A Fork in the Road

INTRO

ILL: First trip to Disney- ended up on a gravel road.

Life is full of forks in the road. Decisions to be made. Where to go to college, who to marry, where to live, where to work, where to go to church.

TRANSITION

Major decisions are easy to identify as forks in the road that are life altering. However, daily we are faced with multiple decisions to make. A temptation comes our way.

EXPOSITION

When we open the book of Psalms, we will almost always encounter a passage that hits us close to home. Some of the chapters are written as wisdom, like a father figure giving us advice. Other chapters it seems as if we have opened someone’s personal journal, with their prayers, sufferings, and innermost thoughts poured out before us, seemingly very similar to our own.

From this Psalm, we find that happiness and prosperity comes when people heed and obey the instruction of the Lord.

How do we do that?

Before we read this, important to understand that sometimes the wisdom of Psalms seems obvious, but it’s important to look inwardly to see if we are obeying the advice.

ILL: Dad giving advice that seems obvious, but important to act on.

Read Psalm 1:1-6

From this Psalm, we find that happiness and prosperity comes when people heed and obey the instruction of the Lord.

How do we do that? Prosperity gets a bad rap today (prosperity preachers). God has promised to bless those who follow Him.

Introduce parallelism in

3 sets:

Walk, Stand, Sit

Counsel, Way, Seat

Wicked, Sinners, Mockers

Some theologians believe since this is a common feature, progression wasn’t intended. Each of these go from bad to worse.

1. Walk with God Instead of the Wicked (vv. 1a, 2)

EXP: Blessed/Happy. Walk deals with thinking. Lit.- Blessed/Happy is the man who does not go in the advice of the wicked.

ILL: We must watch where we get advice! Have you ever tried to use Google or social media to get advice? Specifically health advice.

ILL:

5 Tips to Avoid Bad Health Advice Online- 1. Check their credentials. 2. Check references on articles. 3. Always check for conflicts of interest (selling a product) 4. Avoid celebrities’ advice. 5. Ridiculous headlines. http://freshapproachnutrition.com/how-to-avoid-bad-advice-online/

APP: As ridiculous as this is, we get advice from terrible places. Check their credentials (are they a Christian, do they know God’s Word) 2. Check references (Is where you are getting your advice somewhere that would honor God) 3. Conflicts of interest (do they have some sort of ulterior motive for giving you that advice) 4. Avoid celebrities’ advice...unless it’s Kirk Cameron (seriously though, we need to base our advice on the Lord, rather than popular opinion). 5. Ridiculous advice.

APP: What does it mean to walk with God? We go His way. Our thoughts are on Him. We turn to Him and His Word for counsel, advice,

When we are trying to walk with God, on the path He has for us, we must remember:

Where are we to get our counsel? Where should we turn for advice?

Psalm 119:105 CSB

Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.

2. Stand on God’s Word Instead of with Sinners (vv. 1a, 2-3, 5)

EXP: Move from merely taking advice from those who practice evil to now habitually practicing sin. That’s what sin does. It digs deeper and deeper into our hearts and changes our casual actions into habitual sin.

ILL: Musicians practicing to become great musicians. It didn’t happen overnight.

You may be standing now, but God says that day will come to an end (v. 5)

That’s what sin does. It digs deeper and deeper into our hearts and changes our casual actions into habitual sin.

God doesn’t want it to be that way.

You may be standing now, but God says that day will come to an end.

Contrast Lord’s instruction with counsel/advice of wicked

Contrast Lord’s instruction with counsel/advice of wicked

Flowing streams (lit. irrigation channels), much better than wadi which would sometimes have water and sometimes wouldn’t.

ILL: Trees growing at tops of mountains in Arizona. Rock and dirt at bottom.

APP: When we stand on God’s Word, we will prosper.

ILL:

APP:

3. Sit in God’s Presence Instead of with Mockers (v. 1b, 6)

EXP: Moved from now habitually practicing sin to finding company with mockers. They have now moved from practicing to enticing others to practice, offering advice to those who are beginning to walk with them.

ILL: Sitting in beach chair. Each time the tide pulled out, I sank a little deeper until it was almost impossible to get my chair out.

My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus Christ, my righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand,   All other ground is sinking sand.

APP: Ask a drug dealer how they got there. Ask someone who cheated on their spouse how it started. It didn’t happen overnight. They went from walking, to standing, to sitting. It started with a single, seemingly harmless decision.

Matthew 7:13–14 CSB

“Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.

We are left with a final promise (v. 6)

Ask a Christian how they became forgiven. How they experience peace, love, and joy. It all started with a single decision. Repentance and faith. You will be placed on a new path.

We are left with a final promise (v. 6)

My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus Christ, my righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand,   All other ground is sinking sand.

CONCLUSION

Maybe you feel totally stuck today.

Ask a Christian how they became forgiven. How they experience peace, love, and joy. It’s a process (v. 3a “in season), but it all started with a single decision. Repentance and faith. You will be placed on a new path.

Continue on that path.

Happiness and prosperity comes when people heed and obey the instruction of the Lord.