Two Ways, Two Ends

Lesson Transcript

Good morning. Good to be with you all here this morning. When I was asked to preach, I wasn't feeling so good about it, I'll have to admit. It's been a long time since I stood up here. I don't know why. I mean, it's not like I necessarily am scared of you all. I guess change and difference, you get used to things. And yeah, I used to 20-plus years, a couple of years ago, I came here every Sunday morning and am blessed, have been blessed through you all.

Recently, I was responsible for the Sunday evening services at our church. By the way, greetings from St. Thomas as well. And I told my wife, I said, "I don't think I'm going to get anybody from Shippensbury because I don't want any paybacks." It didn't work. Well, we did have Brother Brent there and then Brother Marvin came and shared with us. And many of you have been there to bless us in that way. I hope to be able to share what I feel the Lord has laid on my heart.

And sitting here with you all this morning did help break the ice, melt the ice, a good bit of it anyway. My brother David had a children's lesson recently and he told them about facing our problems. I don't want to look at this as a problem, but yeah, we can't just run away from things that we don't always like. And so I greet you in Jesus' name. Thank you for your prayers on my behalf. As I was pondering what to think, what to share this morning, I was looking through some old notes that I had.

Nothing really struck me until I came across this one that I shared back in 2013, almost 11 years ago. And it just really stood out to me again and I've made some additions. And so I'm a little unsure how it will go to try to be a taxonomist. If you know what those are, there's scientists that put everything in their categories. I just learned that or was just relearning that with the boys the other day when we were looking at some science.

So hopefully I can get them in the proper order and still stay with the thought. I want to look at the chapter of Psalm Chapter 1 here this morning. Psalm Chapter 1. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season.

His leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore, the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. The title this morning is Two Ways, Two Ends. Psalm 1 is a psalm of contrast. There are no gray areas and it's all right and wrong. Issues are defined.

So he lines out here, he starts out with blessed, truly blessed, how blessed. How blessed do you want to be? What blessing are you seeking in life? Being truly blessed is from God, knowing God and obeying God. Sorry, I want to back up here, give a little bit of the outline. Verses 1 through 3, the path of the righteous. Verses 4 through 5, the peril of the godless. Verse 6, a promise for the righteous and the punishment of the ungodly.

I'm going to spend most of the time in the first section, the path of the righteous. Blessed, do you want to be happy? A lot of times when we think of happy, it can be kind of a cheap thing of a child getting the toy that it wanted and it's soon in its next day, it's laying on the floor, unthought of. So what is true happiness? I don't think that's what we are after here in this psalm. Blessed. People get all happy about winning the lottery and things like that, having the possessions that they want.

We here in America know that the Constitution says that we have the right to pursue happiness. So we as Americans are entitled to happiness given to us by our government. Isn't that a great thing? And do we see a lot of happy people around us? So what does it mean to be blessed? Do we find happiness and joy in a godly home? What about helping someone who is needy, being a servant? Where are we looking for to be blessed?

But some other aspects here, as I was continuing to study, it stood out to me that the first way to become blessed is to not. Now, we don't like negatives, but life is full of no's. I know that my wife thinks that I should say no to people that want me to help them with different things at times and probably I should. But life is full of no's and here he says, "Blessed is the man that walketh not, nor and nor." That really stood out to me. Negatives, a negative to be the first step in being blessed.

What was one of the first things that God told Adam and Eve? You can have everything that's in this garden. There's just one thing. There's just one thing. Why is it when something is forbidden that's what we want to go for? I think it's just part of being human. I believe that as we raise our children, it should be one of the first things that they learn. Now, it can't be the only thing that they learn. I'm not advocating that. But I think we can see around us the effects of those who have not been taught that.

It does not create. Life, if we give our children the impression that whatever they ask for they'll get or whatever they want they'll get, we are not preparing them for the realities of life. It's said of Adonijah, who was David's son in 1 Kings Chapter 1:6, that David never said to him, "Why hast thou done so?" This was whenever he was preparing to take over the kingdom. Finally, Adonijah met his match and it did not go well for him. If you remember the story, Solomon finally told him no.

Whenever he went to ask for Abishag, David's maid that had been with him when he was old. We could think also of Eli, another example who it says in 1 Samuel 3 that he honored his sons above God. Now, it doesn't really say he did kind of make an appeal to them, "Why do you do these things?" But I think it was too late. They had already been set in their ways. I don't think they must have learned or else it was just their own rebellion. They had not been told no enough. And we can see what happened to them.

