The Two Roads of Life

The Two Roads of Life

Psalm 1:1-6

The tittle of the message today is The Two Roads of Life because that is what we will see in this Psalm.

For most people happiness is the chief goal in life. In fact, it is written right into our constitution that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

I’m glad it says the pursuit of happiness because there are so few who find it.

Nevertheless, people are on an endless journey of fulfillment that is forever allusive. That’s because we are searching for happiness in all the wrong places.

We are searching for happiness from the world; people, places, and things, and that is a happiness that is here today and gone tomorrow, and the search continues.

Psalm 1 teaches us there is a happiness that comes from God that satisfies the soul. There is a divine blessing that comes from a relationship with the Lord that fills a void in our heart the world cannot fill. It’s called the way of the righteous.

In contrast Psalm 1 also teaches us of another way. A way that finds it’s satisfaction in sin. A way that finds it fulfillment in rebellion. A way that ends in destruction. It’s called the way of the wicked.

Psalm 1 serves as a gateway to all the other Psalms, because it teaches us how to claim the promises of God. It teaches us the righteous person, the person who is truly happy and blessed by God, separates himself from the wicked of the world and devotes himself to the Word of God.

Psalm 1 NASB95

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.

(pray)

Our passage this morning teaches us that there are only two types of people in the world. There are the Godly, and there are ungodly.

We create different groups of people. We see people as male and female, white and black, rich, and poor, republicans and democrats.

But God only sees them as lost and found. He sees the blessed and the cursed.

In this Psalm we see two people, two paths, two lives, and two destinies. These two people could not be any different.

One is blessed the other is cursed. One is like a tree the other is like chaff. One is fruitful surrounded by streams of water.

The other is barren surrounded by empty dessert. These are the only two kinds of people that exist in the world.

So, while there may be many differences between us, in our backgrounds and our walks of life, we are all on one of these two roads.

The question is which path are you on? The path of the blessed or the path of the cursed?

The first thing I want you to see in this passage is The Blessed Man, Vs. 1-3.

If you are here today and you are a born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ this should describe who you are and what God is doing in your life.

As we unpack verses 1-3 there are four things, I want you to see about the blessed man.

First, He is satisfied in the Lord. Notice Vs 1, “How blessed is the man.” The word “blessed” here in the Hebrew is in the plural.

We lose that in our English translations. We just read he is blessed, but what this is describing is the abundant, continuous blessings of this man.

There is a deep seeded joy and a genuine satisfaction that comes from God. A contentment in his heart that causes a deep joy in his soul.

This blessedness doesn’t come from the world. It can’t come from family, It cannot come from a career, it cannot come from any prosperity you can gain. It is not governed by our circumstances or what is going on in the world around us.

In fact, it comes from another world. It comes from where Christ is seated at the right hand of the throne of God, it comes from Him pouring out His grace into our lives.

There is a happiness and joy that comes from the world, but it’s like a roller coaster.

For example, I am happy when the Wolverines win the football game, but next week, if they lose I’m not happy anymore.

We can be happy when we drive to work without traffic but tomorrow there may be an accident on the road, and we are late.

So, the happiness that comes from the world is always up and down and back and forth, it is unsatisfying. But there is a supernatural joy that comes from the Lord that lasts forever.

The Psalmist says blessed is the man and that is a powerful statement because that describes the reality of what is taking place in a believer’s heart.

It doesn’t mean that there will not be times of grief and sorrow, but it means that whatever they experience there is peace from God flowing into their life.

Let me ask you this does that describe you this morning? Can you say “I am genuinely satisfied with who I am in the Lord? That is the mark of the blessed man.

But not only is the blessed man satisfied in the Lord, but he is also separated from the world.

Notice the parallel of Vs. 1 “who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,” Nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

Now, he begins with this negative but before we unpack it, it’s important that I am clear.

When I talk about being separated from the world, I am not talking about being isolated from people.

The Great Commission commands us to go into all the world and make disciples. We are to be witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, I’m not talking about being separated from the sinner, I am talking about being separated from the sin.

Being Godly means being in the world, but not of the world. In other words, your boat is in the water, but the water is not in your boat.

1 John 2:15 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

John is not talking about the people he is talking about the sin.

