Which Way Shall It Be #1

What God has done here at the beginning of the book of Psalms is he is graciously set forth before us the path that leads to life. The question is will you listen. The question is will you examine yourself in light of what this song says, so that you can position yourself for the blessing of God. When you come to a fork in the road you must choose which way to go. We are presented with just such a choice in this life to follow God or not, and the psalmist discusses the two available paths in Psalms 1, where will turn today on the truth pulpit low again. I bill right Pastor Don Greene is beginning a three-part message titled which way shall it be done. What can we expect from this study will build this Psalm Psalm one gives us a preview. You might say the very outcome of our entire lives it's really remarkable to say that, but Psalm one tells us what to expect. Based on our fundamental response to God's word and it boils down to this and it's very simple and yet very profound and far-reaching. The man who receives God's word in a trusting, obedient spirit will be blessed. The man who rejects it in defiance will be judged by God and things will not go well for him in the end to paths that Scripture lays forth before us. My friend. Which one are you on stay with us as we study this important passage in God's word today on the truth pulpit. Thanks Don and Fred open your Bible as we join our teacher now in the truthful want you to consider a very silly scenario. Suppose a man said, and he meant it. I have no further interest in the stifling restrictions from the Department of Transportation. From now on I will drive on the wrong side of the road. I must be free now if the man said that to you. You might laugh at his foolishness. You might try to warn him of the danger you might fear for those that he will certainly harm one thing would not happen when the inevitable disaster occurred, it would not surprise you. It could be no other way.

Some realities cannot be avoided. A man who is on the wrong side of the road will die a man who is on the wrong side of the highway will meet with disaster. This is simply woven into the nature of life and the universe, it cannot be avoided and the outcome is certain. Psalm one teaches us an even greater certainty about life and I invite you to turn there to that passage that we read earlier were teaching out of Psalm one today because someone is really the preface Psalm to the entire Psalter. It is the opening upon which the other 149 expound every principle of every Psalm is somehow embedded in the great concise glorious majesty of Psalm one and so as we introduce Psalm one today were really induced introducing the entire book of Psalms and yet the love that I want you to understand that the issues of Psalm one or more than about a new study the issue of Psalm one. The content of what were going to see today is a is is of incalculable eternal consequence. What we have in Psalm one is your future laid out for you for good or for ill. Psalm one lays out to you. The future of life and the future of eternity to you. It is a way by which you can diagnose your life and know what the outcome is just like the man driving on the wrong side of the road. If you are on the wrong side of Psalm one God's word guarantees to you that disaster lies ahead. By contrast, Psalm one promises you that whatever else may happen in the meantime, for those of us that are on the right side of Psalm one blessing from God lies ahead is a certain outcome that cannot be avoided.

One path leads to blessing from God.

One path the other Plath leads to judgment from God and brothers and sisters, friends, Boys and Girls Club. There is no third path as we gather together in this room as this message is heard later on. Everyone who hears this message is on one path or the other. Psalm one allows no third path and there could be no third path what God has done here at the beginning of the book of Psalms is he is graciously set forth before us the path that leads to life. The question is will you listen. The question is will you respond.

The question is will you examine yourself in light of what this Psalm says so that you can position yourself for the blessing of God. And here's the thing. Think about it this way, you have to opt into it.

If you don't opt into this blessing, you're left with the path that leads to destruction.

If you want to continue and just go on as you are know that you're choosing the path of that leads to destruction, even just by saying I don't want to think about it right now your you've made your decision, you're taking another step toward your own destruction so we must approach this Psalm with a sense of holy reverence of anticipation of a great sense of urgency because not only is it is its content of great consequence. It is the head Psalm of the largest book in the Bible it must be important, it must call for our attention. What we have before us is a division in the road and one path goes one way and another goes another way I think about these kinds of things when I'm driving on the interstate system all the time. There's a Particular Pl. in California that we drove through many many many times as you're driving east him from California moving into the the normal part of the United States. There is a place where as you're driving on Interstate 15 going north.

The road divides and and you you can either take I 40 to the rider you continue on on I 15 and I 15. At that one moment, that decision takes you on a path that leads you north into Utah.

The other path takes you to North Carolina but there is this moment where you are choosing the fork in the road and the consequences the trajectories of those take you on our vastly different will. Psalm one is like that it is laying forth paths to paths that have completely different outcomes, and you must choose. You must be conscious of what lies ahead that there are consequences their consequences. There are consequences to the way that you respond to the word of God.

