The Title of this Message is Simply, "The Two Path's"
-I am sure that you have heard of Predestination... That word has been misunderstood, I think, by many people.
We are destined, to pass away. We are destined, to go to Heaven, or Hell. We are not however, pre-destined to go to one of these two destinations, before we are even born. Many people go this route with this word...
The only thing Pre-Destined, is the fact that ONE of these two Destinations, will be at the end of the PATH that you choose to take... Understand, our PATH'S are NOT pre-determined. It is our FREE-WILL to choose THE path, that determines our Destination....
As we examine the text,
we can deem verses 1-3 as, the Righteous Path, and verses 4-6 as, the Ungodly Path.
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."
The First word that we find in tonight's text is Blessed.
- In Hebrew, the word used here for "blessed" is the plural noun, "ashrey" (blessednesses).
It has been said, BLESSED is the man who HAS NOT GONE AWAY from the Lord.
-The word "counsel" is to be received as the decrees and doctrines in which society is formed.
We Must guard with all diligence against the appearance of what the devil has transformed into an "angel of light" to seduce us by his craftiness. There is a significant contrast between to the counsel of the wicked and the Word of God. This however, is not always apparent, initially....
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."
Reminds us to beware of wolves in sheep's clothing, who are always ready to give their counsel. While they may seemingly be counseling, teaching, and providing to people with their munipulative ways they OF ALL MEN ARE least qualified to do so. Somehow these people sucker others into believing that they have the answer to everything. That somehow or other They, are Diests' and that God has taken His Hands away from the World and THEY... can FIX IT. Next they begin to instill their own rules, their own doctrines and completely turn them away from the Lord. The tones of FALSEHOOD can be so Soothing.... They make people think that they can continue to disregard the Word of God and still be okay... There is always an underlying agenda, in the Counsel of the wicked....
The RIGHTEOUS, Know that, God is continually working things out according to His purpose.
-The Righteous man does NOT order his life according to ungodly Counsel.
The Righteous man is BLESSED --
1. By God;
2. In Christ;
3. In all circumstances;
4. Through time and eternity;
5. To the highest degree.
Verse 1
a. Teaches a Godly man to beware,
1. of opinions,
2. to beware of the practical life, and
3. to beware of the company and association of those whom evil is habitual, for whom wickedness is a way of life.
The Righteous man Must not stand among Sinners nor Sit in the scornful seat of those who ridicule God and defiantly, reject His law.
Let our eyes and hearts not fail us because the margin between what is good and evil is often, not that wide at all... More on that in a bit.
--------------------------
We see in VERSE 2,
The Righteous man seeks guidance for life in God's law, rather than in the deliberations of the wicked.
2 "But his delight is in the law of the LORD; And in his law doth he meditate day and night"
-The Hebrew Word here used for Meditate is "hagah." It means, to engage in mental excercise for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness.
Psalms 37:30, says "The mouth of the righteous shall meditate wisdom."
The Righteous, takes delight in The Word of God and as we become acquainted with IT, We long to be in the company of those who do the same.
A company that shows delight in The Word. Thinking of it, reading it, speaking of it and obeying it, Day and Night. When we are in THIS company of God's people, together we will take delight in the Word, and obey the Word, by applying the Word.
When you read the Newspaper and see all of today's current events, Do You believe that God is Sovereign? If you are constantly in meditation of God's word this, is an easy answer... Absolutely....
> Research Comments HERE... Pastor John, Homework, etc.
--"The godly man will read the Word by day, that men, seeing his good works, may glorify his Father who is in heaven; he will do it in the night, that he may not be seen of men.: by day, to show that he does not dread the light; by night, to show that he can shine in darkness: lest his Master should come as a thief, and find him idle."-- Sir Richard Baker.
I love this quote. Let me tell you, it is a blessing and anyone of you whom have dug Deep into God's Word and Fed Off of God's Word you realize, you just can not put it down. It is such a blessing, such an enlightenment that the more and more you get, the more and more you want! Don't tell me that this book is not Inspired by the Holy Spirit!
Is your delight in the law of God? Do you study God's Word? Do you make it your best companion and hourly guide? If not, this blessing may not belong to you....
----------------------
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."
You see here that the RIGHTEOUS man, is pictured as a TREE.
When looking at a tree, one can easily see God's picture of Life.