The bible never tells us to stay in the holy huddle. We gotta go out and run some plays. We are to live out our faith and yet be the influencer and not the one being influenced.

Notice he says, “Who does not walk in the council of the wicked.”

A Godly person refuses the council of the world because they know the world has a different viewpoint than God. So, we reject it.

We don’t get our information from the news networks or the entertainment industry, or the professional athletes.

But we get it from the Word of God, or from prayer and Godly men and women we surround ourselves with.

A person trying to live for God understands, they have to guard their heart from people. Because “bad company corrupts good morals” and if you keep putting garbage into your life you will keep getting garbage out.

You have to understand that everything you watch, touch, read, and listen to has an impact on your soul.

Also, “we don’t stand in the path of sinners” While council refers to our thought life. Our world view will direct our actions and our footpath.

In other words, not standing in the path of sinners means, “you don’t go to the places they go.” The Godly person doesn’t wear out a path to the bar, but they wear out a path to the church.

And we don’t “sit in the seat of the scornful.” I hope you notice the downward progression here.

There is a spiraling effect, this person is going from walking, to standing, to sitting with the wicked. It gives us the image of being sucked into a black hole of the world until you can’t get out.

It starts off with the council and soon you are standing with them and the next thing you know you are sitting where they sit, fully identifying with wicked people and what they believe in.

It is a downward spiral that takes us further and further away from God, until you are completely living in sin, and you cannot break free from it.

It reminds me of a guy who always complained about people taking smoke breaks during work. The smokers told him if he didn’t like it just stop working and come take a break with them.

So, he started going out and standing with them in the smoking area. Well, the company told him you don’t get smoke breaks if you’re not a smoker. So, he started smoking, identifying himself as a smoker. 30 years later he died of lung cancer.

The blessed man refuses to adopt the way of the world. He refuses to follow their path. He refuses to go their direction.

He separates himself from their beliefs their behavior. He doesn’t push the boundaries of his relationship with God because he knows it leads to destruction. He knows that if he lies down with dogs he will wake up with fleas.

2 Corinthians 6:14 says, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers for what partnership does righteousness have with lawlessness and what fellowship does light have with darkness.” And really it is a rhetorical question the answer is none.

There is a third thing that distinguishes the blessed man. He is Saturated with the Word.

Notice Vs. 2 “But his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in His law he meditates day and night.”

The word “delight” here means to be satisfied. He has different desires different cravings and hungers from those in the world.

And this phrase “The law of the Lord,” is a reference to the Word of God. So, what the Psalmist wants us to know is that the Godly person finds their satisfaction in the Word of God.

But not just a little bit, but they saturate themselves in it, they meditate on it day and night, why? So that they can live it. So that they can apply it.

This is basic Christianity 101. You delight in the Word because you want to live the Word. It is not good enough to know what the bible says. If you do not apply the principles of scripture to your life it doesn’t matter.

In Matt. 7:24, “He who hears my Word and puts it into practice is like a wise man who built his house on a rock.”

I want you to understand that wisdom and godliness is not based on what church you go to or repeating some prayer from a preacher.

But it is about a person; Jesus Christ and our relationship with Him. And that is measured by our obedience to His Word.

Just like a pilot has to rely on his control tower to help him navigate his plane through the sky. The Christian has to rely on the Word of God to help them navigate their way through life.

So, the man blessed by God is satisfied in the Lord, separated from the world, saturated in the Word.

The fourth thing I want you to see is the results of his lifestyle. He is sustained by God.

Vs. 3 “He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season. And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.”

The Godly man in our passage is “planted by the rivers of water.” The fact that he was planted, means that he had to be transplanted. It means that he didn’t start out there, and none of us do.

This implies that God took him from the life that he was living and planted him in the life that He wanted him to have. And He will do the same thing in your life if you let Him.

God wants to move us away from the wickedness of the world and give us a new life by the river of living water.

The fact that it is a river of water means that it is an endless supply that just continues to flow. The lesson for us is God’s supply of grace never runs out in our life.

Jesus said, “I come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” That is why it doesn’t matter who you are or what you have done, God can transplant you in a way that you will bring forth fruit in your spirit.

