ABC OF BLESSING(Some adapted content from various sources)

Do you want to be blessed by God?

Psalm 1 tells us of THE BLESSED MAN

Psalms 1:1-6 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.

(2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

(3) 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.

(4) The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

(5) Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

(6) For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Two kinds of people.Two very different destinies…

Two roads.

When you consider what road to take think carefully where the road leads to. Every road has its final destination.

Here we have laid out before us the road map for a happy life… The pathway of blessing.

Some search for happiness and fulfillment in career, in amassing wealth, through drink, drugs… Real and lasting joy comes only from God.

How is your walk with God?

Let’s walk with the blessed man and find the ABCs of blessing…

Psalms 1:1-6 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.

Blessed. Here we find the way to true blessing and satisfaction…

BLESSED.

The Book of Psalms starts, as does our Lord’s sermon on the mount… Blessed.

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly…

Where is the Blessed man found?

I have put it down as A-B-C…

Number One. A.

The Blessed man is…

1. IN THE ASSEMBLY

The Blessed man is in the assembly of God. In the church of God. In the congregation of the righteous.

In other words, in church.The right kind of fellowship brings a blessedness to your soul.

Someone has described what we see here in this verse as THREE DEGREES OF DEGENERATION… spelled out in this first verse here…

It’s the wrong kind of fellowship… of counsel… of conduct…

What does this mean? WALKING in the COUNSEL of the ungodly…

Where do we get our counsel from? The ungodly? Oprah? Talk shows. Dr Phil? Who knows?

Where do we get our values from? Where our children are getting their learning from? Movies.

The walking speaks of a going along with… It’s the first step.

Oh, this movie only has a mild amount of crudity or nudity… This movie only blasphemes the name of our precious Lord and Saviour seven times.

What are we following? COUNSEL speaks of a purpose and a way of thinking.

We don’t go to the world for wisdom. To seek what is popular and what is relevant. We don’t go to the worldly crowd to know what choices to make for our life or our lifestyle. AND, it doesn’t matter whether everyone else is doing it.

The Christian seeks wiser counsel. We seek the approval, not of men, but of God.

We are in the assembly. The blessed man isn’t a couch potato in front of the damnable TV. Blessed is the man that walketh NOT in the counsel of the ungodly.

That’s the first step in degeneration. Here’s the second step…

STANDING in the way of sinners.Here it’s a standing, with them, agreeing with them… We are called rather to ABSTAIN FROM ALL APPEARANCE OF EVIL.

The wise Christian rather seeks the company of those who know God. The way of sinners speaks of a path, a course of action.

The world has a pattern of behaviour and it can get entrenched. It gets embedded in our psyche. And, before we know it, we start walking and talking the same way as the world.

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.

It goes on to SITTING in the seat of the scornful.

Our Toxic culture mocks God. It is hostile towards God.

Sitting with the scornful of the world leads to adopting its attitudes. And neglecting the standards of the Bible.

This word, to sit, has the sense of to abide, dwell, remain… We can settle there… Get comfortable… Lean back the easy chair and laugh along with all the smutty jokes. Go along to get along.

This sounds a lot like what Lot did… Bit by bit he inched closer, till it ended up that he was right there, in the heart of it. And he didn’t fit there, but he got settled there.

We aren’t meant to settle down, here on earth, but we are meant to be travellers… passing through.

What we see right here is a call to separation… We seek a different fellowship. We who are saved want a different company – we want to be around people who love God.

The blessed man will be found in the assembly, gathering together with God’s people.

You know when I move house – when I move to a different town one of the first things I do is look out for a good church where I can call home. Because I want to be around God’s people. And I will make it my business to be around God’s people every time they gather, as much as I possibly can.

If you want to be blessed, get in the ASSEMBLY.

The believer walks different – he seeks out a different company. He hangs around people who also want God’s blessing.

He won’t hang around the bar and the nightclub and the disco to find his friends he will follow, and listen to their counsel and stand around and laugh at their cursing and mocking of God and the right. The blessed man won’t be found at the bottle shop. Or the TAB…

He won’t hang around with those who will curse and mock His savior, they won’t like his Facebook posts because he is on a different wavelength.

And another thing about believers is that we speak with new tongues. In other words we have a language that is different. We are different from those who curse and swear and use crudity and blasphemy. We want to get together with God’s people.

The blessed man will be in the assembly.

As someone has put it: He doesn’t BELIEVE like the wicked. He doesn’t BEHAVE like the wicked. He doesn’t BELONG with the wicked.

All around us we see a steady infiltrating influence.

Mind pollution.

Global forces from the kingdom of darkness want to steer us into a conformity to the world.

Even the comedy isn’t funny anymore.

Fools mock at sin.

Comedians now regularly mock what is right and decent.

Whatever happened to aiming at raising our children godly…?

