Promise of Blessing

Psalm 1:1-3

Intro: Week two here in our series entitled the promise. For the most part our book on praying the promises of the Bible serves as a companion to our preaching. In fact, if you are reading the book one chapter a day during our 21 days of prayer, then today you would have, or will be reading chapter 7 which is the inspiration for our sermon today, the promise of blessing. If you signed up for the daily emails from 21DOP, you may have already started your day reading a devotion about the subject.

While it can be challenging to present different information than something as well written as chapter 7 of our book, I really believe that this morning we can present a process that takes place in order to unlock the promise of a blessed life when we see the Bible as the driving force for us to receive all that God has for us.

How many of us know that when it comes to sharing good news with a child that sometimes if we aren’t careful we can get into a hostage situation. We don’t dare tell them we are going somewhere if there’s a chance we might not. Sometimes even if we know we are going to that fun place, all of the ensuing conversations are centered around some power they think we have to speed up the time such as can we leave now? or Are we there yet?

On the other hand though, perhaps we’ve also used that future event as a bargaining tool, right? If we are going to go to Disney town perhaps we can buy a month of good behavior with the threat of not making the once in a lifetime trip if they don’t behave like the princesses they want to go hangout with. Of course we can only do this until they reach the age where they realize that once you’ve bought the tickets you aren’t revoking such a trip.

I wonder how God looks at His children and decides when to share with us what He has in store? Maybe sometimes He’s revealed what He has for us and we got lazy, maybe He’s revealed something and we got so focused on what’s next, we were worthless to anyone in the present. Maybe we are frustrated that we have been on our VERY BEST behavior and we are struggling to see the blessing.

So this morning lets look at the process of understanding how blessing is disbursed in God’s economy. Chapter 7 of our book references Psalm 1 and we are going to do so this morning as well. Psalm 1 verse 1 says..

Psalm 1:1–3 “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person 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.”

CIRCLE GRAPHIC I want to introduce a graphic that I’ll explain briefly and then we will refer to the progression represented throughout this morning.

Our values drive our decisions, Our decisions produce outcomes, Our outcomes reflect our values.

For example…

I value money, I decide to be stingy with my money, the outcome is that I have money, my value of money is reflected in my outcome. Easy enough? Good. But what we also have to be ok with, is that when we value one thing, we may not have other things that we put less value on. Yes we have money but the friendships that would exist if we had been generous, and worked less to spend time with people, would not be something we experience. VALUES DECISIONS OUTCOMES REPEAT. With this in mind…

(we should want) The Bible (TO) informs our values, Our values drive our decisions, Our decisions produce outcomes, Our outcomes reflect our values. If you want to look at page 60-61 of our Promises book right now I might hop around a little bit in there but really it goes back to verses 1 and 2 of our text. A quick paraphrase of our text as we put it back up on the wall.

JB - Don’t read text below skip to summary after verse here

Psalm 1:1–2 “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.”

Look at verse 1 NOT thinking, doing, looking at, listening to, BAD STUFF = Blessing

Lookt at verse 2 Thinking, doing, looking at, listening to, GOOD STUFF = Blessing

Let me highlight a few lines from 60-61 of the book. Middle of 60, “We need to be keenly aware of the amount of negative, ungodly, or even neutral data we take in. We must carefully consider the people we spend time with, the music we listen to, the movies and television shows we watch, the books and magazines we read, and the websites we visit. The secret of the blessed life begins by restricting the amount of negative and unbiblical information we receive. Let me transition to the middle of page 61 with the word, ADDITIONALLY. Notice that the ones who are blessed not only delight in the Word but they acto on their desire. They meditate on the Scriptures. They think it over, ponder its meaning, study it deeper, pray it back to God, recall it often, and consider how to apply it. God’s word is the controlling lens by which everything else is viewed, the standard by which everything else is judged, the foundation on which everything else is added, and the compass by which every decision is made. (we should want) The Bible to inform our values, BECAUSE Our values drive our decisions, AND Our decisions WILL produce outcomes.

It truly is as simple as INPUT = VALUES. When I see what someone does or doesn’t value, I can take a pretty good guess at what their input looks like.

If values have to do with input, and they do, when we aren’t intentionally receiving input that informs our values in the direction we want for them to go, our values will be shaped and impressed upon us by exterior factors from every direction.

The Bible informs our values, Our values drive our decisions, Our decisions produce outcomes, Our outcomes reflect our values. Oftentimes our decisions can be a simple as not doing the wrong or wicked thing.

The devil made me do it. It’s a line that was used by comedian Flip Wilson in the 1960s as an excuse for being naughty or impulsive behavior. In the 1980s a man accused of murder would have his attorney stand and say that the devil made me do it as the first time such a defense has been made for committing a crime.

There are tough things out there right? We know there are real live demons, we know there is mental illness, but let’s not talk about what makes good people do horrible things, or extreme evil behavior for right now, instead let’s focus on the reality of when we do things that might seem out of character or even things we don’t want to have done.

The majority of decisions that we make day in and day out are a direct result of some value that we do or do not hold.

For example…

Do we value doing what’s right when it’s difficult, or care more about what others think of us?

Do we value buying extra things for our house and kids or giving to the church?

Do we value losing weight or the extra piece of cake?

Does our family value what we buy them with the job that keeps us from them? Or would they trade the stuff to have more of us?

