THIS IS THE WAY!
Psalm 1
INTRODUCTION:
Good morning everyone! It’s great to be with you today. May you never loose sight of the wonder of God’s presence and the call to pursue Him. Because in the end…that pursuit will lead you to the greatest joy (and genuine happiness) to be found…on this side of heaven.
TRANSITION:
Earlier this week I read a staggering report (by the annual “Harris Poll of American Happiness”), which showed that nearly 70% of all Americans are unhappy with their lives. They are disappointed., depressed outdoor, and just dissatisfied.
While everyone is looking for happiness in life, it seems we are just looking in the wrong places. So, most try to find happiness in things — in the direct pursuit of things (i.e., a house, a job, a relationship, a toy, etc.). But, it seems that happiness is never really found by a direct pursuit — it seems be more of a by-product of something else. And it’s this other pursuit that God’s Word speaks of quite a bit.
That being said, this morning I want to call your attention to a powerful passage of scripture for those who want to find true happiness in this life. It’s a passage that calls us to choose the path we will walk in life very carefully. Because, there’s really only one way to happiness, and blessing, and godly success in this life.
— Just one way. Only one…and it’s the way of righteousness. God’s way.
I can hardly talk about “The Way!”, without being reminded of a phrase spoken quite often in the new Star Wars saga, Mandalorian.
Now, I realize most of you may not be familiar with the Mandalorians, unless you have a teenage son in your house. Because, they are a fictional group of people from the planet Mandalor. They are a strong but honorable people — really a warrior clan.
And throughout the show, these warriors will say to each other, “This is the Way!” It usually comes after they have acted selflessly, or honorably, or were victorious in battle. It’s sort of their code of conduct, their mantra, or creedal cry. So they say, “This is the Way!”
Well, the Old Testament book of Psalms begins with a very similar creedal cry. Only this one comes from the pen of King David. And, it too stands as a mantra — a mantra for God’s people. It was written to lead us into wisdom. And it was placed at the beginning of the book of psalms to sort of set the course for us. To offering us spiritual compass of sorts — to point us towards the way of blessing in this life.
And more significant than that of the Mandalorians, Psalm 1 reminds us — as those who trust in the Lord — for us, “THIS IS THE WAY!”
MESSAGE:
So, if you have your Bible, turn with me to Psalm 1 — and follow along as I read. Before we ready it let me tell you a little about it. This psalm acts as an introduction to this entire book. Charles Spurgeon (a great pastor from a previous generation), said it was the most beautiful and powerful of all the psalms. For what it addresses in 6 verses, the entire book of psalms seeks to explain in another 149 more lengthy psalms. It is also helpful to know—that the author is unknown. Because of its similarity to wisdom offered in the book of Proverbs, some have suggested that it may have been Solomon (David’s son), who wrote it to be an introduction to His father’s psalms (which follow).
Whatever the case, it is God’s Word — directed by the Holy Spirit to be penned for our benefit. And here (in verse 1) the psalmist says,
1 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, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 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.
4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
Psalm 1:1-6 (NIV)
In essence…the author tells us,“THIS IS THE WAY!” And so, I want to begin this morning where he left off. In verse 6, the writer tells us,
6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
He says, in this life you have a choice — a choice between two ways. Both are available, but only one is good. Both are inviting, but only one is rewarding. Both make grand promises — but only one follows through and leads to true blessing. There are two paths, but they lead in opposite directions.
—One is watched over by God. It is a way defined by His grace, His protection, His goodness, and His blessing.
—But the other way is a way of danger. It’s unguarded, unprotected, and certainly unwise. While it promises grand things and sweet rewards, It rarely delivers. Mostly, it’s just a way of pain and disappointment. Rather than blessing — it leads to destruction.
Both ways stand before us all. But only one leads to LIFE…real life, the best life. And so, the psalmist says — choose God’spath. Because THIS IS THE WAY!
To do so, the psalmist urges us to…
1. EXAMINE YOUR INFLUENCES.
I know this may sound a bit basic to some of you — but it’s something often overlooked.
Here God calls us to give attention to the influences within our life’s.
Rather than just going through the motions and allowing life to happen, he calls us to live with purpose. To live with intentionality — and to be careful about that which we allow to surround us (or shape our thinking).
When it comes to INFLUENCE, we are told repeatedly to be careful who we hang with and listen to. Because those who surround us will either lift us up, or they’ll tear us down. They’ll either add to the value of our lives, or their influence will undermine and devalue the work of God within us.
The Bible has a lot to say about this. In the opening verse of this Psalm, it reminds us how critical the issue of influence is within our lives. Listen again to what it says. He says,
1Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinnerstake or sit in the company of mockers,
Psalm 1:1 (NIV)
It’s easy in life to become surrounded by the wrong influences in life. But it takes intentionality to surround yourself with the right people. And so — God says, make it your priority to examine the influences you allow to get close to you.
