Delighting in a Blessed Destiny

Introduction

Good morning please open in your Bibles to Psalm 1 that is Psalm 1. We will be starting the book of Hebrews next week, but this morning as we approach the New Year. I am going to tell your future. This Psalm 1 is like a crystal ball in that it claims to know the future of the reader. However, it is all whole different from a crystal ball because the psalm can will actually make good on its promise. The psalm describes two paths: the path of the blessed and the path of the wicked. The Blessed will prosper in all that he does, while the wicked will perish. Your happiness and mine hinge upon really one thing, do you delight in the instruction of God?

This is my standard, please read your Bible’s this year sermon. I don’t what I will do in the future for New Years sermons, but so far I am really delighted in the idea of putting forth a annual challenge to read the Bible. You find many different Bible reading plans out there. If you long to read the whole Bible this year I suggest the 5- day Bible Reading plan. It is doable each day, accounts for missed days, and provides time to deep dive other texts two days a week if you so desire. If you are feeling more ambitious you can join me in reading the whole Bible in 6 months. It’ll be a challenge, but I am racing the arrival of baby. Perhaps you are better with small goals like quarterly goals. My I suggest reading the New Testament in a quarter or six months. Or perhaps you who never read the Bible before. Then I want to encourage you to read the gospel of John. It is 21 chapters, action packed, and you’ll get to know the one the Bible is all about: Jesus. Whatever you decide, I am pleading with you. Read the Bible this year. It is a life changing book.

I pray the Bible lays hold of you this year, and desperately hope it lays hold of me.

Well, there is the application, you can take a nap for the rest of the sermon if you’re convinced. But if not, or if you need a little encouragement because you waned in your Bible reading, or if you simply just want to know your future. Listen up, because Psalm 1 has much to say to me and you this morning. It’s calls out to us, and implores to delight in the law of the Lord. Read Psalm 1

The Destiny of the Blessed. v.1-3

Psalm 1:1 “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;” First we read what the Blessed or the happy man does not do. He does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, stand in the way of sinner, nor sit in the seat of scoffers. There seems to be a progressive nature to the verse. He does not walk, stand, or sit as if to illustrate an increasing comfort with sin. It is a progressive degeneration. That sin operates in such a way to entice and drag us further and deeper into it. It begins with a thought, the counsel of the wicked, manifest in an action, to actually stand in the way of the sinner. That is to be found in the path of sin. And then the wicked man finds himself belonging to the sinful way. He sits in the seat of scoffers. He himself is among the scoffers and has a designated chair in their midst. The scoffer is the man who mocks God and those who follow him. In wisdom literature the scoffer is the supreme fool that rejects God and all that is good. Instead, of being progressively more and more good, the wicked become progressively more and more evil.

The result, is that the one that is comfortable is sin is not blessed. This is not to say that just walking in sin is ok, as long as you don’t sit in it. That sin is ok if you only think about it. Instead, the text shows us that sin starts with the thoughts, but it will progress to action and comfort with it. James 1:14–15“But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” Sin starts in our desires, our thoughts in our minds where no one else can see it. It gives birth to the physical transgression and when it is fully grown it brings forth death. We must read this passage and understand that we are all engaged in the a thought war with our own flesh. We are naturally bent toward sinful desire and those desires do progress into actions and habits. And a life of habitual sin cannot be a truly happy life. You will not be happy if you are still sitting in the seat of scoffers. If you are just standing in the way of sinners and walking in the counsel of the wicked you will surely perish. And I would argue that only pointing to the end is not sufficient. Yes, God will judge the wicked we see that in verses 5 and 6. But before we get there I must point out that you won’t even be happy in the here and now. In this life, you will fail to obtain true happiness if you follow in the path of sin.

So, what are we to do if we long to live a happy life? Verse 2 tells us, Psalm 1:2 “but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” The word law is used here to describe all of God’s word, but it could be literally translated as instruction or direction. The happy man delights in the instruction of the Lord. Brothers and sisters, we need to be told what to do. We need an authority outside of us, that tells what is right and wrong. We need instruction and direction. I could not be happy this holiday season without my GPS as I traveled around unfamiliar country roads in rural IL. I needed directions from an outside source to know where to go. How much more, do you and I need outside instruction to navigate the twists and turns of life? We must not just read God’s word, we are to delight in it. We are to meditate on it day and night.

The word mediate could also be translated as plot. When you long to do wrong or get away with something big you think it through. You plot about it maybe even obsess about how you plan to succeed. Do you approach God’s word with that kind of fervor? Do you let rattle around in our brains throughout the day. Do you long to know, what does that verse really mean? How am I to live in light of what I just read? We are engaged an inevitable and unrelenting thought battle with our desires. We desperately need to be equipped for the battle if we hope to prevail.

