in wealth, honor, and life.
14 Happy is the one who is always reverent, but one who hardens his heart falls into trouble.
18 But look, the Lord keeps his eye on those who fear him— those who depend on his faithful love
19 to rescue them from death and to keep them alive in famine.
9 His salvation is very near those who fear him, so that glory may dwell in our land.
-Definition of Fear-What does it mean “to fear” the Lord-to revere (to regard with respect tinged with awe) To fear God means we are to relate to him always being aware of our lowliness compare to his greatness. He is separate from us and distinct, worthy of all our worship. There is none like him. When people explain this concept, they run quickly to the fact that “fear” does not mean scared. When you look at the whole narrative of scripture anytime a person came into the presence of God they fell over as dead men. In our rush to make God out to be like a loving father we walk over the fact that our first response to God must always be fear. When we humble ourself in fear first, that is when he reveals himself as loving father. Awe/Respect always precedes love!
(v.1) “Who walks in his ways” the phrase carries the idea of living out awe in your everyday life. This is not a onetime decision to fear God, then move on. It is an everyday pursuit and discipline.
2 You will surely eat what your hands have worked for. You will be happy, and it will go well for you.
(v.2) “when you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, you will be happy and it will be well with you” you will notice that this scripture does not talk about the abundance of fruit from the job, but the quality of the fruit. The Psalmist says when “eat of the fruit of your hands” be it you have a small farm, medium farm, or large farm the produce of your land will bring you great satisfaction, and blessing.
-The first blessing is a promise of satisfaction and contentment with whatever work that God has set out for you to do.
-During this time everyone was a farmer, but the Lord promises the one that fears him a deep satisfaction with the fruit the comes from hands. To be content is to be free of jealousy, regret, and greed. This is a man who can look back on his work career with some measure of satisfaction knowing that he completed the goal for which God had for him. What a wonderful thing to retire knowing that you accomplished all the career goals that God had for you???
Quote
"to be Content makes poor men rich; and discontentment makes rich men poor."
Benjamin Franklin.
Transition Statement
-Not only does fearing God bless you at the workplace but it also spills over into your family. Look at this home
II. His Wife
II. His Wife
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house, your children, like young olive trees around your table.
(v.3) Now in verse (v.1) it says “everyone” who fears the Lord will be blessed but now in this verse it specifies the receiver of the blessing. In this case the Psalmist is speaking specifically to a Husband (“Your wife”) Men put your listening ears on as you look at the blessing of a“God fearing Man”
What happens to the wife of God-Fearing Husband and Father?
(3) You will notice that the Psalmist uses the picture of a vine growing in a house. This picture should have been a little strange to the reader because vine did not grow inside home. They grew on the outside of houses & in vineyards. In both cases the consistent theme is that a vine needs something stable. Vines grow up houses because houses are stable, and in a vineyard a stick is pressed into the ground then the vine will climb up the stick and become fruitful.
Do you see the imagery?
Because of the Husband’s Stability the wife begins to crawl up him, cover him and produce fruit.
(v.3) “Within your house” The Psalmist his referring to the absolute joy that this wife will have establishing the order of the home, so that it will be a joy to her Husband. It also has to do with her total satisfaction with her Husband intimately. There is trust in this home & Joy for this man. This text in Proverbs might help us interpret this phrase Proverbs 7:10-11
10 A woman came to meet him dressed like a prostitute, having a hidden agenda.
11 She is loud and defiant; her feet do not stay at home.
Notice that the adulterous woman “her feet do not remain at home” this is a idiomatic way of saying this woman is never satisfied at home. She is always looking for something else. The Woman in Psalm is happy and blessed in the home of the man that Fears the Lord.
(v.3) This verse teaches us some powerful truths about the relationship between a man and his wife. A man that truly loves God and fears him will spend time cultivating the vine in his home. A grapevine takes 3 years before it bears fruit, and that is under optimal condition. Husband to cultivate means “to prepare” A men who fears the Lord will spend time with his wife, he will speak well to his wife, and he will sanctify his wife. He will not disrespect her, ignore her, or abandon her. The man is responsible for creating an environment for her to grow.
Illustration
The Wife's Importance
Bob Greene (in the Detroit Free Press) cited a study by attorney Michael Minton on the monetary value of a wife's services in the home. First he listed the various functions she performs: chauffeur, gardener, family counselor, maintenance worker, cleaning woman, housekeeper, cook, errand runner, bookkeeper/budget manager, interior decorator, caterer, dietitian, secretary, public relations person, hostess.
Using this impressive list of household duties, Minton figured the dollar value of a housewife's work in today's (1981) labor market. He came up with the amount of $785.07 a week. That's $40,823.64 a year!
Transition Statement
-A fruitful and Godly marriage spills over into the spiritual health of the children
III. His Children
III. His Children
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house, your children, like young olive trees around your table.
(v.3b) The Psalmist once again employs a plant metaphor to describe home life. The olive tree is very common in this Mediterranean climate. Olive trees require 12 months of soil cultivation before you even plant. Then it takes about 2 decades before they bear fruit. Olive Trees grow very old and will bear fruit in their old age. Interestingly even when their trunks hollow out, they will bear fruit. But towards the end of their life small Olive Trees will shoot out the bottom of the tree. Eventually one of those small shoots will take over for the dead Olive Tree.
(v.3b) “Your children like olive plants around your table” The reader of this Psalm would immediately envision that big old Olive Tree surrounded by these little small olive tree shoots surrounding the bottom of the tree. The Psalmist says a Bless man table will be just like this tree. His children will surround the table all ready and able to continue his legacy that he has established for them.
-What a blessing!!! Any man worth his salt greatest joy is to know this his children are walking in all the teachings that he left with them, and that they will continue his legacy. Look at 3 John 2–4 This is John writing as an Old Man, a grandfather. Notice what he says “My greatest Joy” John says my eyesight is gone, my joints hurt, it takes me several minutes to get up in morning my strength has left me. But one thing that I will rejoice in and that is all the things that I have labored and talked to my spiritual children about they are walking in.
2 Dear friend, I pray that you are prospering in every way and are in good health, just as your whole life is going well.
3 For I was very glad when fellow believers came and testified to your fidelity to the truth—how you are walking in truth.
4 I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in truth.
Application
1. The greatest blessing to the gray-haired godly man is children there are ready to carry on his mission.
Transition Statement
-Strong godly families lead to strong nations
IV. His Nation
IV. His Nation
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion, so that you will see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life
(v.5) This brother will live to see the blessing that come upon a nation that has turned around for the glory of God. Now remember this is spoken to a Jewish listener who was always waiting for the Jewish nation to be obedient and follow the will of God, but never truly seeing it. To us NT believers there is no promise of National Revival, but what we are promised is that one day we will walk on streets of Gold, in Jesus reestablished kingdom. NT saints are not looking necessarily to a renewed Israel but a future kingdom established by Jesus himself.
(v.5) The Blessed man will ultimately know what it means to live in a kingdom that is at total peace.
Transition Statement
-The Godly man will be blessed to see a full family tree
Illustration
The Power of Legacy
Preach my Sermon to my Father on the Phone
Transition to Graduation