Notice he says, “it’s leaf does not wither.” This is an everlasting tree, bearing everlasting fruit in the life of an everlasting soul.

This is a tree that stands constant in good times and bad, in times of comfort and times of challenges, when you are on the mountain top and when you are down in the valley.

Notice it says, “everything he does prospers.” The blessed man thrives, his soul prospers, his spirit soars, and his heart rejoices.

He stands out like a shinning star in the night sky. But this prosperity has nothing to do with money. In fact, money can’t buy it.

It is an eternal peace, joy, and contentment that comes from living for God. It’s growing and becoming who God created you to be.

Let me ask you this; does that describe your life? Is that the profile of your walk with God? Are you in the process of becoming the blessed man described in Psalm 1?

The next thing I want you to see in this passage is The Cursed Man, Vs. 4-6.

I love that the Bible doesn’t sugar coat it’s message, but it tells it like it is, and makes it perfectly clear that there no other option.

Vs 4 says, “The wicked are not so.” We have already been introduced to the wicked man and what he does back in Vs. 1.

This is the man who walks in the council of the wicked, stands in the path of sinners and sits in the seat of the scoffers.

The wicked man is the unconverted. The spiritually dead. The one who is not born again but is consumed by the world.

Everything about him is lost; his thoughts, his attitudes. His desires are totally depraved from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. Everything he wants in life is contaminated.

It is important we understand that doesn’t mean this person will not look successful by the standards of the world. They may have a great job. They may have lots of money. They may have a beautiful house.

But is that what it means to be blessed? Look at what the Bible says, “Not so.” Are they blessed? Not so. Are they happy? Not so. Are they satisfied? Not so.

They are on a downward spiral of sin that leads them away from God.

Notice Vs. 4. “They are like chaff.” What is chaff? Chaff is something the farmer has to separate from the grain before he can take it to the market because it is useless.

That is the picture of the cursed mans life in this passage. His life has no value, it has no meaning, it has no purpose. It is simply blown away in the wind.

Just like we were shown the results of the blessed mans life in Vs. 3, we are shown the results of the cursed mans life in Vs. 5-6. Vs. 5 says, “He will not stand in the Judgment.”

It is important we understand that doesn’t mean they will not be judged, what that means is they will not be able to stand in judgment, because they do not have anything to stand on.

The Godly person will stand on the righteousness of Jesus Christ and what He did for them on the cross. The ungodly do not have that option because they do not know Jesus as their Savior.

Verse 6 tells us that “God knows the way of the righteous.” That word “know” implies intimacy. It implies fellowship. When you know Jesus Christ, God knows you, and His righteousness is what you stand on and not your own.

That is important, because the fact is, none of us live up to the standards set by Psalm 1. All of us walk in the council of the wicked. All of us stand in the path of sinners. All of us sit in the seat of the scoffers.

None of us dwell and meditate on the law of God Day and night. We are the ungodly in this story. But praise God there was one that came that was Godly for us. And it is on His righteousness for which we stand.

So, while we see this stark contrast here between the blessed man and the cursed man. There is not that much difference between us in life.

We are traveling through the world on two parallel roads. If you were to look at the roads on a map one would say, I know Jesus, I’m not perfect but I am doing my best to live for God.

And the other would say, I reject Jesus, I live for me and I am doing my best to find happiness from the world.

The greatest difference comes as we enter eternity. Jesus said in His famous sermon on the mount

Matt. 7:13-14, “Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction and there are many who enter through it, For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

The question is which road are you on? The road to the narrow gate or the road to destruction?

If you are on the broad path you need to exit now. You need to repent of your sin. You need to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and commit your life to Him.

Jesus is not one of the ways to heaven, He is the only way. In John 14:6 He said, “I am the way the truth and the life no man comes to the Father but through Me.”

He is the way of the blessed man. He is the way to the streams of living water.

If you are without Him today you are the cursed and you need to run to the narrow gate and fall before Him and ask for forgiveness.

The Bible says, “Whosoever will call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved.”

If you have never called on His name, do it today. The Bible says, behold today is the day of salvation. Do not harden your heart and reject Him today because if you do, He will have no other choice but reject you when you stand before Him.

Call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Walk the path of the blessed man.