We are told what to do in order to be happy, delight and meditate on God’s law. But also, we are given the promise of what kind of people it will make us. Psalm 1:3 “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.” He will be alike tree that is well watered, that bears fruit, the does not wither and prospers in all that he does. What does it mean to prosper in all that you do? Does it mean material wealth, healthy relationships, good physical health, a worry free life, and all you desires coming true? Well, not all of your of desires… There is some truth to living a healthier life, that results in more wealth and a little less worry. If you follow God’s instruction you will reap some benefit from God’s common grace in this world.This is God’s world after all. But, that isn’t all the text is referring to.

Romans 5:1–5“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

Even if you’re suffering you can rejoice if you are a tree planted in the waters of God’s instruction. The Gospel, the fact that we are justified by faith and have peace with God declares that we have access by faith into God’s grace and we are able to rejoice in hope in God’s glory, not our own. Thus, we can rejoice in our sufferings because we can know that God is using them to produces in us endurance, character, and hope. It is the opposite of progressive degeneration (gets worse over time), it is progressive sanctification (becoming better).

We prosper, because our desires and our goals change. We don’t just our own glory and longings to be fulfilled. We want God to be glorified in and through us. And that will happen when we are planted in his Word. Read your Bible this year, because through it God will change you and you will bring him glory, the apex of the prosperous life.

T/S- If that is the destiny for the blessed lets contrast this with the destiny of the wicked.

Contrast of the Blessed and the Wicked v. 3-4

Psalm 1:3–4“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.”

The key difference between the blessed and the wicked is their usefulness. Their usefulness before the Lord. The blessed man is like a tree that is healthy, well watered, yields fruit, and does not wither. The wicked man is like chaff. Chaff is the parts of harvested plant that are useless. Wheat would be brought to a threshing floor where the stalks would be crushed up and this would separate the grain from the chaff. The grain would be collected or harvested, but the chaff would be thrown away.

In the process of winnowing the grain and chaff would be thrown into the air typically into a breeze and the lighter chaff would be blown away while the heavier grains would fall to the ground. The grain is the useful stuff, the chaff is useless. This is an illustration of God’s justice. The wicked will be found out. You can’t just fake it, God will winnow the people of the earth and the chaff will blow away. The righteous will fall to the Lord and be harvested into his kingdom forever.

What kind of plant do you want to be? Do you want to be a tree planted by the streams of water or the chaff that is blown away by the wind?

Jeremiah 17:5–8 “Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. 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. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 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.””

The difference its just setting or scenery. The difference is where we place our trust. If we trust in man we will wither. But if our trust in in the Lord we can endure heat and drought, and we can continue to bear fruit. The fruit of a godly life. Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,” Does this describe you when you encounter trouble?

You will have trouble in 2025, maybe less than 2024 maybe more. Will life’s troubles blow you away as chaff, or will they produce in you endurance, character, and hope? Do you trust in the Lord, or do you trust in yourself or man?

T.S- Be must warned because just like the Blessed the wicked have their destiny.

The Destiny of the Wicked v. 5-6

Psalm 1:5–6“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.” The wicked might stand in the way of sinners and even sit in the seat of scoffers, but they will not stand in the day of judgement. Our congregations in this world will have the wicked in them. Visiting because God is drawing them to himself to be transformed by the preaching of the Gospel and join the way of the blessed through faith in Jesus’s saving work. Or hiding out and playing the church version of house. Pretending to be in, but not really a part of the congregation of the righteous.

Matthew 13:24–30“He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ””

A few verses later Jesus explains the parable:

Matthew 13:36–43“Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

Our psalm tells us, Psalm 1:6 “for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” We might not know who is the wheat and who are the weeds. We work hard to try and help people know if they are weeds our wheat through our new members process, but this parable makes it clear that the weeds will grow up among the wheat. I am not on a hunting expedition to identify who here is not truly saved. We’re not gonna sing 12 verses of Just as I Am until someone comes forward. But, I will say this: there is assurance for those of us who are in Christ. You are not meant to live wondering, am I truly saved. And there will be a sure judgement for those who are not sons of the kingdom. God knows who are his, and he knows who are not. His Spirit if testifies to your spirit through his word to either provide assurance or stir you to discomfort which should lead to repentance.

If your soul is stirred by the this Philippians 2:12 “… work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” God’s word is the surest way.

Conclusion

Matthew 7:24–27““Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.””

I don’t know what storms await any us in 2025, but I know this. No matter what comes, if we build our houses on the rock we will not fall. Let us read, mediate, and obey God’s word this year. Not to earn favor, but because favor has been freely given to those of us who are in Christ. We read our Bible’s because he want to prosper according to God’s way. We want to be blessed and happy people. People who are happy in Jesus. (Pray)