A good Strong Trunk, Big Heavy Branches bearing Luscious Fruit and Beautiful Leaves. Such a tree withstands intense weathering conditions. Flourishing, it blesses all that are on the earth with its unfailing fruit and shade that it provides. What we don't see are the Roots, deep into the depths of the ground, soaking up the water of the earth.
Without the supply of water, and the drawing of roots, there is no fruit, no leaves.
Notice the word "rivers" here. It is plural. This is the Hebrew word "yubal," meaning a stream or canal. It is also used in Jeremiah 17:8 which reads: "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 heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit."
In both of these texts the word "yubal" is used for river, meaning, stream. The definition of the word Stream is "a Constantly Renewed Body of Water." Water, here is used to picture the Holy Spirit of God. We can find further reference to this, in The Gospel of John Chapter 7:37, 38 and 39.
In these texts.
The Tree, is Man. The Rivers or Streams (yubal) , are A Constant Renewed Body of, Water, The Holy Spirit.
Do you see how that works?
The TREE or MAN, is to have a Constant Renewal with the Holy Spirit.
We MUST have a Constant Relationship with GOD. We Must constantly, Repent of our iniquities.
Sometimes, we, TREE'S if you will, tend to focus too much on the fruit and the leaves but without good strong roots, we can not draw water from the rivers.
WE must send our "Spiritual Roots" deep into the Spiritual Water of Christ's and from it let our roots draw so that WE may be Renewed, in the Holy Spirit. Christ is the Everlasting River of Life that brings forth gracious fruit. Fruitfulness is an, essential quality of a gracious man. A righteous man's fruit, through Christ will be always be seasonable and his leaves will not wither.
What does Christ Say in MATTHEW 15:13? "Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up."
See we are not a wild Tree. We are a "Planted Tree." Planted by our Lord. Secure from the last terrible uprooting.
-To the last part of Verse 3,
"And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." It is not outward prosperity which the righteous man most desires and values; it is prosperity of the SOUL in which he longs for. I want to tie verses 2 and 3 in with a verse out of Joshua Chapter 1:8." (Read Joshua 1:8)
That is verses 2 and 3 in a nutshell. Don't you Love how the Bible Connects?
-----------------------------------
4 "The ungodly are not so: But are like the chaff which the wind driveth away."
Here we are to understand that whatever good is said of the righteous, is not true in the case of the ungodly.
The word Chaff in Hebrew is "mots." It literally means, Debris separated from the seed in grain. It also means, Something comparatively worthless.
- See Job 21:18 "They (ungodly) are as stubble before the wind, And as chaff that the storm carrieth away." Also (Isaiah 17:13)
When the chaff is united and keeps close to the wheat, it may be carefully laid up and be blessed; but as soon as it is divided, and parted from the wheat, it is carried away by the lightest wind, and its removal brings about cleansing by extracting what is utterly useless.
It can be said that the Ungodly, is nothing more than debris, not in union to "The Seed", which is Jesus Christ. I was that Chaff... You were that Chaff... Perhaps today you are that Chaff. Without Christ We are Something comparatively worthless, than when we are united with the seed.
In book of Ecclesiastes Solomon says, "all that is gained, without the Lord is Vanity." It's Empty..
Understand where Solomon is coming from. He was the Wisest, The Richest and Had a few Hundred too many wives. Solomon was reflecting upon how he became seperated from the "seed." He was Backslidden... Seperated from the Lord. Solomon was swayed by the women that he loved and began to worship "their" goddesses. You can not have a fast and loose relationship with the Lord. You Can NOT take the Word of God, Set it aside, embrace sin and live without consequences. Was Solomon Saved by Grace, yes, but even Secular History records the time after Solomon's reign the Once Prominant Land, became known as "The Kingdom, Divided." In the Old Testament you can find the decimation and division of this Land in 2 Chronicles...
Solomon had All of the Knowledge, All of the Money, and All of the Women... He realized that all of these fleshly pleasures were nothing more than temporary full-fillment, in a temporary world. All of these were comparatively Worthless...
5 "Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous."
-Now don't misunderstand this text to think that it is eluding to the UNgodly, Not being Judged.
The wicked will surely be present in that Great day of judgement, However they will not be able to (stand) or endure God's Wrath when he judges.
The ungodly will fall to their knees in confession of sin and of the truth of God's Word and His Son. Never will they be able to enter the Heavenly Congregation of The Righteous. Even though here on earth, God's precious Diamonds are surely amongst many pebbles.
