Biblical Focus: Psalms 1:6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Transcription

1 Osceola Sermon Bible Psalms April 14, 2013 Pastor Bob Vale / The High Road or The Low Road? (Poetic Book of Psalms) In Psalms: April 14 th, 2013 Book Theme: He is your song-and your reason to sing. Sermon Title: Cross Roads or Blessings or Curses? Sermon Topic: Which road will you take in life: High Road or Low Road Sermon Text: Psalms 1:1-6 Speaker: Pastor Bob Vale Biblical Focus: Psalms 1:6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Scripture Lesson: Psalms 1:1-6 PS 1:1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. PS 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. PS 1:3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. PS 1:4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. PS 1:5 Therefore the wicked will not PS stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 1:6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. 8:30 a.m. Traditional Worship Service: Hymn of Praise: # 10 There Shall Be Showers of Blessings (wildwood) The Apostles Creed: # 881 (Methodist Hymnal) Prayer Hymn: # 141 There s Something About That Name: (Wildwood) Hymn of Response: # 57 When the Roll is Called up Yonder (Wildwood book) 11 a.m. Solid Praise Contemporary Worship Service: See Matt Boggs List.

2 Martin Luther once said, I study my Bible like I gather apples. First, I shake the whole tree that the ripest may fall. Then I shake each limb, and when I have shaken each limb, I shake each branch and every twig. Then I look under every leaf. I search the Bible as a whole like shaking the whole tree. Then I shake every limb--study book after book. Then I shake every branch, giving attention to the chapters. Then I shake every twig, or a careful study of the paragraphs and sentences and words and their meanings. As we look into the Psalms there are a lot of branches to shake. In fact, the book of Psalms has the most chapters; 150 of them. The meaning of the book of Psalms: Book of Praises. Who is the Author?: A number of authors. 1. Almost half (73 Psalms) are attributed to David were by Asap were by the sons of Korah by Solomon. ( 2 & 127) 5. 1 by Moses. (90) 6. 1 by Herman by Ethan are anonymous. 9. When Written: The Psalms were written over a wide span of time from Moses (1410 B.C.) to the time of Ezra and Nehemiah (400 B.C.) 10. Within the book of Psalms there are 150 chapters, 2,461 verses and 43,743words. 11. Every one of the 150 Psalms contains some note of praise to God.

3 The Book of Psalms is actually five books in one: 1. Book 1 - Psalms Book 2 - Psalms Book 3 - Psalms Book 4 - Psalms Book 5 - Psalms There are ten types of Psalms: 1. Individual Lament Psalms: One Third of Psalms are Laments, which are sad stories, yet praise God in the end. 2. Communal Lament Psalms 3. Individual Thanksgiving Psalms 4. Communal Thanksgiving Psalms. 5. General Praise Psalms 6. Descriptive Praise Psalms 7. Enthronement Psalms 8. Pilgrimage Psalms 9. Royal Psalms 10. Wisdom and Didactic Psalms *Choices: Today we are talking about choices in our lives. When I was a kid growing up in a family of 6; my parents generally gave me two choices on most things: Take it or Leave it. Our entire lives are made of choices: Hopefully we make good choices rather than bad ones. Being a reader and follower of the Bible will help you made good choices in life. The Psalmist in our scripture reading today expresses a choice of two different paths in life; A path to follow God or a path not to follow God. The choice is always ours.

4 Illustration: The great American poet, Robert Frost wrote one of the most famous poems of literature. (The Road Not Taken) Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could see. To where it bent in the undergrowth Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Through as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how the way leads on the way, I doubted if ever I should come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I. I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

5 I like the last paragraph of this poem. I hear it saying, with a thinking sigh, many years from now as I reflect upon my decision, I chose to take the road few folks take.and it made all the difference in my life. Perhaps God s road is like that. The good and righteous road is the road to take and not the sinful foolish road. I m somewhat inclined to believe that. According to our passage in the book of Psalms today there are two clear choices: Psalms 1:1-6 Choice # 1: Someone who: walks in the counsel of the wicked or stands in the way of sinners or sits at the seat of mockers. Choice # 2: His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. There are also obvious consequences for each choice, or each road we decide to take in life. Let s look at what some of the results are from these choices: Choice # 1: Someone who: walks in the counsel of the wicked or stands in the way of sinners or sits at the seat of mockers. 1. Vs. 4 they are like the chaff that blows away with the wind. 2. Vs. 5 They will not stand in the judgment. One way ticket. 3. Vs. 5 They will not be with the righteous people. 4. Vs. 6 The wicked will perish.

