I have a lemon tree that I planted back in 2020. It looked something like this when I planted it. Now, it looks something like this. Some of you can’t even see it. There it is.
The reason it looks so pitiful is because it has not received the proper nourishment. There’s really not someone looking after it well. I haven’t let it die, but I haven’t really helped it thrive.
Today, as we start a summer series called “The Psalms of Summer,” we’re going to start at the very beginning, Psalm 1.
Psalm 1 helps us see how a person thrives in this life. It shows us two ways: one way that leads to having a life like my lemon tree, and the other that leads to a life of a tree that looks something like this.
Today’s sermon is entitled “The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked.”
Let’s pray together before we go any further.
(prayer)
Ok, let’s look at Psalm 1 now and then, we’ll see what we can learn together:
1 How happy is the one who does not
walk in the advice of the wicked
or stand in the pathway with sinners
or sit in the company of mockers!
2 Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams
that bears its fruit in its season and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
4 The wicked are not like this;
instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand up in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.
What I love about this psalm is that it is very clear and simple. It shows two ways and the results of those two ways.
So, let’s look at these ways.
First, we should . . .
I. Avoid the way of wickedness.
Look at verse 1 again:
1 How happy is the one who does not
walk in the advice of the wicked
or stand in the pathway with sinners
or sit in the company of mockers!
Ok, let’s pay attention to the elements of this verse.
First, we see that this person is happy. Many of your translations say blessed.
The Hebrew term used here is ashre, which means privileged or happy.
So, this is not a financial or physical blessings. Rather, this blessing is a fulfilling joy that comes to someone when they avoid wickedness.
Fulfilling happiness comes to those who avoid wickedness.
Notice that the psalm gives three different descriptors of the way of evil: The advice of the wicked, the pathway with sinners, and the company of mockers.
We are happy when we do not walk in the advice of the wicked. That is, we don’t listen to the advice of the wicked. We don’t allow our minds to be affected by the wicked.
Second, we are happy or blessed when we don’t stand in the pathway with sinners. We are not to be on the same path as a sinner. That is, we are not to act like sinners. We should not allow our behavior to be sinful.
Third, we are happy when we do not sit in the company of mockers. Mockers are those who celebrate sin and hate righteousness. To sit in the company of someone means to hangout or identify with them. Our identify ought not to be associated with sin or sinners.
So, we should avoid wickedness in these three ways:
We should protect our mind from sin, . . .
we should avoid sinful behavior, and . . .
we should not be identified with anything sinful.
We should avoid the way of wickedness.
Second, we learned that we should . . .
II. Pursue the way of righteousness.
Look at verse 2. This is what we should pursue instead of pursuing wickedness:
2 Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.
What does the person who is blessed do? He or she delights in the Lord’s instructions.
Church, do you delight in the ways of God?
Do you want to hear from God? Do you want to experience God?
Think about the areas that we heard about in verse 1; those areas that we are to protect from wickedness. Instead of those areas being affected by wickedness, do you want them affected by God?
Do you delight in God to impacting your mind? Do you delight in God guiding your behavior? Do you delight in God to shaping your identity?
There are things we delight in at different levels, right?
I delight in lots of people, but not like I delight in my family. I delight in lots of food, but not like I delight in deviled eggs. I delight in lots of music, but not like a delight in music from the 1990s. I delight in lots of hobbies, but not like I delight in throwing a fishing line into the water. I delight in lots of churches, but not like I delight in First Baptist Church Bartow.
It’s ok to delight in many things, but not like we delight in God and His ways!
Brothers and sisters, if we want God to impact and influence us, we must recognize that His word and His ways are what we need!
The Bible is not given to us to give us a list of rules to keep us from having fun or keep us from living our best life. Rather, the Word of God is given to us to bless us and give us something worth delighting in!
You will not lose something if you follow God; you will find something, including a holy happiness.
The psalmist goes on to say that the happy person meditates on the Lord’s instructions.
To meditate on something means to purposefully think about something and dwell on it.
In other words, you won’t accidentally think about the ways of God. You must purposefully choose to delight in the ways of God. You must choose to focus on the Word of God.
The Apostle Paul reminds us of this truth in Philippians 4:8. He says, “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things.”
Church, we must dwell on the things of God. We must delight in the things of God.
Well, what is the result of our delight in and dwelling on the things of God? We already know from verse 1 that it will lead to our happiness.
But wait, there’s more! Let’s move to our next point:
III. The results of righteousness.
Verse 3 speaks to these results. Look at your Bible again:
3 He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams
that bears its fruit in its season and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
A righteous person who delights in God and dwells on God will be like a tree that flourishes!
The righteous person is like a lemon tree that is full of lemons. Like a peach tree bursting with peaches. Like a mango tree that with branches sagging because of the weight of big ripe mangoes.
Notice that the psalmist says that whatever the righteous person does will prosper. Let’s not be short-sighted here.
The psalmist is not necessarily talking about physical or financial prosperity. There may be some prosperity in that sense that comes from living a righteous and wise life. However, that is far too short-sighted.
After all, Jesus said in Matthew 6:19–21 “Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Well, what kind of fruit should we aim to grow? I’m so glad you asked. Paul says in Galatians 5:22–23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
We should desire to have a life that is like a tree that abundantly produces godly fruit, not earthly fruit!
There is a heavenly prosperity that comes from a pursuit of God and His ways! There are godly blessings that come with delighting in and dwelling on God and His ways.
The blessings of this world are like worthless pocket lint compared to the beautiful blessings of God.
These are the results of righteousness.
Well, what happens when you go the other direction?
That’s our final point:
IV. The results of wickedness.
Look again at verses 4-5:
4 The wicked are not like this;
instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand up in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
As we think about these two verses, first of all, let’s figure out what chaff is.
Chaff is the extra dried out scraps that are leftover after wheat is harvested. It’s like worthless dried out grass; basically like all of our yards were for the last few months before we got this monsoon of rain over the last week.
The psalmist says that the wicked are like this worthless dried-out wheat waste. They have no roots to keep them alive. They have no true value in life. They have not received any nourishment to be healthy.
Like chaff, the wicked will easily be blown away and unable to stand before God.
The reality is that we will all one day stand before God.
Hebrews 9:27 says, “And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment.”
When the wicked face the judgment of God, they will not be able to stand.
When the righteous, who delighted in God and dwelled on God, assemble to stand before God and all of His glory, and to receive all of His inheritance, the wicked will not be able to stand among them.
Let’s conclude this sermon by looking at verse 6:
6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.
This verse is our bottom line for today:
Bottom Line: The Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.
Do you know what happened to my lemon tree? No one was looking out for it. I should have been, but I wasn’t. Once in a while I may water it. I’ve fertilized it once. But, I haven’t really been looking out for it. It needs some care. It needs some nourishment. It needs to be watched over.
Listen, church: The Lord watches over the way of the righteous. He will give you all the blessings you need, and then some. You will be abundantly happy when you delight in God and dwell on God.
However, listen to this: The way of the wicked leads to ruin.
Do you want to be happy, or do you want to be ruined?
Challenge yourself this week in the following two ways:
Weekly Challenge #1 – Avoid wickedness.
Don’t have anything to do with sin and wickedness. Get as far away from sin as you can.
Don’t think on sin, don’t walk in the path of sin, and don’t fill your time with those who will lead you into sin.
Weekly Challenge #2 – Pursue righteousness.
To pursue something means to chase after it; it means to put effort into attaining it; it means to not give up.
Stop pursuing sin and start pursuing righteousness.
Begin pursuing righteousness by pursuing Jesus.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
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