Our congregation's in Today's Churches are made up of both the Righteous AND the UnGodly. Don't kid yourself, Every local assembly has at least one devil in it. No assembly (church) is thoroughly purged from the "chaff." Think of it like this..... If Jesus' twelve HAND picked Disciples had one devil in it, who are we to be so nieve to think that our assembly is an exception?
Matthew 16:18 reads ".... upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
This Church, consists of those whom are included in Christ. Those Whom are UNDER the BLOOD. These are those that make up the, Worshiping Assembly at God's Sanctuary.
The Righteous, God's people.
The ungodly face a Double Whammy... First, they are condemned at judgement. Second, they are separated from the Saints.
Part of me believes that those who are ungodly, have accepted these two Facts. They have chosen not to be included in Christ therefore presenting the notion that they want no part of Heaven. They would be out of their element! Like a fish out of water, Heaven would be an intolerable Hell to the wicked, even if they could enter. They WILL NOT be granted such a priviledge, only the righteous (those included in Christ) will have eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
6 "For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: But the way of the ungodly shall perish."
The word "know" used here in the first sentence is the word (yada,) in Hebrew. This term carries the idea of God choosing and caring for his people. This should be viewed as a sweet encouragement to the tried people of God.
-Let us take a look at 2 Timothy 2:19 " Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." Look at Christ's statement in Matthew 7:23 "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
Life is an eternal plan of God. It is HIS plan. He has Laid these TWO Paths in Front of Us. It is up to us to choose the Correct Path. That is Our FREE-WILL. Everything has eternal consequences. The ungodly have turned everyone to his own way. His way of pleasure, of pride, of unbelief, of profanity, of persecution, of self deception, etc. All of these shall come to an end.
-It is evident throughout the Word of God that He has indeed Declared that there is a final outcome of the two "ways": "the way of the righteous" (v.1) and "the way of the ungodly" (v.6)
Here, In this Psalm alone, we can CLEARLY see that There is a Final Outcome, at the End of Our Path.
-The people of God.... those whom He receives... in His presence... and favors with His salvation and blessing, must be characterized by righteousness-- Verse 5 tells us that Sinners will have no place among them.
The Devout followers of the Lord have a faithful response to God's revealed directives for life, which is the path that leads to blessedness.
-I am sure that you have heard of Predestination... That word has been misunderstood, I think, by many people.
We are destined, to pass away. We are destined, to go to Heaven, or Hell. We are not however, pre-destined to go to one of these two destinations, before we are even born. Many people go this route with this word...
The only thing Pre-Destined, is the fact that ONE of these two Destinations, will be at the end of the PATH that you choose to take... Understand, our PATH'S are NOT pre-determined. It is our FREE-WILL to choose THE path, that determines our Destination....
As we examine the text,
we can deem verses 1-3 as, the Righteous Path, and verses 4-6 as, the Ungodly Path.
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."
The First word that we find in tonight's text is Blessed.
- In Hebrew, the word used here for "blessed" is the plural noun, "ashrey" (blessednesses).
It has been said, BLESSED is the man who HAS NOT GONE AWAY from the Lord.
-The word "counsel" is to be received as the decrees and doctrines in which society is formed.
We Must guard with all diligence against the appearance of what the devil has transformed into an "angel of light" to seduce us by his craftiness. There is a significant contrast between to the counsel of the wicked and the Word of God. This however, is not always apparent, initially....
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."
Reminds us to beware of wolves in sheep's clothing, who are always ready to give their counsel. While they may seemingly be counseling, teaching, and providing to people with their munipulative ways they OF ALL MEN ARE least qualified to do so. Somehow these people sucker others into believing that they have the answer to everything. That somehow or other They, are Diests' and that God has taken His Hands away from the World and THEY... can FIX IT. Next they begin to instill their own rules, their own doctrines and completely turn them away from the Lord. The tones of FALSEHOOD can be so Soothing.... They make people think that they can continue to disregard the Word of God and still be okay... There is always an underlying agenda, in the Counsel of the wicked....
The RIGHTEOUS, Know that, God is continually working things out according to His purpose.
-The Righteous man does NOT order his life according to ungodly Counsel.
The Righteous man is BLESSED --
1. By God;
2. In Christ;
3. In all circumstances;
4. Through time and eternity;
5. To the highest degree.
Verse 1
a. Teaches a Godly man to beware,
1. of opinions,
2. to beware of the practical life, and
3. to beware of the company and association of those whom evil is habitual, for whom wickedness is a way of life.
