The righteous and the wicked

Welcome everybody it’s good to see you…

if we haven’t met. My name is Zach Honnen I am the student and young adult Director here at the grand blanc location.

I’m excited to be here with you tonight and open up God’s word

But before we get into anything, how was your week?

Did you have a good Easter?

Any of your favorite food you had at Easter?

OK, I’m glad everyone had a good Easter. Let’s go ahead and get into a few announcements and then we’ll open up. God’s word together. OK cool…

Announcements:

Middle school all nighter April 24, Registered today

Spring cleanup:

is the day after the all nighter so talk to your parents about helping out with that.

Connection:

If you want to get update updates about student growth, community event, events, and everything else please text “GB students” To the number on the screen

Icebreaker:

Would you rather be bored for the rest of your life?

or

Be so busy you never have a moment to think?

Well, one of the reasons I chose that icebreaker tonight is because growing up I didn’t have a cell phone until I was about 15

It was a rule for my family. We did not get a cell phone until a unspecified amount of time until our parents trusted us with it….

So a lot of moments that you would scroll or watch TikTok or shop on Amazon or do whatever you do… I didn’t do that…

So I would have to do the unthinkable and sometimes pick up a book and read it

I remember one of these times I was bored I picked up a random book that was laying on a side table and started reading and he was talking about this passage

If you have a Bible, turn to psalm chapter 1

The book was looking at verse number three and I remember reading it talking about how We are a tree and if we’re saved, then God will give us everything we want

If we just trust in him, we will prosper we will make money. We will do all these things.

And I remember, just not understanding and feeling confused because I felt like I did read God’s word and I felt like I did seek him and yet my high school basketball team was not winning games

This book tried to lead me, astray tried to lead me towards selfishness, tried to lead me towards a misunderstanding of scripture

So tonight we’re gonna quickly go through Psalm chapter 1, but I want us to understand a few few things

This passage is not saying if you give your life to Christ you will be blessed with physical things… This chapter is not saying that if you give your life to the Lord, you’ll have $1 million tomorrow, but it is saying that if you follow the wisdom of the Lord, you’ll find a lot of things in your life go better…

For example, the Bible talks about choosing humility and I can tell you my relationship with my fiancé Sarah and my family and my friends are a lot better when I choose humility

Not because I earned God’s favor, but because he’s right and his word is perfect

But with that said let’s jump into verse 1

Text:

Psalm 1:1–6 ESV

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;

This idea of blessed once again means that it would go well with us that if we obey God’s wisdom, we will see it work out in our life not saying our life will be perfect not saying our life will be without pain, but it will go better than if we disobeyed the Lord

This passage describes a man who doesn’t do three things and because of that His life is blessed his direction is blessed

Number one, who doesn’t walk in the council of the wicked… Look around you this can be friends. This can be family. This can be anything you consume online.

You will constantly be given advice from friends, teachers, family members, and especially people online that is not righteous, but it is wicked

And wicked means wrong it means sinful it means disobedient and disagreeing with God’s word

So if you have friends or family or you’re watching people online that lead you away from what the Bible says, do not listen to them be kind be cordial but you do not have to take in what they’re saying

The second is standing in the path of the wicked… Pastor Chuck described this as you are arm and arm with those who disobey God… Not those who are struggling to obey God, but those who blatantly do not care what God’s word says

This is your buddy at school who’s bullying someone else and doesn’t care and you choose to continue to hang out with him or her

This is maybe your coworker he’s trying to hang out and be friends, but Cohen continually is doing things that you know God doesn’t want you to do

If you stand and associate with those who do wrong, you will become one who does wrong

When I was a kid, I was playing with a bunch of friends and I locked somebody in the bathroom. It was funny. He was joking and then I got in trouble with an adult.

And I really wasn’t doing anything. I was just hanging out watching, but I got in trouble like everybody else.

If you walk with those who are associated with this obedience, you will live and be seen as one who is disobedient…

So you’re not listen to those who are wicked do not hang out and have your best friends be those who are wicked and number three

No sit in the seat of the Scoffer… And what this means is those who make fun of or disparage the name of God or his Bible or not ones you should hang out with or join in with

I remember a few years ago I was hanging out with a buddy who claimed to be Christian, and he began to joke about spiritual warfare

He was joking about those who believed that the devil contempt us who believe that the devil will challenge us or his demons will come after us

And in that moment, I felt as drift apart because he was making fun of things that are clearly in scripture

Making fun of and laughing at God’s word is not something we should be associated with

Making fun of the Lord should not be named among us

And this includes what you consume online the posts you like the videos you watch the shows and Movies that you watch

Does the content that you consume give you wise council?

Does it stand set apart from evil?

And does it honor the Lord and not make fun of him?

Because what you consume is what you will become

Looking at verse one again….

Psalm 1:1 ESV

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;

Psalm 1:2–6 ESV

2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

Is this you? Do you delight in the word of God do you read your Bible? Do you meditate? Do you memorize?

Because if that’s you, you will see what we see in verse three begin to work in your life

Psalm 1:2–6 ESV

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.

What this is saying is, if you are rooted in the word of God, you will be nourished

You will not be weak, but you will be strong when the wicked come at you

You will not be starving spiritually but you will be filled if you are planted in and rooted in the word of God

Is that you? Are you rooted in God’s word can you say that you pick up this Bible every day maybe multiple times a day in order to be filled in order to be satisfied??

What is your first turn in the morning? Is it your Bible or is it your phone?

Some of you are in this room and you want to be strong in the Lord, and you want to be able to withstand the attacks of The enemy

You want to be able to win your friends to Christ but you’re not willing to submit yourself to him

You’re not willing to plant yourself in God’s word…

There’s always time if you make it if you put it aside and give it to God

The righteous, those who believe in the Lord will choose to rest in him and we Won’t do this perfectly, but we will do it willingly…

You don’t need me to get on you about reading your word. You need to decide that Christ is worth it.

And that you want a relationship with him… That’s the difference between the righteous and the wicked

Always sinful every single one of us have fallen short, but the righteous have relationship with God and the wicked do not…

And we see what happens to those who don’t have a relationship with the Lord in verse four…

Psalm 1:2–6 ESV

4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

For those who do not have relationship with God will be blown away like they will not stand before the judge they will be on their knees, knowing that they have done wrong… Knowing that they have no defense

And the righteous will have their defense, who is Jesus… Knowing that he paid the penalty on the cross, they will rest in him to be blessed as to have peace with God

And today I believe our issue might not be our friends. Maybe we have good friends. It might not be our family. Maybe we have a family that loves God, but it might be what we consume.

Your issue might be that everything you watch is right on the edge is right up to the line between what you think is good and bad

And even if everything you consume is good if it’s distracting you from God’s word, you are not planted near the water and you will not prosper…

So tonight I wanna ask you are you planted in God’s word are you a tree by the river which is God’s word are you receiving his wisdom and his nutrients?

Or are you trying to do this life on your own?

Because trust me, I’ve tried this life on my own and it’s impossible. It’s miserable. It’s exhausting.

So can I beg you tonight not in growth community but when you get home, will you please open up your word tonight not to earn something from God not to earn his blessings but to be in relationship with him

There’s an old song that says “Praise God from whom all blessings flow… And passages that say for from him and through him and to him are all things

The piece that you’re seeking when you open up your phone, you’ll find it when you sit with your Lord…

So seek the Lord this week…

And if you don’t have a relationship with a God, please turn to him tonight

Romans 10:9 ESV

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

There’s no magic formula and this won’t make your life perfect but it’s the first step to making your life righteous

Not because you have the strength, but because he has the strength

But with all of that sad, let’s pray