Almost none of the decisions that we make are decisions at all, but values that have been nurtured or abused up to the point of making the given decision.

(we should want) The Bible to inform our values, because our values drive our decisions, and Our decisions produce outcomes

Let’s look at verse 3 of our text again.

Psalm 1:3 “That person (the one that meditates on the BIBLE) 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.”

We talk a lot about how fruit is the true indicator of character. Allison has been telling me lately that she has stopped listening to what people SAY and instead listens to what they DO.

One of the things that separates us as humans from God’s other creation is the ability to talk. Which means we are the only ones that can lie or pretend to be something that we are not. Dogs bark, cats meow, apple trees produce apples, and jelly beans produce jelly. no? ok. anyhow…

We might hide behind words, and give people false impressions of whom we are in private, or misrepresent our reality on social media, but the decisions we make both publicly and privately produce outcomes. But we know that right?… But we also ignore it sometimes don’t we? I think one of the things that has been most beneficial about reading, studying, and meditating on the Bible in my lifetime is that it gives me the opportunity to be reminded of values that need to be realigned with God’s values. It shows me decisions that I’m making that need to change.

Let’s pause right here for a real practical teaching on decision making.

If you are truly struggling about making a decision…and I mean a hard one, I mean sure we know there are bad things like stealing and good things like giving food to hungry people. But how many know, real life decisions don’t often seem that black and white? What if you have to make a decision that will hurt someone regardless of what you do? What if you have to make a decision that could effect your family’s well being? What if you have to make a decision that will cost you greatly and you can’t see how God is going to bring you through it? Anyone in here ever have to make a decision like THAT? Have you?

Here’s what you do, and I’m not saying it will make the decision anymore easy, but you can be confident in moving forward… Spend time reading the word of God and prayer, and be honest about what you are hearing on the matter when you are there, when you are in those moments with God. Then pay attention to what you are hearing when you aren’t in the word. Compare the two, and move towards those things which come to mind when your Bible is open or you are kneeling before Him, and see if God doesn’t involve himself in the outcome of your decision.

(we should want) The Bible to informs our value, because our values drive our decisions, Our decisions produce outcomes, and we find ourselves coming back full circle as Our outcomes reflect our values

The last 4 words of verse 3 say “Whatever they do prospers.” When we start with values that are informed by the Bible, we will make decisions that are driven by Biblical values, then our outcomes will be overwhelmed with Biblical blessing… i.e. whatever they do prospers.

CIRCLE CHART HERE

We cannot expect blessing of Biblical proportions when our values aren’t founded in Biblical principles. I don’t have to over-explain to an incredibly intelligent church like Cap City that good input equals good output and bad input equals bad output. But because we don’t want to rely on our own intelligence let’s look quickly at the second half of our chapter in Psalm 1 today…

Psalm 1:4–6 “Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.”

Sure here’s the bad input equals bad output formula right? But here’s why I wanted to highlight these verses before we call it a day today. It’s easy to believe that we are “good enough.” But this chapter only allows for two types of people in the world. The wicked, and those who meditate on God’s word. The wicked… And those who meditate on God’s word.

Let’s look at page 57 of our prayer books. In a description of a man named Ezra who experienced God’s blessing in the Old Testament it says this, “There were others who had the same access to God’s Word as Ezra enjoyed, but their names are long forgotten by history, unlike Ezra’s. He did not just have access to the Word of God; he committed himself to it. He put his whole heart into it. It shaped him, including his values, decision, attitudes, and actions. He invested his time, energy and effort studying, living and teaching the Word of God. It was the secret of his success.”

Guess what folks? The secret is no secret at all anymore. The proverbial cat is out of the bag. You too are offered the promise of the four words that we see at the end of verse 3, WHATEVER THEY DO PROSPERS.

Maybe keys and chorus here? DOUBT IT

Response:

Here at Cap City last year we rolled out our values as Prayer over programs, People over Processes, Purpose over Preferences. Prayer over programs, People over Processes, Purpose over Preferences. Our plan has been and still is to use these values as a filter for our decision making. In my experience most people, couples, or families haven’t truly defined things that they value and instead they allow their values to come and go, to be lead by emotions, moods, or seasons of life.

Church, it’s time we put our value systems or lack thereof on the altar.

What values have you strayed away from that need to be re-informed of the word of God.

Do values need changed? What comes to mind when you are reading the Bible? Or what comes to mind in moments like this where you are fellowship with other believers in the Spirit like we are right now? The Holy Spirit is always honest isn’t He?

Verse 3 said The one who is living according to the Bible yields fruit in season, do you feel like you are waiting on a season?

Josiah Queen sings a song called dusty Bibles that repeats the following phrase. “We got dust on our Bibles, brand new iphones, No wonder why we feel this way.”

Let me pray for you as we leave today. As I pray over you, pray with me in the area that you believe God is speaking to you this morning.

God I want to start this morning with those who feel confident that they are walking in your ways, for those who are experiencing your blessing or feel like they are waiting on it. HELP THEM STAND FIRM HELP THEM BE A TESTIMONY TO OTHERS.

Pray for not in word at all

In and out of word, but need to reset values so that they can see all that you have for them.

Post Response:

on your way out, anything else here?

Usually just first week but this week and any week you need it… Colton Bibles, Bible reading plans