The Righteous man Must not stand among Sinners nor Sit in the scornful seat of those who ridicule God and defiantly, reject His law.
Let our eyes and hearts not fail us because the margin between what is good and evil is often, not that wide at all... More on that in a bit.
--------------------------
We see in VERSE 2,
The Righteous man seeks guidance for life in God's law, rather than in the deliberations of the wicked.
2 "But his delight is in the law of the LORD; And in his law doth he meditate day and night"
-The Hebrew Word here used for Meditate is "hagah." It means, to engage in mental excercise for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness.
Psalms 37:30, says "The mouth of the righteous shall meditate wisdom."
The Righteous, takes delight in The Word of God and as we become acquainted with IT, We long to be in the company of those who do the same.
A company that shows delight in The Word. Thinking of it, reading it, speaking of it and obeying it, Day and Night. When we are in THIS company of God's people, together we will take delight in the Word, and obey the Word, by applying the Word.
When you read the Newspaper and see all of today's current events, Do You believe that God is Sovereign? If you are constantly in meditation of God's word this, is an easy answer... Absolutely....
> Research Comments HERE... Pastor John, Homework, etc.
--"The godly man will read the Word by day, that men, seeing his good works, may glorify his Father who is in heaven; he will do it in the night, that he may not be seen of men.: by day, to show that he does not dread the light; by night, to show that he can shine in darkness: lest his Master should come as a thief, and find him idle."-- Sir Richard Baker.
I love this quote. Let me tell you, it is a blessing and anyone of you whom have dug Deep into God's Word and Fed Off of God's Word you realize, you just can not put it down. It is such a blessing, such an enlightenment that the more and more you get, the more and more you want! Don't tell me that this book is not Inspired by the Holy Spirit!
Is your delight in the law of God? Do you study God's Word? Do you make it your best companion and hourly guide? If not, this blessing may not belong to you....
----------------------
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."
You see here that the RIGHTEOUS man, is pictured as a TREE.
When looking at a tree, one can easily see God's picture of Life.
A good Strong Trunk, Big Heavy Branches bearing Luscious Fruit and Beautiful Leaves. Such a tree withstands intense weathering conditions. Flourishing, it blesses all that are on the earth with its unfailing fruit and shade that it provides. What we don't see are the Roots, deep into the depths of the ground, soaking up the water of the earth.
Without the supply of water, and the drawing of roots, there is no fruit, no leaves.
Notice the word "rivers" here. It is plural. This is the Hebrew word "yubal," meaning a stream or canal. It is also used in Jeremiah 17:8 which reads: "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 heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit."
In both of these texts the word "yubal" is used for river, meaning, stream. The definition of the word Stream is "a Constantly Renewed Body of Water." Water, here is used to picture the Holy Spirit of God. We can find further reference to this, in The Gospel of John Chapter 7:37, 38 and 39.
In these texts.
The Tree, is Man. The Rivers or Streams (yubal) , are A Constant Renewed Body of, Water, The Holy Spirit.
Do you see how that works?
The TREE or MAN, is to have a Constant Renewal with the Holy Spirit.
We MUST have a Constant Relationship with GOD. We Must constantly, Repent of our iniquities.
Sometimes, we, TREE'S if you will, tend to focus too much on the fruit and the leaves but without good strong roots, we can not draw water from the rivers.
WE must send our "Spiritual Roots" deep into the Spiritual Water of Christ's and from it let our roots draw so that WE may be Renewed, in the Holy Spirit. Christ is the Everlasting River of Life that brings forth gracious fruit. Fruitfulness is an, essential quality of a gracious man. A righteous man's fruit, through Christ will be always be seasonable and his leaves will not wither.
What does Christ Say in MATTHEW 15:13? "Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up."
See we are not a wild Tree. We are a "Planted Tree." Planted by our Lord. Secure from the last terrible uprooting.
-To the last part of Verse 3,
"And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." It is not outward prosperity which the righteous man most desires and values; it is prosperity of the SOUL in which he longs for. I want to tie verses 2 and 3 in with a verse out of Joshua Chapter 1:8." (Read Joshua 1:8)
That is verses 2 and 3 in a nutshell. Don't you Love how the Bible Connects?
-----------------------------------
4 "The ungodly are not so: But are like the chaff which the wind driveth away."
Here we are to understand that whatever good is said of the righteous, is not true in the case of the ungodly.