There's ideas afloat that we want to train our children only in a positive environment. And I'm certainly God told his son in the Sunday school lesson that this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased and that needs to be conveyed to our children. But we owe it to our children to teach them that life isn't all about them and what they want. So he walketh not. So there's three different things here: walking, standing, and sitting. So walking is kind of maybe you're getting to learn to know them, take a walk.

I know that whenever I was courting, we would go for walks. And so that there's some common ground there, you're getting to know. And so I thought of this, what's a word that I could use for that? The man that wants to be blessed, he's going to make distinctions in his life. And to walk, to start entertaining ideas of, well, maybe there's something here that I could benefit from, from the ungodly. And you could look at that and maybe I thought of the word as casual. So just kind of a casual relationship.

Share some ideas, follow some of their ideas about different things. Maybe it's about raising their children or finances. Maybe we can put their counsel on par with our brothers. There's this casualness of it's not the guards are kind of lowered and there's maybe an intrigue there. So that's the casualness. That's the casual attitude of looking at the ungodly and maybe pursuing a relationship with them. He says he walks not in the counsel of the ungodly and he says, nor standeth in the way of sinners.

Back up here to the casual part. I mean, let's be honest, have we ever envied someone who is ungodly? It seems like their world works out, their life is fairly easy. Well, it's not new. Psalm 73. Psalm 73. It's hard to break in here, so I'll just read the whole psalm. Truly, God is good to Israel, even to such as are a clean heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well-nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

For there are no bands in their death, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore, pride compasseth them about as a chain, violence covers them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness and they have more than heart could wish. They are corrupt and speak wickedly concerning oppression. They speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens and their tongue walketh through the earth.

Therefore, his people return thither and waters of a full cup are rung out to them. And they say, "How doth God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?" Behold, these are the ungodly who prosper in the world. They increase in riches. Fairly, I have cleansed my heart in vain and washed my hands in innocency. For all the day long, I have been plagued and chastened every morning. If I say I will speak thus, behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children.

When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me. Until I went into the sanctuary of God, then understood I their end. Surely, thou didst set them in slippery places. Thou castest them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation? As in a moment, they are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awakeneth. So, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. Thus, my heart was grieved and I was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I and ignorant. I was as a beast before thee.

Nevertheless, I am continually with thee. Thou hast holden me up, holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For lo, they that are far from thee shall perish. Thou hast destroyed all them that go ahoaring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God.

I have put my trust in the Lord God that I may declare all thy works. So the author here admits that there was a time in his life, a time maybe throughout his life that he looked at the wicked and envied them. In verse 17, it says he thought this way until he came into the sanctuary of the Lord. Now, hopefully, that's where we're at here this morning and it doesn't really have to be just in this place. We can meet God elsewhere and we should be.

But shouldn't it also be a time that each time we gather, we are again—our vision, our eyesight is made clear as to what really counts in life? Where true happiness, long-term lasting happiness and blessing come from? And it is evident that the psalmist here comes to that conclusion at the end that who have I in heaven but thee? It is good for me to draw near unto God. So it's not out there.

It's not out there with the wicked that seem to have everything in place that they can say what they want and they're not punished for it, it seems, and they get away with all kinds of things. But his spiritual vision was clarified when he was with God's people. And that's a true blessing. I find that numerous times because there are so many complexities and difficult things to answer about life and who's right and what about this, what about that.

But so often when we meet together, you hear different—God's word shared—you hear different ideas and thoughts and your heart, your mind becomes again clear. This is the path that I want. This is what I want to pursue. Influence is very powerful. I don't think I have to say that we're all being influenced and so on by something, somebody. And God's word tells us that clearly. Proverbs 4:14-15: "Enter not into the path of the wicked and go not in the way of evil men.

Avoid it, pass by it, turn from it and pass away." Proverbs 22:24-25: "He that saith no," whoops, wrong, 24 and 25, whoops, I had the wrong chapter. "Make no friendship with an angry man and with a furious man. Thou shalt not go, lest thou learn his ways and get a snare to thy soul." 1 Corinthians 15:33: "Be not deceived. Evil communications corrupt good manners." We should not think ourselves so spiritual as to not be affected by influence that we elevate in our life as important when they are not godly.

