Survive and Thrive

Psalm 1 NIV

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. 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.

Introduction:

Psalm 1

Introduction:

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Have you ever felt like you are swimming up stream at one point in your life. You are a believer, but culture is changing so rapidly around you. Maybe you are not a believer, but you find it hard to make navigate this complicated world.

Everyone is going a different direction than you, and you are wondering...

13 - Will we survive?

Babylonian Exile

- 600 AD

- God sends Babylon to Conquer Judah

- Interpretation was Idolatry

- Transported to Babylon, and dispersed around the known world “Diaspora.”

- Lost land, Center of Jewish Worship and Identity Temple, No more King.

- How do they keep their identity as the people of God?

Eugene P.

The Psalms were collected during the Babylonian Exile.

The more literal meaning of the Psalm is “Transplanted by an Irrigation Canal.

Babylon (current day Iraq) had only one river running through. It was supported by an elaborate irrigation canal system.

14 - Picture of Messapotamia Canal System

- 600 AD

Will the Israelites survive being transplants in a foreign land?

- God sends Babylon to Conquer Judah

15 - We are more like the Israelites than you think.

- Interpretation was Idolatry

You Lost Me

- Transported to Babylon, and dispersed around the known world “Diaspora.”

Prodigals, Nomads, Exiles

- Lost land, Center of Jewish Worship and Identity Temple, No more King.

Shallow, Anti Science, Repressive, Exclusive, Doubtless,

- How do they keep their identity as the people of God?

Mark Labberton, The Dangerous Act of Worship, on Exodus vs. Exile focus in America.

Contrast between the Righteous and the wicked....

Being taken along by the crowd, vs. feeling like you are the lone ranger moving upstream.

walk, stand, sit.

From activity to sitting vs. being proactive.

Seeking Short-term recognition vs. Long-lasting strength.

So the Church has the same challenge, Will we survive the transplant?

Well God does not want us just to survive, but...

16 - God wants us to thrive.

The imagery of this lush tree that Thrives. - produces fruit, lush leaves, strong in times of the storm.

Not just survive, but Thrive.

Jeremiah 29:11 LEB

For I know the plans that I am planning concerning you,’ declares Yahweh, ‘plans for prosperity and not for harm, to give to you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

What does Thriving Look Like?

Cousins, Bruce Bugbee – Leadershift

- Faithful, Fulfilling, Fruitful, Famous (Making God Famous)

How does this Happen?

17 - We thrive when God’s Word is alive.

Delight in the Law - Torah = Teaching, Instruction, Way

Beyond Church - Meditate Day and Night - The Psalms as the Prayer book of God’s people suggests that prayer begins by praying the Psalms.

18 - Bible Project Video - Bible as Jewish Meditation Literature.

The sound of meditation - Have everyone mutter a scripture.

19 - Pictures of Success

Daniel, Shadraq, Meshaq, Abednegoh

Jesus’ Temptations

Nebuchadnezzer

Reasons we don’t get into God’s Word

I don’t have time

Is this really the Word of God and how so.

I don’t understand it. - or how do I know I am interpreting it correctly

It does not apply to my life, it is so old.

If it is I who determine where God is to be found, then I shall always find a God who corresponds to me in some way, who is obliging, who is connected with my own nature. But if God determines where he is to be found, then it will be in a place which is not immediately pleasing to my nature and which is not at all congenial to me. This place is the Cross of Christ. And whoever would find him must go to the foot of the Cross, as the Sermon on the Mount commands. This is not according to our nature at all, it is entirely contrary to it. But this is the message of the Bible, not only in the New but also in the Old Testament...

And I would like to tell you now quite personally: since I have learnt to read the Bible in this way—and this has not been for so very long—it becomes every day more wonderful to me. I read it in the morning and the evening, often during the day as well, and every day I consider a text which I have chosen for the whole week, and try to sink deeply into it, so as really to hear what it is saying. I know that without this I could not live properly any longer.

Deitrich Benhoffer

How can we delight in God’s Word?

Find a way to make reading the Bible Fun - Read it like a novel - The Story, Read it with others, Sing it (pay attention to words), make a goal out of it (YouVersion Tracker), Bible Lens.

Why would I read it if I am not a Christian - It is a Best Seller, It is the most influential of Western Civilazation (so to understand your culture), It was well read by the founders of our Nation (Get into their thought process), Almost every renowned writer interacts with scripture (Stephen King to Shakespear). You may be surprised at how the Bible will open your mind.

It will help you meet and get to know Jesus and His way of life.

It is the best tool we have for mentoring and discipling others.

What if? The Bible was more important than our cellphones, our morning coffee, our favorite TV show, our Computers.

Conclusion:

Torah Eugene

Torah comes from the verb yarah which means to throw something, a javelin, say, so that it hits its mark.

“But God’s word has this aimed, intentional, personal nature. When we are spoken to this way, piercingly and penetratingly, we are not the same. These words get inside us and work their meaning in us.

As we prepare to pray, to answer the words God addresses to us, we learn that all of God’s words have this characteristic: they are torah and we are the target. God’s word is not a reference book in a library that we pull off the shelf when we want information. There is nothing inert or bookish in these words. God’s words, creating and saving words every one, hit us where we live.

The moment we know this, that God speaks to us, delight is spontaneous.

Reference the Reformed Confessions: The Reformed Confessions are statements of faith written to clarify the Gospel at times when the Church was in crisis. Heidelberg Catechism: Q&A 19, 22, 98, 122 Belgic Confession: Articles 2-7 Canons of Dort: Head I, Article 3; Head II, Article 5; Head III & IV, Articles 6-8, 17; Head V, Article 14