The Fruitful Life

Introduction:

-I have this question asked many times by Saints as they try to live the Christian life

What do you do when you are trying to live right, but your closest relationships are working against you?

For some it could be a parents who is the source of bad information, a brother or sister, a spouse, a boyfriend or girlfriend, a lifelong friend, a new acquaintance, a church friend, a co-worker or technology!

-Statistics-the average young adult checks Social Media 17 times in a day….the average is higher among 25-54 year old….1.35 billion on Facebook, which is 20% of the world check their Facebook at least once a month.

Why is this?

-Because of our inherent desire for belonging and relationship. This is a gift given to us by God

Genesis 2:18–25 CSB

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.” 19 The Lord God formed out of the ground every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man no helper was found corresponding to him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. 22 Then the Lord God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called “woman,” for she was taken from man. 24 This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.

-(v.18) God made an interesting statement “He said it is not Good for man to be alone”

Now why would he say this?

He said this because despite the fact that Adam was biologically, emotionally and morally perfect. Having Relationship was key to his development. This text tells us that Humans at the core are relational. We need relationships like we need water.

Covid was causing me emotional distress!!!

(v.19) The Lord hired Adam to name the male and female counterpart of every animal on the earth, which Adam did

(v.20) When Adam finished naming all the animals the “Lord says that there was not a suitable helper for Adam” The text does not give us any information how Adam felt about being physically alone. It seems to be that he had found his satisfaction in his relationship with God.

(v.21) The Lord put him to sleep and from him made a complement to him. Equal in nature, but complementary in role.

(v.23-25) This is the first human relationship/marriage. Look at the command.  The man is to leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh

(v.25) The first relationship was without any fear, insecurities, or sin it was pure, unified fellowship.

Why Did God wait before he created Eve?

-To create a sense of longing in Adam

Chapter 3-Sin enters relationship

Satan is a counterfeiter he always takes God’s plan, and distorts it…….Notice the distortion:

Genesis 4:17-23

Genesis 4:17–23 CSB

17 Cain was intimate with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain became the builder of a city, and he named the city Enoch after his son. 18 Irad was born to Enoch, Irad fathered Mehujael, Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19 Lamech took two wives for himself, one named Adah and the other named Zillah. 20 Adah bore Jabal; he was the first of the nomadic herdsmen. 21 His brother was named Jubal; he was the first of all who play the lyre and the flute. 22 Zillah bore Tubal-cain, who made all kinds of bronze and iron tools. Tubal-cain’s sister was Naamah. 23 Lamech said to his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lamech, pay attention to my words. For I killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me.

(19) You see “Lamech” took to himself two wives. (Distortion)

-(v.33) “Do not be deceived” Deception comes from several places:

Self-Deception

World Deception, which involves people, philosophy that are counter to the word of God.

Satanic Deception

What is the Deception related to in Psalm?

The belief that you can maintain godly living while your closest advisor friend groups or technology

The Psalm were largely written as songs but this Psalm is written like a Proverb. It is classic Hebrew Parallelism. It talks about negatives then positives within the same Psalm.

genre: Job, Psalm, Proverbs are poetry and wisdom books. This dictates how we interpret them.

Proverbs 1:1–2 CSB

1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: 2 For learning wisdom and discipline; for understanding insightful sayings;

Wisdom definition: Skill at living. Wisdom is different than raw intelligence found in one’s IQ score or test grades. A person could have a low IQ but have a high Wisdom score because they are adept at observing the world. They figure out real quick how the world works and they make decision accordingly.

EX: The discovery of Artificial Intelligence(intelligence), Putting binding principles around it’s usage(Wisdom).

The Psalmist in Psalm chapter 1 is essentially telling us the world can be broken down into two categories. Righteous and the Wicked. The Righteous have one fate and the Wicked have another.

Thesis-One of Satan best schemes to distort God’s plan for us is to work through the human relationship & technology in our lives to corrupt our thinking which leads to a corruption of our decision, which leads to surviving not thriving.