I believe Satan wants us to become comfortable and at ease with sin and evil around us. Have you ever—something is said or you see something that stands out and all of a sudden give it time and well, you don't even hardly notice it anymore? Just the other day, I walked into Lowe's and why a home improvement store would sell Halloween scenes? I don't know, but obviously there must be big money in it.

But there's just evil grotesque figures that, I mean, line the whole wall and some of them are even hitting the ceiling. They're stacked up so high. And it just stood out to me. It's just something so ugly. Who would want to buy that kind of stuff? But there's a glory in that. There's an appetite for that. I think it also indicates where we are at as a culture when God and his ways are mocked at and rejected, where we have come to.

So do we have clear lines in our minds or do we become accustomed and familiar and okay with it? Maybe it's a word—I can't think of the name—thinking of swear words, but just an off word that you hear someone say, "Oh, you know," and it's not good. But if you're around it long enough, does it just sort of become normal? Do we know where we stand on these things and are we helping our children see the division between all these different things or are we silent?

Do our neighbors and acquaintances know where we stand? Becoming casual. Actually, I'm sorry, the first word that I had was curious for walking. Walking in the counts of the ungodly is curious. Seeing what there is, is there. There's somewhere in the Bible that says not to study evil anymore. Some people think that you have to know what the evil is so you know what the good is. I think it should be the other way around. We need to study what is right so that we can detect what is not of God.

And then the next one was standing in the way of sinners, casual. Being less offended by what is happening, what is said, what is done. Hanging out with them, learning their habits and their values. So it's going a little deeper. We're getting a little bit more into it. And the reality is that eventually we start to become like them if we continue to keep company with them. And then sitting with the scornful.

I guess the picture that came to my mind was sitting around a table enjoying a meal together, maybe like a fellowship meal. Something of here we are, common ground, and we're willing to share our lives together around a meal. So now we're comfortable. Curious, casual, comfortable. Acceptance, being at peace with them. I don't see it written down here, but I thought of this in relation to the story of Lot. So the first time there was a problem there and he needed—Abraham says—we need to separate ways.

We don't need to fight. The land is big enough to hold all of us. We don't need to be all right here. And it says that Lot looked. So that I would equate there with curious. This does look appealing. There's something there that I would like. The next time we read about Lot is that he is camping close to Sodom. So now he is casually interacting with Sodom. I'm sure that he knew the perils that were there. I doubt it was a secret to him of what Sodom was like. The next time, he is comfortably in Sodom.

And this is no indication that we shouldn't go live in cities or towns. I'm just saying he became—it seems like he became okay, at least to a certain extent. I know that Peter or somebody says he was a righteous man. I don't know what to do with all that, but some of his choices I believe—I don't think we want a legacy like him. He became comfortable with actually living with these people. I thought about the example.

I've never done it, but they say if you put a frog in a kettle, turn on the burner—it eventually will die because it never knows when to jump out. And once it's time to jump out, it's too late. Brothers and sisters, we can't play around with sin in our lives. We can't play around with becoming—I'll call it desensitized—with what is happening around us.

The sin that we see, the habits, the actions, the things people do that are wrong and contrary to God, there should be a clear line in our minds and in our hearts as to where we're at as followers of God and if we want to pursue this life of blessing and being blessed.

There's also the song that has the phrases in it: "Sin will take you farther, make you stay longer and cost more than you want to pay." And if we're not careful, eventually there is a bond formed and we finally are sitting with the scornful, disdaining God's ways and making light of them. Verse 2: "Here is what we should be pursuing, but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night." Here's the author's admonition to us as to what will bless our life.

A few other scriptures to add to that: Psalm 119:97: "Oh, how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day." Joshua 1:8: "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night. That thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein, for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous." Delight in God's law, in God's ways, in his will. Delight in God's law. That which brings satisfaction and fulfillment and joy.

You go to a wedding and the bride and groom are there and there's a delight. This is the beginning of a new life together and you can tell that there's joy and fulfillment there. Could be also after nine long months the baby is finally in your arms. There's delight in that. Finally, it's here. What do we find delight in? 1 Peter 2:2 says: "As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that she may grow thereby." Does God's word delight us? Is it a chore to pick it up and read it and to study it?