Because, those who are blessed in life — are those who are careful to guard their hearts and minds. We must never allow the influence of the ungodly, the perverse, and the faithfulness to become more influential than the voices of the godly and the instruction of God’s Word.
The Bible continually calls us to this practice. Consider:
Proverbs 4:23 — which says,
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Solomon is saying, if your heart is unhealthy, it will threaten everything around you (your family, your friends, your career, your future…everything)!
The Bible tells us that our thoughts often dictate who we become…and our companions and friends often dictate how we think. So, be on-guard, watch out for your soul…protecting our minds — because that which gets in us, will ultimately direct our choices in life.
To this point, Proverbs 12:26 warns us,
“The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.”
Proverbs 12:26 (NIV)
In this same vane of caution, this psalm says, if you want to have a blessed life, then examine the influences in your life. And don’t allow ungodly people to shape how you think.
Because, the way of the wicked will always bring you down! Just notice the downward progressiondescribes in verse 1. It says,
1 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,
The downward path of bad-influence happens like this:
—First of all, there’s an association. You walk along their path.
—Then there’s an identification. You begin to stand in alliance with them.
—And finally, there’s a participation. As you begin to sit down and settle into their space.
Paul echoes this point when he writes to the Corinthians believers and says,
“Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.” (1 Corinthians 15:33, NIV)
EXAMINE THE INFLUENCES IN YOUR LIFE. And, choose to surround yourself with godly people who demonstrate honor, and faith, and integrity.
That doesn’t mean you avoid the lost — but it means you always stand up for faith and feed your heart and mind on the words of the righteous rather than the words of the ungodly.
In essence, YOU BE THE INFLUENCER of the lost, rather than be influenced by them!
THIS IS THE WAY! Secondly, Psalm 1 says…
2. EMBRACE GODLY THINKING.
What we think is important.
We don’t have to live out the spiritual decline described in verse 1. In fact, in verse 2 it offers us an antidote to that tragic path. And it’s found in the WORD OF GOD!
As verse 2 states,
2 Blessed is the one… 2 …whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
Psalm 1:2 (NIV)
The psalmist says, the blessed life is deeply connected to right thinking. And right thinking is shaped by feasting upon God’s Word.
Blaise Pascal oncesurmised that everyone is after the same thing in life — he called it happiness. It happens to be the same thing that David is describing here in this psalm, and something Jesus said He came to give us (and that is a full life, a blessed life, and abundant life).
Pascal went on to say, “All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end…This is the motive of every action of every man.”
Everyone wants to be happy. And the world is quick to give you a prescription for how to find it in life. In fact, if you search online today — you’ll discover over 1 billion search results for that phrase, “How to be happy.” Everyone has an opinion.
But that’s why the Word of God is so important to our lives. Because in the Word, God has made it clear that the universal human longing for happiness, can only be satisfied by the One who gave us that longing in the first place.
And David understands this. So, he says,
2 Blessed is the one… 2 …whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
Psalm 1:2 (NIV)
When we DELIGHT ourselves in God’s Word and meditate upon His law, it will shape our souls and lead us down the right path!
As D. L. moody once said,
God didn’t give us the Scriptures to increase our knowledge, (He gave us the Scriptures)…to change our lives.
And that happens as we take it, read it, study it, ponder it, and live it out!
It is not enough that we affirm the Bible to be the Word of God. We must read it and receive it. We must embrace it! We must trust it, and accept it, and learn it, and lean into it, and apply it to our lives.
Because, it’s God’s Word! It’s not a rule book or a reference tool. It is the Words of life!
That’s why God instructed Joshua (as he took over the lead for Moses), as he directed the path for the people of Israel — He said,
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
Joshua 1:8 (NIV)
John Piper has written, “the only hope against the pleasures of the WORLDare the pleasures of the WORD. And just like the pleasures of the world are awakened by looking at them…so the pleasures of the word are awakened…by looking at them.”
You’ll never be able to meditate upon that which you have not first given your attention to. That’s why a casual glance in God’s Word is never enough!
We must delight in God’s Word — and FULLY EMBRACE GODLY THINKING! It has the power to change our lives.
In the New Testament, the apostle Paul writes about this in 2 Timothy 3:16 and says,
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,”
2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV)
In other words, the Bible carries this authority because, in some way, it has been uniquely inspired, breathed out, by God.
—He says, it’s useful for teaching [that it tells us which path to walk],
—It’s useful for rebuking [or showing us where we’ve taken wrong turns & strayed from His path],
—It’s useful for correction [God’s Word tells us how to get back on the path],
—And, it’s useful for training in righteousness [That it tells us how to stay on the right path].