Satan is always looking for access into the life of believer. And the access point is the mind!

I. The Fruitful Man’s Lifestyle

Psalm 1:1a(support)

Psalm 1:1 CSB

1 How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers!

(v.1) “How blessed is the man”…….blessed “Happy” whatever the Psalmist is about to say he starts by saying that if you listen to what I am about to tell you True Happiness will follow.  This Word Happy is not like our current understanding of Happiness. This is more than just a fleshly feeling of Euphoria like after you find out you got a job, or when you find out the girl that you are interested in, feels the same about you, or after a long week of work when you get out that Chardonney and take that first drink.  These understanding of Happiness are purely emotional responses to good things that happen to all people Saved and Unsaved. An English word that better encapsulates this word is “Satisfied” this word has less to do with emotions and more to do with a decision of the will to have joy no matter what is happening externally in your life.

-This blessed has to do with the internal disposition that comes from reflecting on past sacrifices, that are bearing present and future blessing, that have come from making tough decision to deny your flesh on a daily basis.

-Marrying your spouse instead someone else. Not giving up on your marriage, Persevering through grad school, not quitting a job that is now blessing you. Cutting off some relationships that are toxic, and not good for you.

-This scripture is not only talking about the physical blessing that eventually come from obeying God, but more importantly the spiritual blessing that come from obeying God.

Do you remember a time where you did the right thing, and you saw people just bail on you, and the Lord was the only thing that sustained you emotionally?

-Anytime the word of God says “How Blessed” we ought to pay close attention to the following prescription of what leads to the kind of blessing I just described.

“How Blessed is the One”

A. Guard your Ears Psalm 1:1a

Psalm 1:1 CSB

1 How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers!

-These 3 Verbs are critical in these next couple of verses

(EXP)(1) 1st Verb “Walk” it stands for the whole manner of a man’s life and conduct. New Bible Dictionary

Proverbs 4:14

Proverbs 4:14 NASB95

14 Do not enter the path of the wicked And do not proceed in the way of evil men.

(EXP)(1) Blessed is the man that does not the writer of this Psalm uses “negative commands” negative commands are that says “do not” rather than “do”

What does he tell us not “to do”?

(EXP)(1) Do not walk(stands for the manner of a man’s lifestyle, his routine) in the advice of the wicked. Do not live according to the “Schemes, Plans, or Ideology” of this world. This world system has a current that always pulling you. We are inundated with information from sources all day and it is imperative that we stay vigilant on what comes into our ears. We must discern all information that we ingest. We must weigh every piece of information we get against the truth of God’s word. Saints listen to me when I tell you. There are some things in the world system that really sound good and make sense, but they must be weighed against the word.

When the writer wrote these words he would have envisioned living in and around groups of people in close proximity receiving data and advice from people all day in a closed knit community, and this community was largely homogenous(everyone generally believed the same thing).

Data and Technology are pushing us away from each other and into relationless silo’s of lonlieness so our mode of community comes from media and technology. This writer would not be able to imagine how our world would look, but the command from this verse is the same. Our community of advisor’s comes from: Nightly News shows, Daytime News shows, Youtube, Vimeo, Social Media sites. Everyone is an expert now or content creator.

The Writer says “How blessed is the who does not walk in the path of the wicked!” The wicked or wordly have blaze a path the shines brighter than God’s path, but it’s end is in destruction.

In the temporary if you are a believer who has fallen into sin and feel you are in survival mode I can assure that somewhere in that process you got some bad information that you failed to filter and you let that information marinate in your mind and it caused you to fall into sin.

