Songs for Life- Music for the Road

Welcome To The River. City Church podcast and a

message by our lead. Pastor Jason Powers our prayer

is that this message would Inspire and encourage you, build

your faith. And point you to the

life-changing love of Jesus, may you enjoy the goodness of God as

you follow him today. Good morning, welcome.

I'm glad that you are here with us this morning and we begin as

we do every week with our Confession.

And our confession is as the body of Christ, it brings us to

the cross and it grounds us there and it routes us there.

And it is from there that we grow in.

Our confession is we are badly broken.

Grace and peace to you. Yeah.

I love coming up and saying that it's just a reminder would begin

with warship, musical worship. You know, why we begin with

musical worship? It's happened.

A lot we've done. It's kind of a traditional thing

in the church. We've done it forever.

But music is sticky, you know? I mean, sticky, right?

I don't remember a lot of things, but there's a Clint

Black song, Right. Ain't it funny how a Melody can

bring back a memory, right? And you remember, and suddenly a

song comes on. And I remember a song from My

childhood and I don't just remember it.

Like, when I listen to it? I am there, right?

It is like, it is fourth grade all over again, or whatever

wherever it is, because that's what music does.

And I truly think that music is well, it's their components to

it, right? And so we sing, you know, find

me grateful. Find me thankful, find me on my

knees. And I am, I am kind of a head

guy, right? And so, I hear those words and I

process those, those words and I think gratitude, okay, out

Thankful and on my knees and it's a posture and its position

of worship and it's good that and so I can sing that song, I

can say those words and it's and there's something to it.

It's a significant thing, right? It's kind of like engaging my

intellect. Oh yes.

Okay. Yes.

I need to be thankful and to be grateful and I can pray and I

can do that. When you put music to it,

something happens, music moves us music is it's it's in the

soul, right? Like you hear music and it

touches this at a deeper level and so when we have Music and we

have words and we have lyrics and we have this song together.

It is this whole thing as this holistic person and again we

acknowledge and we recognize there are some people who don't

like the music, right? Like they don't like that they

just say get let's just power through maybe they show up later

they linger and get coffee right?

Nobody in here, does that I'm sure but in the other services

right? They linger until the song

service over and then they come in and then let's just get down

to it right here. I get it.

I understand that's that's fine. But I really believe there's

something valuable about A music worship service because there's

people on the other side to there in.

Just like that guy, blah, blah, blah, all the time.

Let's worship. Let's do it.

I get it. You're both not wrong, but

something powerful happens when it comes together.

Music moves us songs, move us. It's a significant thing.

And so, as we begin our study in the Book of Psalms, that's an

important idea to keep in mind. The Psalms are, literally the

songbook of a pea. It is the prayers.

That is the song, all of the songs were at one time set to

music. They have to all these musical

kind of notations that go, they can tell a little bit about it,

but the Psalms are the prayer book.

The hymn book of the Hebrew people, the Israelites as they

wandered in the wilderness as they wrestled, as they contended

with, what does it mean to be a people of God?

Right. And we know the people had the

temple right in the wilderness as they wandered in the

wilderness outside of Egypt. They had Add the Tabernacle the

place where the body of God, dwelt where God was there, and

they were gathered around him, and this was the whole idea.

And so as they wrestle with, what does it mean to be a people

of God? And it's great because there's

some Psalms that we read and we say reading music, oh man, how

great you are. God you have done all these

things for us. God, you have overcome our

enemies and God, you have all of these wonderful things and we

read the Psalms like down we go. Yes, that's what I would expect,

but you read other Psalms where you just go?

Oh God, where are you? God have you abandoned us?

Have you abandoned me. God, we have enemies and I

thought you were going to take care of them.

See the language of the Psalms of the language of The Human

Experience. The language of the human

Spirit, the Psalms are not neat and tidy, you read the book of

Romans and you have just this laser precise Theology of

salvation. And you have in the Psalms my

God my God. Why have you forsaken me?

You have in The Narrative of Jesus in the gospels.

You have this biography of the men and you have this

chronological this time for this thematic, presentation of a life

and you have in the Psalms even though I walk through the valley

of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.

The Psalms are raw. The Psalms are emotional.

There's a lot of symbol in the Psalms there's lots of kind of

declarations, psalm 19, the heavens declare the glory of

God. What does that mean?

What does it look like Psalms are written in the language of

emotion there, like I said from time to time uncomfortable they

confront us with things where as you read.

First five books Genesis Exodus, Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy

and it's like history first. This happened.

And then this happened. And then God said and then Moses

did and he went and there was a gyptians and there's fared you

read it, you go. Yes.