The word Chaff in Hebrew is "mots." It literally means, Debris separated from the seed in grain. It also means, Something comparatively worthless.
- See Job 21:18 "They (ungodly) are as stubble before the wind, And as chaff that the storm carrieth away." Also (Isaiah 17:13)
When the chaff is united and keeps close to the wheat, it may be carefully laid up and be blessed; but as soon as it is divided, and parted from the wheat, it is carried away by the lightest wind, and its removal brings about cleansing by extracting what is utterly useless.
It can be said that the Ungodly, is nothing more than debris, not in union to "The Seed", which is Jesus Christ. I was that Chaff... You were that Chaff... Perhaps today you are that Chaff. Without Christ We are Something comparatively worthless, than when we are united with the seed.
In book of Ecclesiastes Solomon says, "all that is gained, without the Lord is Vanity." It's Empty..
Understand where Solomon is coming from. He was the Wisest, The Richest and Had a few Hundred too many wives. Solomon was reflecting upon how he became seperated from the "seed." He was Backslidden... Seperated from the Lord. Solomon was swayed by the women that he loved and began to worship "their" goddesses. You can not have a fast and loose relationship with the Lord. You Can NOT take the Word of God, Set it aside, embrace sin and live without consequences. Was Solomon Saved by Grace, yes, but even Secular History records the time after Solomon's reign the Once Prominant Land, became known as "The Kingdom, Divided." In the Old Testament you can find the decimation and division of this Land in 2 Chronicles...
Solomon had All of the Knowledge, All of the Money, and All of the Women... He realized that all of these fleshly pleasures were nothing more than temporary full-fillment, in a temporary world. All of these were comparatively Worthless...
5 "Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous."
-Now don't misunderstand this text to think that it is eluding to the UNgodly, Not being Judged.
The wicked will surely be present in that Great day of judgement, However they will not be able to (stand) or endure God's Wrath when he judges.
The ungodly will fall to their knees in confession of sin and of the truth of God's Word and His Son. Never will they be able to enter the Heavenly Congregation of The Righteous. Even though here on earth, God's precious Diamonds are surely amongst many pebbles.
Our congregation's in Today's Churches are made up of both the Righteous AND the UnGodly. Don't kid yourself, Every local assembly has at least one devil in it. No assembly (church) is thoroughly purged from the "chaff." Think of it like this..... If Jesus' twelve HAND picked Disciples had one devil in it, who are we to be so nieve to think that our assembly is an exception?
Matthew 16:18 reads ".... upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
This Church, consists of those whom are included in Christ. Those Whom are UNDER the BLOOD. These are those that make up the, Worshiping Assembly at God's Sanctuary.
The Righteous, God's people.
The ungodly face a Double Whammy... First, they are condemned at judgement. Second, they are separated from the Saints.
Part of me believes that those who are ungodly, have accepted these two Facts. They have chosen not to be included in Christ therefore presenting the notion that they want no part of Heaven. They would be out of their element! Like a fish out of water, Heaven would be an intolerable Hell to the wicked, even if they could enter. They WILL NOT be granted such a priviledge, only the righteous (those included in Christ) will have eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
6 "For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: But the way of the ungodly shall perish."
The word "know" used here in the first sentence is the word (yada,) in Hebrew. This term carries the idea of God choosing and caring for his people. This should be viewed as a sweet encouragement to the tried people of God.
-Let us take a look at 2 Timothy 2:19 " Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." Look at Christ's statement in Matthew 7:23 "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
Life is an eternal plan of God. It is HIS plan. He has Laid these TWO Paths in Front of Us. It is up to us to choose the Correct Path. That is Our FREE-WILL. Everything has eternal consequences. The ungodly have turned everyone to his own way. His way of pleasure, of pride, of unbelief, of profanity, of persecution, of self deception, etc. All of these shall come to an end.
-It is evident throughout the Word of God that He has indeed Declared that there is a final outcome of the two "ways": "the way of the righteous" (v.1) and "the way of the ungodly" (v.6)
Here, In this Psalm alone, we can CLEARLY see that There is a Final Outcome, at the End of Our Path.
-The people of God.... those whom He receives... in His presence... and favors with His salvation and blessing, must be characterized by righteousness-- Verse 5 tells us that Sinners will have no place among them.
The Devout followers of the Lord have a faithful response to God's revealed directives for life, which is the path that leads to blessedness.
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