Let’s recognise the programming that promotes delusion…

The godly man will aim down a different track… He will be committed to making spiritual progress. To be led by the Lord.

So, the Blessed Man will be in the ASSEMBLY, morning, night, and mid week. If you want to be blessed be in the assembly. Get together with God’s people, the church of God.

IN the ASSEMBLY. That is the A of our ABCs of Blessedness…

Secondly, the Blessed Man will be… Here is the B.

2. IN THE BOOK

We have found the Book of God.

(2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

People DELIGHT in all kinds of things. Some delight is sports. In music. In the latest trashy movie from Hellywood. People delight in the latest fad and gimmick.

Our delight is different from the world.

Where will true blessing be found? In the Book. The Book of God. The Word of God. The Blessed Holy Bible.

his delight is in the law of the LORD;

Our delight is in THE WORD. It’s our passion. Our life revolves around this… It inspires us. It lifts our spirit. It is the rejoicing of our heart.

The godly one will take pleasure in this. Study it. Absorb it.

Get yourself a King James Bible and treasure it. Don’t settle for anything less. A King James Bible, or its equivalent in your language.

And as we do we will know and do… Right doctrine Right deeds

This is our treasure.Not the passing vanities of the godless.

But the timeless truths of God’s sure Word.

The blessed man will be found in the Book. The blessed Book.

We value these truths.In these pages we find God’s answers, we find His directions for Blessing. We see the qualities of eternity, a richness, a

treasure trove beyond compare; the riches of His glory…

Get in the Book.

We are called to Biblical meditation. This isn’t emptying the mind – but rather filling up the mind with the truth of God’s word.

This phrase, day and night, is another way of saying constantly, regularly, consistently…

Let us sit up, and take notice…

True blessing will be found in the Book.

May we ready our hearts for the discipline of truth. Truth we apply in our every day.

This book is a Chain breaker for our every bondage and snare.

We are called to a life governed by truth.

This Word – not just read – but obeyed, will yield precious fruit.

Keep it. Hide it.

How we underestimate the value of Bible memorisation…!!

This very Psalm is a good one to hide in your heart. Memorise it.

Saturate yourself with the word of God.

Sanctify yourself in God’s truth.

Fill up your thinking and conversation with your discoveries from God’s word.

Let His word richly dwell in your life.

We see the source of blessing.

We see where the Blessed man will be.

He will be 1. IN THE ASSEMBLY2. IN THE BOOK, and

Thirdly, the blessed man, the man who is blessed, will be…

3. IN THE CARE AND CONTROL OF GOD

God cares for us.

True blessing is found as we are established under God’s care and control.

This phrase, care and control, is used of a guardian, someone who looks after someone.

It is a good thing to be under the care and control of God.

Sadly many are out of God’s care and out of control… But the Lord wants better for us… Her wants us to be planted…

(3) 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 picture here is of a tree planted, cultivated, tended by God…Literally, TRANSPLANTED…

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water…

We can be planted there, under God’s care and control, and cultivation… It’s where we can grow and flourish and produce fruit…

The believer has a QUALITY OF LIFE, that shows through, in all the different

dimensions of living… under God’s care we can be established… and know... Consistency Integrity Accountability – all of us will be held

accountable for what we have been entrusted with.

God wants us to be like a tree… planted where we can be spiritually nourished. Where our faith can keep fresh and vibrant.

We can be planted in a church fellowship. Planted where we can grow stronger. The church is God’s design. It’s where He wants us to be, established there.

A tree speaks of being STURDY. God doesn’t want you to be like a tumble weed.

Many Christians are NOT PLANTED. They are easily swayed. Unstable. Blown around with every wind of doctrine. Rather be planted.

A tree pictures GROWTH. God doesn’t want you to be immature and stunted in your

growth. We are under his care and control. And His design for us is that we grow.

A tree also pictures ministry. A tree produces something – whether it be fruit, shade…

It says we are meant to be Planted…. PLANTED BY THE RIVERS - what a picture of stability and of growth.

The well watered tree will be grounded and it will manage even in the midst of the storms. The hard times.

The river speaks of God’s care. His provision for our lives.

God sustains us. He is our source. Our Lord Jesus is our supply.

The rivers… tell us of how we are connected to an unfailing source of life and strength. We know the riches of God’s grace.

This tree brings forth fruit. God wants you to be fruitful. He wants us to bear fruit that remains.

Do you know God’s care and control for your life? True blessing is found here.

…his leaf also shall not wither…

The leaf shows vitality and freshness. We have life. Our life is hid with Christ in God.

The godly man has found the secret of happiness. True blessedness.

Here is… A man after God’s own heart A surrendered man

A man in right connection with God. Led by the Spirit. A conscience void of offence. It’s been said that the conscience is the

whisper of God in the soul of man.