6 Choice # 2: Someone who delights in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. (This is the choice to follow God with our lives.) 1. Vs. 3 They are like a tree planted by streams of water. 2. Vs. 3 Yields fruit in season. (prosperous.) 3. Vs. 3 Leaves does not wither. (Blessings or long life) 4. Vs. 3 Whatever they do in life they prosper. 5. Vs. 6 The Lord watches over the righteous. Let s take a more in-depth look at the consequences of these choices. Choice # 1: Someone who: walks in the counsel of the wicked or stands in the way of sinners or sits at the seat of mockers. 1. Vs. 4 they are like the chaff that blows away with the wind. a. At the harvest the farmer has the hulls of the wheat that are separated from the meat of the grain. The grain is the prize for the farmer and the chaff or hull, can just blow away in the wind, never to be worried about again. b. So it is with the wicked in this life. Their choices have led them down a path towards insignificance. Not to be remembered past their days. c. There is no such thing as a Good Person or a Bad Person These are just labels we put on people. People are people in God s eyes; Yet people choose to do good things in their life or people choose to do bad things. (Free Will) It is about the choices we make that define us. d. This is similar to the thought that there is no such thing as darkness; only the absence of light.

7 2. Vs. 5 They will not stand in the judgment. One way ticket. a. Interesting that this verse says they will not stand in judgment. b. Hebrews 9:27 says that everyone upon death will receive judgment from God. c. Perhaps from the psalmist point of view, the sinner will not go to the judgment of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, as mentioned in Revelation 19:6; or perhaps they will not have the righteous judgment of Matthew 25 for those who fed the hungry, clothed the naked or visited the sick; who will be asked to enter heaven. 3. Vs. 5 They will not be with the righteous people. a. This verse really lends itself to the Matthew 25 judgment between the sheep and the goats. King will say to the goats, depart from me, I never knew you. Yet to the righteous, he will say, welcome to your home, given to you since the creation of the world. Matthew 25:34 Then the King will say to those on his right, `Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. Matthew 25:41 "Then he will say to those on his left, `Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.

8 4. Vs. 6 The wicked will perish. Matthew 25:44-37 "They also will answer, `Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' MT 25:45 "He will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' MT 25:46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." It s all about choice. Have you made that choice? Illustration: Life is about choices: Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Michael and asked him, "I don t get it! You can t be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Michael replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or... you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or... I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life. "Yeah, right, it s not that easy," I protested. "Yes, it is," Michael said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You

9 choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It s your choice how you live your life." I reflected on what Michael said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. Several years later, I heard that Michael was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Michael was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw Michael about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I d be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon to be born daughter, "Michael replied. Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live." "Weren t you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Michael continued, "...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read "he s a dead man. I knew I needed to take action." "What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me. Said Michael. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. Yes, I replied." The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, "Gravity." Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live.

10 Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead." Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that everyday we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:34 After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. Are you like Michael? Choice # 2: His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. (This is the choice to follow God with our lives.) 1. Vs. 3 They are like a tree planted by streams of water. Both trees are huge. The root system taps into the continual water supply. a. The Christian also has the opportunity to constantly tap into the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

