Psalm 1, Success and Failure

Success and Failure, , September 10, 2018

Success is achieving the goals you set out to achieve. Most people set temporal goals for themselves and upon reaching those goals, find that they are not as satisfied as they thought they would be. The Book of Psalms is the longest book of the Bible and to meditate on the Psalms is the key to happiness, satisfaction, and success. There are five books of Psalms and there is a movement of thought progressing throughout the book:

Book I The Conflict between the blessed life of the righteous contrasted to the wasted life of those who rebel against the Lord

Book II The Invitation to all peoples to worship the Lord

Book III The Distress of the nations who reject the Lord

Book IV The Contentment of God’s people in the midst of conflict

Book V The Celebration of Messiah’s victory

I. Success Begins with Stopping –

A. Stop – walking in the counsel of the ungodly

1. These may be casual conversations with acquaintances

2. News shows, night time comedians, and talk shows. As Christians we justify these contacts as necessary to “know what is going on in the world”

B. Stop – standing in the path

1. With sinful people

2. Having more in-depth, intense conversation

C. Stop – sitting with the scornful

1. Scorn is mocking –

2. Scorn dismisses someone or something as worthless or deplorable. To scorn is to treat people with contempt. Everyone is under suspicion.

3. Cynicism believes everything is useless and leads to complacency –

4. Jesus was scorned on the cross –

II. Success Delights in God’s Word –

A. Meditation

1. Is memorizing the Word of God –

2. Ponder God’s Word day and night – , ,

B. The Psalms are the Temple of God!!

1. Before there was a Temple, David desired to live before the “face of God” –

2. The Lord’s Temple is in heaven –

3. The Temple is where the Lord’s glory dwells –

4. The Temple is where God’s Word is proclaimed –

C. God’s Word produces character

1. Meditation on the Word of God produces success –

2. The Word of God makes us wise unto salvation –

3. Wisdom is a tree of life – ;

4. Success is to be like Christ – ;

III. A Wasted Life –

A. Ungodly –

1. Are like chaff, dust blown away by the wind

2. Sin provokes the sinner – ;

B. Those who claim to know the Lord but do not build their life on Christ are devastated by the flood of life –

The Lord knows the way of the righteous because the Lord is righteous. All that is contrary to the Lord and His character, the Lord does not know –

Don’t waste your life! Meditate on His Law and Word day and night. It is a matter of life and death!