The godly man hears the whisper of God in his soul.

He has found the care and control of God.

He has come under God’s direction and training.

He is not like a wild dog, out of control. True freedom is not found in a careless destructive lifestyle.

The blessed man has come to find peace and stability in coming under God’s tender care and God’s loving control which is for his benefit. God’s care and control brings us peace and security.

For the blessed man… It tells us there is a prosperity here – a success in terms of God’s supply and direction.

An abundance - of character. A joyfulness of heart.

WHAT A CONTRAST IT IS to with the ungodly. Out of God’s care. Out of

control. Treading a destructive, deadly path.

In contrast…

(4) The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

The ungodly are NOT so.

They don’t know the pathway of blessing.

Many live – it seems – as they would understand it, meaningless lives in a meaningless universe. This is at the heart of atheism.

They are living yet, truly, dead. They are the living dead.

They live lives that are devoid of real hope, without substance, lives of no tangible value, without meaning or purpose.

The ungodly are like the chaff that the wind drives away.

We see a relentless promotion around us, of Humanism – and a deliberate propaganda campaign of anti Christian values and an undermining of decency and virtue, everywhere we look.

There’s a madness sweeping our planet now that men should be able to use women’s change rooms.

The ungodly are a waste of a life.

What a stark CONTRAST.

The ungodly are not compared to a sturdy tree!

They are like the chaff.

They are like the chaff – this is the debris – the useless parts of the grain after it has been harvested - the worthless bits – the wicked are useless.

It is a picture of futility. Those who do not know God truly, live a futile life.

As we see the godless world system ramping up its war against God.

It’s as if we are at a tipping point in how the world is running…

The fools who run the media, by and large, are… Misguided Ego-centric Directionless.

These are the social engineers who are perverting our children in the day care centres and schools and who are bending the minds of our youth in the universities of our land…

They are like the chaff.

These are are the godless people who scoff at the mention of hell. They ridicule the idea that such a place exists. Yet deep down inside, I reckon almost every unbeliever fears that it is a reality.

A fellow skeptic once asked the famous atheist Voltaire if he would speak some words of comfort to a friend who was dying.

Voltaire responded, "I don’t think I can do that. The thought that there might really be a hell plagues me continually."

(5) Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

The godless are not found in the ASSEMBLY, in the congregation of the righteous. They reject the BOOK that shows the pathway to true blessedness. And they are not under the CARE AND CONTROL of God.

Yet, the blessed man has taken a different track. The pathway of blessing.

(6) For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Will you tread the pathway to hell?

Or do you know the Lord and does the Lord know you?

The word urges us to search for meaning and find reason to believe…

JUDGMENT is sure. Will you be prepared?

A day has been appointed for judgment.

Will you side with the mockers? You will regret it, when you share their fate.

The devil sings a sweet lullaby, as he rocks your cradle. He doesn’t want you to stir and wake up.

I pray you will awaken and see what is happening.

That will you be transformed by this word? It is here that you can receive a blessing.

Do you want to be a blessed man?

The word has power…

George Whitefield, the great eighteenth-century evangelist, was hounded by a group of detractors . They called themselves the “Hell-fire Club.”

They derided his work and mocked him.

On one occasion one of them, a man named Thorpe, was mimicking Whitefield to his cronies. Thorpe acted out Whitfield’s sermon with brilliant accuracy, perfectly imitating his tone and facial expressions.

But then the man himself was so pierced that he sat down and was converted on the spot.

The word has power.

Mock this book, this faith, and you will be damned.

Receive it, and the soul saving message it contains, trust the Saviour’s care and control for your life, as you receive His pardon and His grace, and you will be saved.

Go to God’s word in prayer.

It is God’s Word that shapes our attitudes and our worldview, our thinking, our mindset.

We are like a tree planted by the rivers of water.

We are not like the chaff which the wind drives away…

We have a life giving stream.

He sustains our life.

Psalms 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

What about you?

Is God your sustainer?

Have you been planted – transplanted yet?

Where are you?

Are you like a tree, or like chaff?

Will you be like a strong and beautiful, flourishing tree, or as worthless chaff.

What’s inside you will be revealed.

The Lord Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats.

Will you remain in the false comfort zone of unbelief?

Or will you step into the Word zone. Will you let the Word shape you and impact your life? And develop godly character in you?

Will you let God sustain your life?

We can give up our self-sufficiency, and come to find and know personally the sufficiency of God.

Will you be one who has found the truth?

Will you do what God has called you to do?

Don’t back downIt’s all or nothing

The way of blessing is the way of righteousness. It is intimacy with God.

Will you say,I have made up my mind.I have decided to follow Jesus.

I urge you… to…Rise to the challenge

Have a willing heart to tread this pathway to blessing.

Be s blessed man

In the AssemblyIn the BookIN the Care and Control of God.