11 b. Illustration: Pine Cone of the Giant Sequoia Tree. The largest living organism in the world begins with one of the smallest seeds. Seeds the size of oatmeal; grow into trees the size of skyscrapers. 2. Vs. 3 Yields fruit in season. (Prosperous.) a. Those who choose to live within the spirit of God will grow fruit in their lives. (I find it interesting that the Psalmist allows us to define the fruit ourselves. He did not say the person will be rich, healthy, or have a long life. However all of those things are possible. He just simply said, as a result of following God, our lives will grow fruit.) b. Fruit in our lives can be anything good that blesses us and others. 3. Vs. 3 Leaves does not wither. (Blessings or long life) a. I have to wonder if this description is talking about long life. Having leaves wither denotes seasons, where in the fall the leaves wither and fall away in preparation of winter. b. Perhaps God is saying if you obey me.you will live long upon the earth and be blessed; or perhaps you will experience eternal life and the leaf of your soul will never wither away!

12 c. The organization: One in Jesus information states: There is hard evidence and strong statistics that indicate that Christians do live longer in America than non-christians. 4. Vs. 3 Whatever they do in life they prosper. a. Doesn t this follow the simple rule we are taught as children: When we follow the good rules the bible our lives will prosper. b. Of course the opposite is true: When we don t follow the rules, we tend to get into trouble. 5. Vs. 6 The Lord watches over the righteous. a. I believe the Lord watches over his Children. b. There is a great passage in the Psalms, which tells us of God s loving kindness towards his people. Psalm 121:1-8 I lift up my eyes to the hills--where does my help come from? PS 121:2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. PS 121:3 He will not let your foot slip- - he who watches over you will not slumber; PS 121:4 indeed, he PS 121:5 who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you-- the LORD is your shade at your right hand; PS 121:6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. PS 121:7 The LORD will keep you from all harm-- he will watch over your life; PS 121:8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Illustration: God Cares for Us: A construction crew was building a new road through a rural area, knocking down trees as it progressed. The construction supervisor noticed that one tree had a nest of birds, which couldn't yet fly and he marked the tree so that it would not be cut down to save the little birds. Several weeks later the superintendent came back to the tree. He

13 got into a bucket truck and was lifted up so that he could peer into the nest. The fledgling birds were gone. They had obviously learned how to fly. The supervisor ordered the tree cut down. As the tree crashed to the ground, the nest fell clear and some of the material that the birds had gathered to make the nest was scattered about. Part of the next was a small colorful scrap of paper from a church Sunday morning bulletin. On the scrap of paper weaved within the sticks and straw of the next were these words: God cares for you. Which Road will you take in life? 1. The road that walks with God? 2. The road that walks away from God? That is the question the Psalmist is asking this morning. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I. I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

14 Let s Pray: Lord, we thank you for free will and the opportunity to choose a life with you or a life without you. Lord remind us that every choice we make, has a result and consequence. (Good or Bad) Lord we realize that Many of our troubles occur because we base our choices on unreliable authorities; the culture around us, when we say, ("everyone is doing it"), our steeped traditions, when we say, ("we've always done it that way"), our reason, when ("it seems logical"), or emotions, when ("it just felt right"). I hope all here today have chosen a good life with you. May you bless us richly with what we have learned today about choices. Amen. Words of Wisdom: Choices are like planting seeds. If you plant the sour crab apples of bad choices don t expect to enjoy a harvest of Golden Delicious Apples in the fall. Benediction: Numbers 6:24-26 May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord s face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you His peace. May God bless you until we meet again! Amen.

15 Pastor Bob s Sermon Notes Choice # 1: Someone who: walks in the counsel of the wicked or stands in the way of sinners or sits at the seat of mockers. 1. Vs. 4 they are like the chaff that blows away with the wind. 2. Vs. 5 They will not stand in the judgment. One way ticket. 3. Vs. 5 They will not be with the righteous people. 4. Vs. 6 The wicked will perish. Choice # 2: Someone who delights in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. (This is the choice to follow God with our lives.) 1. Vs. 3 They are like a tree planted by streams of water. 2. Vs. 3 Yields fruit in season. (prosperous.) 3. Vs. 3 Leaves does not wither. (Blessings or long life) 4. Vs. 3 Whatever they do in life they prosper. 5. Vs. 6 The Lord watches over the righteous.