It's a, it's a nice tight night. You know, tidy Turn the Page you

get and then you get to the Psalms and it moves us and it

challenges us, which is good for us.

Because there are moments where we first thing we have to

realize and recognizing contend with is this fact that we are in

the same way that the people of Israel, contended, with what it

meant to be a people of God of people, with God and their

presence. We too.

As Believers as Christians as followers of Christ or as people

who are seeking this, this is our experience.

What does it mean to say? We are the body of Christ and

especially, when we have those moments, when we go God, where

are you? And sometimes, maybe you have

said, God, where are you? And then you go don't even say

that. Is that, okay?

And you wonder the Psalms are good news for you as you wrestle

with life. That is messy.

And untidy and doesn't fit into nice neat, theological boxes and

their poems. There's a policy to them.

There is a rhythm to them, the Psalms are music for the road of

life's journey. Now listen, there's 150 Psalms,

it's an exhaustive book, there's a lot to it.

And so, we're certainly not going to cover them.

We're going to kind of touch some high points and we're going

to kind of move our way through them.

But here's my invitation and here.

My challenge to you. As we talked the last several

weeks, we talked about identity, right?

Like, who are you in Christ? I'm sorry.

You're a new creation and you're created to do.

Good works, and you are the Beloved.

And those are nice neat ideas that you can take and kind of

chew on unless whatever. What, I don't want you to do, is

to do that with the Psalms because he the Psalms are music

to be entered into. So let them enter into be.

It's like, you know, a sad song. Why is it that?

When we're sad we listen to sad songs.

Why do we do that? What is wrong with us?

I want to say. Because there's something about

the sad songs that allows us to express the Psalms are like

that. They give language for prayers

prayers that we don't know how to pray.

Praise that prayers, that we don't even know we're allowed to

pray. So, as we go for the next couple

weeks, I really would invite you to bring the Psalms out of the

theological box to pray them. Turn them into prayers how to

invite you and encourage you and challenge you to feel them.

And you got to know. I'm not a, I'm not a feeler.

I'm just, I'm just not like I don't get it, but I know there

are things that when I can enter into these Psalms that can move

me and can challenge me because the Psalms are unique in Cannon

everywhere else in a cannon. Everything else in Scripture

that we look at, is, it's listen, the story of the Bible,

the Bible is not our story, okay?

The Bible is not about me, it's about God now.

People Humanity has a part in a role in a play in that butt.

Right in the center of our Bibles, right there.

In the center, of our scriptures between the history books and

then the prophecies, right? And then the biographies, and

then the Epistles and then there's the Revelation, which is

a weird like a fever dream. Right?

What do we do, though? That right Square in the middle,

are the songs. And the songs are, like I said,

it's Israel's prayer book. If you could peek into someone's

intimate prayer journal the thoughts that that they think

about God. And the things that They say to

God and they're quiet intimate moments with him, that's what we

find in the Psalms. And so I believe that they can

speak to and enter into your experience with God as well.

So, as we begin, we're going to begin in Psalm chapter 1.

Psalms 1 · chapter mention

If you got your scriptures, however, you go, you can find

out and Psalm chapter one, introduces us to the whole at

the whole group, the whole book of Psalms together as a group,

is called the psalter. Okay?

And so, the soldier begins, they lived two songs begins at a

Crossroads. Okay, and this is important.

As we enter into what's coming, we stand at a road, right?

Robert Frost wrote two roads diverged in the wood, and I took

the One Less Traveled by and that has made all the

difference, right? And so, here we come to a

decision. We have a Crossroads, we have a

choice that we have to make, so I want you to imagine for a

second again. Imagine you're the Prodigal Son.

Remember, we saw last week, we read about the prodigal son

right in the Prodigal, Son. Grew up in the house grow.

But Dad didn't really get Dad, right?

Dad, have a lot. Dad was wealthy.

Grab the Sun and he basically said, Dad, I want to go do my

own thing. So he takes everything and he

goes, and he goes to a Faraway land where he squanders

everything, and then when it's short amount of time, he ends up

feeding pigs. Right?

So here and then he comes back on.

So here we have the prodigal son.

We have, he has seen the very bottom.

He has the lowest of the low and is come back and he's

experienced Redemption, and he has felt the Embrace of father,

and he has seen restoration, had the ring, put on his finger and

he's It's all that. So I imagine want you to imagine

now that you're the prodigal son and you're Fifteen years down

the road with your experience because we've all had those

experiences we've had good times, and we've had bad times,

we've had seasons of fruit and we've had season of

fruitlessness. And so, I want you to Imagine

The Prodigal Son and your 15 years down the road and you take

a pin. It's a quiet morning and you're

sitting out on your back porch, right?