Or do we anticipate what God has for us when we read it? I hope you know that I'm not just preaching to you. This was again a sharp reminder to myself. If God's word was the only thing we had to read, would we be satisfied with it? I forget where it was, but I read recently that it was understood that able Jewish boys were expected to have the first five books of the Bible memorized by 12. I think I have that age right. That takes a lot of work and diligence. That's not like memorizing even the New Testament.

At least as a whole, I find it more difficult to memorize than the Old Testament. It was especially those that were seeking to become teachers of the law. They were expected to do that. At our home congregation at St. Thomas, we've been working at memorizing the book of Titus together. It seems to have lost a little bit of steam. I'm not sure. And that's just the way things can go. I'm not saying nobody's doing it, but there hasn't been very many volunteers to say it lately.

And we live so busy lives, at least to find for myself, that why is it that some of these things are the first things to go? Is it not a delight? I appreciate the teaching of my father to memorize. He would admit that he himself isn't very good at it or it's a lot of work for him. And I believe Psalm 1 was one of the first ones that he would have helped us as children memorize together as a family among different others. Memorization, having it in our hearts. How are we going to—it says—meditate day and night?

How can we purposely meditate on it? I mean, we can, I guess, read something in the morning and it sticks with us. That's certainly one way. Jesus, we talked about him facing the temptation. I doubt he had the scroll there in front of him. He had it in his heart. And I think if we want to stand the pressures and temptations and make good decisions in life, it is important to hide it in our hearts. I certainly don't want to put a guilt trip on anyone. I just want to encourage us.

And as fathers, are we seriously taking that responsibility to lead our families in that? That they can see from our lives an example that God's word is a delight to me, to us. And there's all kinds of reading material. Besides that, which can be good, but do we know what they are reading? What are they filling their minds with? I mentioned earlier that it takes diligence and dedication to study, to memorize, to meditate. And as modern Americans, we like quick, easy solutions, answers, and solutions.

It's a lot faster to go to holy Google instead of God's word. We find verses in the Bible that say, "Wait on the Lord, wait on me." I don't like to wait, but sometimes that's what we need to do. But so often we want to run ahead. We want to find quick solutions and answers. I was right now reading the book Surviving the Texanomi by Gary Miller. In there, he shares of three individuals: a grandfather, a father, and a grandson and the difference of what they faced that was in these individuals who are from Romania.

And under Ceaușescu, I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing that right, but the Romanian dictator, communist dictator back whenever that was, '70s, '80s, I'm not sure. There was a lot of oppression and persecution and fear among the people and Christianity certainly tried to be snuffed out. And the grandfather, as well as the father, lived through that.

And there was just a strong desire to know God, to know his word, and to get the word to other people that were wanting it and smuggling at high risk, smuggling Bibles to different places. And the father also participated in that and there was the church was fearful, but it was full. I mean, everybody was participating. And the testimony kind of now is that, yeah, where are the people? And this was more now in the grandson's era and just the ease that has come.

I mean, he said that the grandson has a desire to follow the Lord, but just feels the lack of that urgency, that desire to know God's word, to serve the Lord in his kingdom and do all that he can. And one of the main culprits was technology. He found it much easier just to immerse himself in that. Now, I hope you don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying we shouldn't use it, but let's be aware.

I mean, different studies have been done and Gary tells of them in that book that our culture, our way of thinking, and our ability to think is being affected and changing because of these things. And I think we need to be aware of that and how we think about God and how we view God. And when God doesn't come through quick enough, we have another solution. Why wait if there's some instant solution somewhere else? Who and what is fulfilling my appetite?

Where do I turn for my answers to life's questions and perplexities? Meditate means to think about over and over again. There's the example of the ruminant animals who eat and then it goes in, comes back up, they eat it again, they chew it again, goes back down. I thought about the verse that says, "The washing of water by thy word," that cleansing that comes through feeding on that, remembering it, and to get all of it out of it that we can. And it's not like just a ritual, but what is new?

What does the Lord want me to learn from this? If we truly want to be blessed, we need to immerse ourselves in God's word. Now, with that, we can just fill our minds, but James says, "Don't just be a doer, a hear, but a doer." It's one thing to know. It's another thing to do. And that needs to be evident in our lives.