Guard your ears, Leads to Guarding your feet

B. Guard your feet Psalm 1:1b “Nor stand in the path of sinners,

-2nd Verb “Stand” standing in this text implies a decision to remain stagnate, which often leads to confusion & depression. The Psalmist is talking about those who’s lack of purpose and lethargic lifestyle often ends up in the path of sinners. The Sinners’ path loves people who aren’t going anywhere. The Ole saints would say “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop” Listen to Solomon talk to his Son about life In Proverbs 1:8-18

Proverbs 1:8–18 CSB

8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and don’t reject your mother’s teaching, 9 for they will be a garland of favor on your head and pendants around your neck. 10 My son, if sinners entice you, don’t be persuaded. 11 If they say—“Come with us! Let’s set an ambush and kill someone. Let’s attack some innocent person just for fun! 12 Let’s swallow them alive, like Sheol, whole, like those who go down to the Pit. 13 We’ll find all kinds of valuable property and fill our houses with plunder. 14 Throw in your lot with us, and we’ll all share the loot”— 15 my son, don’t travel that road with them or set foot on their path, 16 because their feet run toward evil and they hurry to shed blood. 17 It is useless to spread a net where any bird can see it, 18 but they set an ambush to kill themselves; they attack their own lives.

(11) notice what they say “Come with us” this temptation does not work on people who are walking in the purposes of God. This works of people who are stagnate and in survival mode. Who have lost their way.

Guard your ears, Guard your Feet, Now you have to Guard your rear-end!

C.  Guard your rear-end Psalm 1:1c “Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!”

-3rd Verb “Sit” implies close relationship and fellowship. In Ancient Near Easter culture when you come into a man’s house you are at least implicitly saying I agree with him and everything he stands for. To eat with someone was to say you agree with them. That is not the same in our culture. In their culture if you did not agree with someone you would turn down the dinner invite for fear their ideology could infect you or your family.

This is warning to watch where you eat. I can assure you that every adulterous relationship started with a cup of coffee. I can guarantee some of the most wicked plans ever devised came in the midst of a shared meal.

When Judas betrayed our Lord it happened during the passover meal.

-“Scoffers” or Mockers-To make light of! To speak about someone in a trivial or superflous way. God says we ought not make it a practice to eat with spend time with folks who “disrespect God and his principles”

Sidenote: This is not refering to time spent with those who are unsaved that you are seeking to evangelize. This is in reference to your close circle. Those who are apart of your inner circle.

3-step process of descent

1.  you start taking council with the wicked., then

2.   you start live a life that follows the path of the wicked., then you

3.   You reject God (Practical Atheism) and you began to fellowship among people who view God as the Butt of their jokes, they disrespect his word they disrespect his people (those who are trying to live a life the pleases God).

Application

1.  Making bad choices on your advisors advice will have both eternal consequences & worldly consequences.

Conclusion

What is the fruitful man’s mindset?

Psalm 1:2 “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.

(v.2) This man “delights” takes pleasure “in the Law of the Lord” God’s righteous commands that lead, guide, and restrain our natural inclination to stray. You remember we are sheep, and the Shepherd guides through his word.

(v.2) The Bless man pleasure is God’s word, this man in his walk always has on his mind God’s standard, what pleases God and what doesn’t.  The Word

Mediates means “to ponder” this is a critical exercise in our spiritual walk. In Eastern Myticism the suspension of the mind is required for mediatation. When the bible says meditate on the word it is not talking about the suspension of the mind it is talking about the exercising of the mind for the purpose of drawing into deeper truths of God.

You remember earlier what I ask:

Why Did God wait before he created Eve?

Because humans are of a higher created order than animals, and it was necessary for Adam to establish a relationship with God before he established a relationship with Eve.  This sets a scriptural precedent.

-The Psalmist is teaching a scriptural principle; learn to make Jesus your friend and central advisor then you will better able to better discern and pick out bad information.

Application

1.  The law of the Lord is the only thing that can help you as you journey through life, because sometimes you will be alone

2.  You have to be willing to eliminate toxic (poisonous) sources of information in your life. Be it people, podcast, books, or visual media.

how do you know it is poison?

does this entity draw me closer or further away from Christ? Does my spiritual life seem as dry as Popeyes chicken biscuits?