There are consequences to the way that you respond to what you will hear today and I realize that most of evangelical churches in the past 50 years have conditioned us to treat the moment of preaching with indifference when when people joke and smile at you they condition you to think this isn't too serious, I'll take it or leave it all. Have a good time at all. Go on with my life, but this is not it. Psalm one is not like that. Psalm one confronts us and says you must pay. He because the consequences are so fast and so I invite you I ask you, I paid you to pay heed for your own sake, for the sake of what the Lord has set before you today and you should approach this tax you should approach someone is God. Once again, extending a merciful hand to you that says here is the path of blessing and God's warning and saying if you don't take the path of blessing. The consequences are severe.

There so much at stake, and so the Lord invites us to blessing as we read Psalm one and yet the Lord is not one to be trifled with.

His word will be heated sooner or later will who will listen. Which way will it be for you is really the question there are two ways that are set forth in the Psalms, a way of the righteous in the way of the wicked.

That's the that's the outline of today's message employ number one here let's take a look at the way of the righteous. The way of the blast and wouldn't want to be blessed.

Who wouldn't want to be supremely truly happy.

Why would why would anyone walk away from that what this is what is being laid out for us in the first half of this Psalm. It is the path of blessing look at Psalm one verses one through three will read will read the stanza to start us off. How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither and in what ever he does, he prospers. Just take a little overview look at the song get acquainted with the, the wonder of it. It says how blessed is this man it's a word of intensity. It's a word that speaks of of intense multiplied happiness of the goodness of God is going to rest on this man. It's not from good circumstances.

It's not promising and uncluttered path in life is saying that it is supremely good to be in this position, and then he goes on to describe what this position is and so right from the start Psalm one arrests our attention and says here is a man who is supremely blessed and there should be even even at the most base level of self-interest you should say I want to be blessed. I want to be supremely happy.

Why don't I pay attention and pay heed here it draws you in it invite you so alone is an invitation to the blessing of God in its truest and deepest sense now here's the thing, you don't just fall into this.

You don't just happen to experience the blessing of God as if you received an unexpected inheritance from a distant rich uncle somebody calls you and says hey this uncle you didn't even know he just left a $10 million wasn't expecting that. That's great. It's not like that. You see, look beloved someone promises blessing to those who will actually think about life will actually contemplate their soul will actually look out the world about them and think and judge and make discerning evaluations about the path of life that they're going to take. That's the kind of invitation that is given. How can you be the man who is under the blessing of this Psalm. Well, it requires you to think it requires you to make decisions and you can see this as you move along you can recognize the righteous man by three aspects of his life.

These are subpoints to the way of the righteous. How do you recognize the righteous man, what is it that the blessed man is marked by what is it that you must do if you want to know the blessing of God. Well, there is a positive and there's a negative. And there's an illustration. Let's put it this way, the righteous man can be recognize. First of all by what he rejects by what he re-jacks the man and the woman who simply wants to please everyone that surround them. The never wants to cause any ways that doesn't want to have to struggle in life with difficult questions as a person is never going to be blessed because the blessing of the righteous man watch this.

Who looks at the world around him who understands it is in an ungodly environment that there is ungodly thought and philosophies that drive the actions in the thinking of the world and says I will not be a part of that. I will separate myself from it. I reject that I disown it. I do not belong to this world.

That is what is required to enter into the blessing of this world there is a negative and a positive dimension to the godly life. Look at someone with me again.

Look at verse one. How blessed is the man who watch the negative characteristics that are laid out in verse one. Now how blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers. Notice the negatives. There's no way around this. He does not walk in this counsel he does not stand in the path of sinners. He does not sit in the seat of scoffers. This is profound in one simple verse you're seeing a man who looks at the world and rejects it.

He does not turn to the world for advice. He does not participate in their sinful activities.

He does not accept their definitions of truth. He rejects their standards of morality.

He says I will stand alone before. I will stand with them. See beloved. There is a conscious, deliberate, knowing, intentional separation from the wicked world around but the blessed man engages in this doesn't just happen.

You don't just go through life in a superficial way and just happen to be this way. There is a recognition in the righteous man. There is a there is a conscious understanding that I am in the midst of a fallen world. I see the world pushing away Scripture.

I see the world marking the God of the Bible, I see the world embracing behavior and attitudes that God explicitly condemns in his word and he understands that there are powerful forces behind it.