When we embrace the Bible, we also embrace God’s rules for life. And, God’s law — his guiding principles and commandments for our lives are exceedingly good — and good for us.
In reality, they act as guardrails along the pathway of our lives.
And that’s why it’s not enough to just reject the ways of the world, we also must turn towards the things of God. And we discover this path — this way, through the guidance of His Word.
So, let me challenge you today. Make it your practice to daily study God’s Word. And as you read it, dwell on it, delight in it, and meditate upon it. As you do — ask God to help you understand how it is to be applied to your life — and lived out.
Because every passage holds a principle that can be practiced in life — and doing so will lead to a transformation of your heart and blessing upon your life.
THIS IS THE WAY.
Examine your influences. Embrace Godly thinking.
And lastly…
3. EXPECT GOOD FRUIT.
Well, the psalmist caps off this beautiful psalm with a word of promise. For those who will examine the influences of their lives — and intentionally avoid those ungodly voices. And instead, will embrace God’s Word and Godly thinking, then the expect to be productive in life.
More than that — we can expect to live prosperous lives, producing good fruit all of our days.
Listen again to the promise found in verse 3.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— (and get this) whatever they do prospers.
Psalm 1:3 (NIV)
If we live according to the WAY OF THE LORD — continually connected to the Word of God, then we can be sure God will honor that Word, and will produce within us GOOD FRUIT IN SEASON.
This isn’t describing the kind of fruit we have shipped into the Upstate during the winter months — that kind of fruit that is grown in more tropical areas, but picked green, and then shipped here. That kind of fruit that looks good on the outside, but the inside is hard and bitter, lacking sweetness.
He’s saying the fruit of our lives will be like the strawberries that are IN SEASON today. Those which are BIG and RIPE and SWEET and FLOODED WITH FLAVOR. That’s the kind of good fruit your life will produce when you stay connected to God through His Word. When you walk the WAY OF THE RIGHTEOUS, your life will be just as sweet and impressive.
But, make no mistake about it. The fruit of your life (and mine), isn’t dependent upon your ability — but rather your proximity to the source. When you root down into the flow of God’s Word, His presence cultivates your heart (pruning away that which is a hindrance). And the supernatural empowerment of His Spirit will work through you…allowing you to produce the good fruit.
Fruit isn’t something we produce by laboring — simply by abiding. Abiding in Jesus and His work in us. You see, it comes from the inside…out as He works through us.
APPLICATION:
- Make time daily to read God’s Word.
- Slow down and think deeply about it.
- See to discover the meaning of the text.
- Pray about what you’ve read.
- Meditate upon what you discover.
- Apply it to your life by putting it into practicing.
CONCLUSION:
I began this message by telling you — there’s only one way to live if you want to honor God, receive His blessing, and experience godly success in life. Only one way to be genuinely happy in life. And it’s by living your life GOD’S WAY.
And if you’ve ever really wondered what that way is like — LOOK TO JESUS!
While the psalmist hadn’t been acquainted with Him yet, it appears that the Holy Spirit was using him, and using this psalm to point us to Jesus.
As He said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
So which path will you choose? Will you choose the path of BLESSING or the path of DESTRUCTION?
The Big question is —WILL YOU CHOOSE TO FOLLOW JESUS?
Choose the path of blessing!
And, in the days to come — and the years that will follow, I urge you to always…CHOOSE JESUS! Live your lives to honor God — and serve Him always!
Because if you will, you’ll never regret it. In fact, you’ll discover genuine peace, incredible blessing, and a fruitfulness that far exceeds anything this world can offer.
So, let that settle within you — because after all…
THIS IS THE WAY!
Would you stand with me for closing prayer?
PRAYER:
If you’re not living for Jesus…Would you consider surrendering yourself life to Him today? Would you pray now and put your trust completely in His goodness? If so, pray this with me:
HeavenlyFather, I admit that I am a sinner and I’ve chosen my way over yours too often. But all that changes today. Because, I believe in Your Son, Jesus. I believe that He came from Heaven to earth to pay for my sin. I believe He died on the cross, shed His blood, was put in a grave — and rose again. So, today — I put my faith in Him. Forgive me of my sin. Save me and give me new life in you forever. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.
If you prayed today and made a decision to follow Jesus — would you let us know? We are so proud of you. This is the greatest decision you’ll ever make.
PRAYER OF COMMITMENT (TO FOLLOW THE PATH OF RIGHTEOUSNESS)
Let’s renew our relationship with Jesus.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for yourword and the way you shape our lives with it. Today our prayer is that you would help us to CHOOSE YOUR WAY over our own.Teach us to value you and your word — to avoid the influences of the crowd…and cling to Jesus. And may our lives reflect You (in every way). Thank you for your promise of your blessing. We ask this in Jesus name! Amen.