3.  The law of the Lord will give you strength to be alone and be alright with it as you draw closer to Jesus you will realize he is the only true friend that sticks closer than a brother all others will fail

Proverbs 13:20 CSB

20 The one who walks with the wise will become wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm.

Proverbs 18:24 CSB

24 One with many friends may be harmed, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.

And who is that “one friend”?

Open the Doors of the Church

II. The Blessed Man Blessing

Psalm 1:3–6 CSB

3 He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. 4 The wicked are not like this; instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand up in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.

Psalm 1:3 CSB

3 He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

(v.3) “He will be like a tree firmly planted by the streams of water”-The writer of Psalm 1 gives us a physical picture, so that we can understand what it means for the person who makes the Law of the Lord there first advisor. Notice that he says “he will be like a tree firmly planted” when you think about a tree the first thing that comes to mind is that trees are stable and consistent. Deeply rooted into the ground. Those branches beneath the ground keep reaching and searching until they get to the water underground. The one who makes “the Law of the Lord” his first advisor will be stable, rooted, and consistent. They will not be wishy-washy toss to and from by this world system.

- His life will always be connected to a consistent source of life.

What is the most important resource for a tree?

Water-this is saying that a person who mediates on God’s law and lives by it will be consistently feed by the life-giving power of the word

.John 16:4-5 picks us on this illustration:

John 15:4–5 CSB

4 Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.

(v.4) Jesus command us to “abide” or dwell with him, abide was a term used to describe a houseguest staying with you. Jesus is saying stay at my house and don’t leave. Stay connected to the vine. He then makes a staggering statement. He says a vine or branch cannot bear fruit if it falls away from the vine. In that same way when you step away from “the Law of the Lord” you will cease to bear fruit.

(v.5) Jesus then explains that if you stay in my house connected to me your life will bear much fruit, because I am the life giving source. Then he warns us: Apart from me you can do nothing Jesus is not saying that you cannot accomplish great things without him. He is talking about spiritual fruit. Spiritual fruit is the only thing that will transcend the grave. All your earthly accomplish will go to the grave with you, but your spiritual accomplishment will accompany you to glory.

-Back in Psalm 1:3 The stable tree stays planted near the streams of water, because that is where the life comes from.

-I see three benefits of making “the Law of the Lord” your first advisor

1. You will be a consistent fruit bearer-“yields fruit in its season”

-fruit is ultimately for others. Your life will be of great benefit to the kingdom of God, because your life will preach the gospel…

luke 13:6-9 Support

Luke 13:6–9 CSB

6 And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7 He told the vineyard worker, ‘Listen, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it even waste the soil?’ 8 “But he replied to him, ‘Sir, leave it this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9 Perhaps it will produce fruit next year, but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”

(v.6) Jesus tells this parable about what a man should do to a fig tree that does not bear fruit during its season. A fig tree that does not bear figs is of no use to the owner. The only use it has is wood to burn.

-Those that stay connect to the master will be consistent fruit bearers making themselves of great value to the Master

2. You will endure tough times-“and its leaf does not wither”

-large parts of Israel have dry climates making growth hard. This tree that is planted by the waters have life even during hot summers. The leaves stay colorful and healthy. This is a picture of those that even though tough times hit them they still endure and stay encouraged. They don’t just rot and stay in a deep depression and functionally become unproductive.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 Support

Jeremiah 17:7–8 CSB

7 The person who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed. 8 He will be like a tree planted by water: it sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn’t fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.

(v.7-8) Blessed is the man who trust the Lord because when drought (tough times) come will not be anxious or afraid, but he will continue to be productive.

3. You will finish your course well-“whatever he does, he prospers” This prospering has to do with the completion of whatever God has for you. I can tell you without hesitation that whatever God has for you is not ultimately about you, but it is about His Glory and your service to his church. So when you see that word prosper don’t think about personal prosperity, but think more on the lines of your service to God and his Church. One of the result of those that are really saved is that they begin to think more about others than themselves. This text says that your prospering will be a blessing to the body of Christ.