He understands that this is this is driven by at that one level powerful media interest that this is promoted and all of the marketing that he sees around him. He gets all of that and yet he says I am in a river current that is going downstream that's going to go over a waterfall. Before long I'm getting out. I reject this.

It's not right for the creation to rebel against its creator. This way I will have no part of it. He rejects the world in which he lives. This is the mark of the blessed man.

He wants no part not only of just the activities of sinful people around him.

He doesn't want to have their mindset either. His affections are not on what this world brings it's his affections. Her affections are not on what this world gives says this is not mine.

This is not what I love. He rejects the world the blessed man the righteous man is described here is one who has rejected the world. Now, this doesn't just happen.

That's what I want you to see this doesn't just happen and you young people that are listening and you're on the front end of life and and things are fine and that's good. That's the way young life should be in your preteen and early teen years, but the sooner that you come to recognize this the better you must come to understand that you have to make a choice you are making a decision about one way or the other, which you will follow and better to decide that early on, then to get sucked further into the current sucked further into the vortex where it's harder and harder to get out call upon God sake. Deliver me from this world now even in my youth that I might be set aside to be one who follows you.

We be that young person I ask will you be that young person you respond to the call of God on your life that way young man young woman was being laid before you is a path that leads to blessing but to take that path. You have to say no to the other fork in the road down. I go in there because the blessed man the righteous man is known by what he rejects as you go deeper into the Psalm Psalms 2 through 150. It fleshes out all that is being rejected here.

It's just stating the general principle and that's what I want you to see the I want you to see the general principle that there is a principal in the godly life that involves a rejection. There is a negative assessment on the environment in which we live and says that's not me. One of one of the aspects of preaching the gospel when we call people to saving faith in Christ, and we call them to repentance were not only calling them out of their own sin to come to a Savior were doing that for sure. But we are also calling people to leave the world behind to come out of the world and to reject it to separate themselves from it.

This is this is a profound message that we preach is a profound statement that I don't belong in the very environment in which I actually live it is that serious. It is that deep in what is laid before us. There is a rejection of the world now it's more than just a negative rejection, though righteous man is known by what he rejects. That's true, but he is also known in a positive way by what he receives what he rejects what he receives and we see what he receives in verse two, at its core. This man loves the word of God it is that simple plain and evident livers to but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law he meditates day and night. Notice a couple of things about this.

First of all, that there is a contrast right you see that there is this there is this path of the world and yet there's this contrast. In verse two. I've left behind.

The world as I've as I go into verse two. I've rejected that now as I move into two verse two I'm moving into a different realm. I'm moving into a different realm of desire a different realm of what I esteem of what my priorities are in verse one. He's left behind what the world thinks and what the world does and what the world says he's left behind the scoffing and the mocking of the world toward the things of God. And now in verse two, as if he's. It walked into a beautiful ballroom he stepped off the street out of the gutters of the straight knees walked into a five star hotel remedies walked into this gorgeous ballroom with a completely different decor.

A completely different set up says this is where I will set this is where I will plant my life verse to look at it with me again. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law he meditates day and night.

Notice that it's stated there twice in the law of the Lord and in his law that that's the focus of this of this verse, the word for law here it can refer to the first five books of Moses, the Pentateuch, the Torah is the word that you steer the can refer just to that, but more broadly, this word refers to to God's instruction to God's written revelation in the Bible and that's a way that we should take this the totality of what God has revealed in Scripture. That's what this man loves. He loves a book he loves God's word. He studies it, he reads it he thinks about it, brothers and sisters goes further obeys this man, this woman, this young person has his mind on the word of God day and night will pause. Therefore, today, but pastor Don Greene will have more of his message.

Which way shall it be next time you're on the truth pulpit as he takes us further into Psalm one. We hope you'll join us then. Right now though Don's back here in studio with more exciting ministry news. We know, my friend. One of the exciting things about ministry is to see the doors that the Lord opens to you that you never could a plan for yourself about the described that here what's happened in truth Community Church is this is that somehow the Lord has opened the door for us to send sermon transcripts to prisoners throughout our region who are reading these matters coming to Christ growing in Christ and sharing the material with others we like you to be a part of that. Maybe you have a friend or loved one who is in prison. Do this for us if you would go to our website give us the contact information for your loved one and will be glad to add them to the list in case they want to have access to God's word is you've enjoyed it here on the truth pulpit friend. Just visit us at the truth. Pulpit.com for further information.

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