Back to their in-person, I've read also in some countries where there's been oppression and persecution, the Christians will take, because there's a lack of Bibles, they'll take a Bible apart book by book and then pass it around so that everyone can have a part of it and then they swap it the next time they're together. Just that desperation to know God's word. In connection with that, I'd like to read another portion of scripture here in Mark 4. Mark 4:18-19.

And these are they which are sown among thorns, such as hear the word and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word and it becometh unfruitful. So the word wasn't really taken away. It was just that it had too much competition. It comes and then it gets crowded out, choked out. Moving on to verse 3. A productive, attractive, and useful life. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season.

His leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. It doesn't take much to look at a plant, a tree, to find out what its health is by the leaves. They are a very good indication of what is happening. A tree, something stable, something that has its roots deep in a good source. This is what he says, "The one who delights in God's law, in God's word will be like." They're able to withstand the pressures of life. There's a fruitfulness there and his witness does not fade away and he prospers.

Does that mean everything that he touches turns to gold? I don't believe that's the prosperity that he is here. God can bless us as godly people, but just because we're wealthy does not mean we're godly. I believe his life isn't one of reaping from repeated mistakes like his ungodly neighbors. He follows God's leading instead of blundering his way through life and his positive influence lingers after he's gone. Back to the leaves.

I'm sure most of you would have noticed this summer how things were because of the condition of the leaves of many different crops and plants. Something was lacking. Something was missing and that was, of course, moisture. I remember driving numerous times through the area of Greencastle, Mercesburg. Seemed like it was much worse there. Corn was lower than your waist and it didn't look like there was any ears. I don't think there's much fruit there. A bunch of fiber, but nothing much else.

And they're not going to produce much fruit this year. When the source is right, we can stand the drought, storms, and diseases that come in life still flourishing and bearing fruit. Another passage to look at in connection with that, Jeremiah 17:8. Jeremiah 17:8. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters and that spreadeth out her roots by the river and shall not see when he cometh, but her leaf shall be green and shall not be careful in the year of drought. Neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

Again, that word of prosper, he shall prosper. Prosper means to overcome the odds, to push forward. So you get the idea that even in the midst of hard times, he's still moving forward. He's still there. He's still bearing fruit. His leaf is still green, offering maybe to those around him. It's not a shallow worldly prosperity that we're talking about here. Numbers verses 4 and 5, the peril of the godless. Number one, the ungodly is everything that the righteous is not.

And it says it's compared to chaff and I know that was mentioned earlier. You know what you see coming out of the back of a combine? It would be a foolish farmer to go pick up that and try to nourish his animals with it. You know it's useless and empty. I know they do have some uses for some of that, but you know it's not—it's here today, gone tomorrow. He has nothing to stand on in the day of judgment. And I'm not saying that's just the judgment at the end of the world, although I'm sure includes that.

It's the judgment that comes through life, the testings, the trials, and you know they're not able to stand. And we see a separation here. God will separate the ungodly from the righteous. Matthew 25 brings it out very clear and I'm not going to read that, how he separates the sheep from the goats. And now I want to look at the last, at verse 6, a promise for the righteous and the punishment of the ungodly. We have a wonderful promise here.

It says, "For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous." Does God know you? You know we put a lot of emphasis on knowing God and we should, but does God know me? Does God know us? And he does and you know that's such a safe and secure place to be when we know, as we were reminded earlier, that God is in control and he's ordering things. He's ordering my life. He knows what is ahead and he knows who I am and what I can handle and he will be with me. 2 Timothy 2:19 also bears that out.

Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his and that everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. There's the example of Job. Does God know us like he knew Job? The testimony of Job was in Job 1:8, "Have you seen my servant Job?" God knew him. God knew his character.

God knew what he was like and God had confidence in him that when he was talking to Satan, "There is none like him in the earth, a perfect man, an upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil." Is our character like that of Job? So God can trust us that we're not going to—that our testimony is one of fearing him, obeying him, and eschewing evil. Eschewed there has the idea of turning off. So he's not just avoiding it. He's going against it.

I don't think he was just one of you know just staying away from it, but he was actually confronting it and doing what he could to turn it off. Verse 6 again, "For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish." That's my challenge for us, for me. I hope that y'all can also be blessed through that. Let's continue to pursue after him and that blessing that he has for us. God bless you.