III. What are the Consequences of Following the Wicked

Psalm 1:4 CSB

4 The wicked are not like this; instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.

-(v.4) “the wicked are not so” You will see that the wicked are different than the illustration that he just used. The text tells us that the wicked are not like that tree. The tree is steady, stable and consistent, but the wicked are unstable, inconsistent and fake.

The consistent theme in the bible is that wicked people success is always short term. We are not to be envious nor jealous of the successes of the Ungodly. It is clear from the text that any seeming success is only for a period. At some point all the success will end….

Psalm 37:7-20 Support

Psalm 37:7–20 CSB

7 Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him; do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the person who carries out evil plans. 8 Refrain from anger and give up your rage; do not be agitated—it can only bring harm. 9 For evildoers will be destroyed, but those who put their hope in the Lord will inherit the land. 10 A little while, and the wicked person will be no more; though you look for him, he will not be there. 11 But the humble will inherit the land and will enjoy abundant prosperity. 12 The wicked person schemes against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him. 13 The Lord laughs at him because he sees that his day is coming. 14 The wicked have drawn the sword and strung the bow to bring down the poor and needy and to slaughter those whose way is upright. 15 Their swords will enter their own hearts, and their bows will be broken. 16 The little that the righteous person has is better than the abundance of many wicked people. 17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord supports the righteous. 18 The Lord watches over the blameless all their days, and their inheritance will last forever. 19 They will not be disgraced in times of adversity; they will be satisfied in days of hunger. 20 But the wicked will perish; the Lord’s enemies, like the glory of the pastures, will fade away— they will fade away like smoke.

-(v.7) Rest in the Lord

-(v.9) Evildoers will be cut off, but the righteous will receive the inheritance

-(v.16) Better to live moderately than to experiences the excesses of the Rich.

-(v.20) the wicked will perish, they will vanish like smoke.

-(v.4) “the wicked are like chaff which the wind drives away”

1st Wicked-Chaff (unstable)-During harvest time the harvester would gather all the wheat together and then take a pitchfork and throw the grain in the air. The wind would blow the grain and separate the Chaff from the useful grain. The Grain would fall to the ground and be rake up for bread, which was the staple of their diet. The Chaff would be raked up and burned, as it was consider useless.

2nd The Wicked-Are temporary

3rd The Wicked-Are weak(not able to withstand tough times)

-(v.5) the wicked and the sinner will not take part in the same judgement. They will be judge on different criteria.

a. The Righteous judgement will essentially be an awards ceremony

b. The Wicked judgement will be a court sentencing……

Revelation 20:11-15 support

Revelation 20:11–15 CSB

11 Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. 12 I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books. 13 Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them; each one was judged according to their works. 14 Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

-(v.6) The final warning: For the Lord “knows the way of the righteous” because he is the one guiding them home….But the way of the wicked will perish-The final fruit or payment for the way of the wicked is eternal separation from God…..This is God’s warning to us. You have a choice either make Jesus your friend or the world, but remember the cost is very high if you choose poorly.

Application

1. All advise that you get should be measured against the Law of the Lord

2. The wicked success is only temporary, don’t follow their way.

3. If you are truly a Christian God will not allow you to be successful using wordly schemes.

Illustration

Many accidental deaths result from taking risks. That's the conclusion of an organization in Canada that is seeking to decrease accidents between cars and trains. Roger Cyr, national director of Operation Lifesaver, puts most of the blame for fatalities on drivers who are risk-takers. "Studies have shown that when people hear a train whistle their minds tell them to accelerate their speed," says Cyr. About 43 percent of the accidents occur at crossings equipped with flashing lights and bells or gates. Cyr also said that many drivers "even have the audacity to drive around or under gates." They take the risk, thinking they can beat the train and somehow miss the collision--but with tragic consequences!

Daily Bread, April 6, 1991.

Conclusion

- Stop ignoring the lights, and the gate. Choose your advisor wisely.