It's finally fall and you're on the back porch, and you write

these words, Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with a

wicked. So when I first came to this

passage and I first memorized this passage, it was the NIV but

it was a earlier translation and said blessed is He Who Walks not

in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way that Sinners

take or sit in the company of mockers?

But his Delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on

his law day and night. So, this is a meditation, this

is an in kind of broad categories of the poems is

called a wisdom poem, right? As a declaration of awareness

and understanding and right from the beginning.

He begins to set out this choice that we have, right?

And he uses the word blessed and we're blessed.

Like we under blessed is kind of like a, like, a churchy turn,

right? And we're not really sure what

to do with it. Does it mean Rich doesn't mean

good things? Translation, the way that you

use this, the way that it's used to respiratory.

And literally it has implications of happiness, happy

happy as he and so now, he presents a choice, right?

These are the two roads that diverged.

Happy is. He who does not do something,

and happy is, he who does do something?

This is the choice that we make. When we read this, we can read

this kind of just intellectually with our brains do.

We have to see the implications? What he's talking about is a

choice at 8, we have to make and he's talking about a behavioral

pattern blessed, he he You walk some not, right?

So this is what they don't do. The happy one, is the person who

doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked, who doesn't stand in

the way that Sinners take who doesn't sit in the seat of

scoffers. So, let's unpack that a little

bit. What are those things?

Right? So it says who doesn't walk in

the counsel of the counsel of the wicked?

Let me ask you this question. When you have a big decision to

make and you seek counsel who do you go to?

And let me get dig a Little Deeper.

Do you attribute the same weight to everybody's Council?

And let me dig a Little Deeper. Do you ascribe the same weight

to the counsel of people as to the counsel of God?

And there's a situation in which on which God speaks do you

listen to God's voice and go? Okay.

My question isn't. Do I do this or do I not do

this? My question is now how do I do

this best? Let's take the end.

That's take marriage, for instance.

Say, your marriage is tough. Your marriage is in a bad place.

I know that would never happen, right?

Not not you. It's funny.

Except it's not because marriage is hard.

Let's imagine hypothetically that you're in a tough place and

your marriage communication isn't working.

You've got cold shoulders at home and lonely nights at home.

The kids are starting to recognize it and you're

wondering. Can I do this?

Do I want to do this? So now you're faced with a

decision. What do I do about my marriage?

The question is to whom do you go for advice?

Do you go to the people who just go?

Yeah, marriage is terrible, get out, leave Jack, listen.

You want to go by yourself and you want to go be your own man

and go do your own thing. You forget about that split and

using. Wow, you make some really good

points, right? Or do you go to to the scripture

that talks about reconciliation? The talks about one flesh?

The talks about people being united in Malachi chapter 5, God

hates divorce and you go. Okay, so that's my Baseline God

hates divorce. So now my question is, do I want

to do that or do I go the other way?

And so you're asking friends like oh yeah you need to worry

about that. Forget about that.

Forget that go right and say okay well so now if I know that

God hates divorce on, I've got to figure it out.

Well now what do I do well in Ephesians After five submit to

one another out of reverence for Christ, you're like, I don't

like that. Keep reading, right wives,

respect your husband submits your husband's out of reverence.

For Christ wise, respect your husband's and husband reads that

is. Yeah, I need to show her that

right. That that'll fix everything

right. And right under that, husbands

love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself see

to walk in the counsel of the wicked is to Live in this world

as if God was just like one of us rather than to say no, God is

God, there's an authority of God.

And so the question is, Whose advice, whose counsel matters,

most, and this begins to set us down the road because as

Believers as we were like, listen, there's a lot about this

that we don't understand. There's a lot about this, that

we don't know, but there's a lot that we can look at and go.

If I begin with what I can find and read here then I'm going to

keep In down that road. So do we begin from a position

that there is Authority? That there is a God who sees and

knows and who wants what's best like, do I believe?

Because what the scripture says is Happy is the person who

doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked.

And what happens is, as we find people who say what we want,

right? What do we do?

We begin to hang out with them, right?

Oh yeah. Oh yeah, you just need a split

mangetout. Just leave her.

Just go do your own thing. You've got needs, man and she

can fulfilling you go. Do your own thing.

Well now you're lonely. So now you're hanging around

with him right now. What is it?

What does it say? We're standing in the way the

Sinners. Take the picture is standing on

the road. You got your click, right?

It's the Jets and the Sharks man, and we're doing the thing,

right? Or sit in the seat of scoffers.

See what happens when people begin to take their own advice

has Authority. When people begin to live in the

world as if what I say is, truth, like I am the final

Arbiter on Truth. Like what happens is?

I bet you begin to make this sound a lot, right?

You know, that's that's the sound of scoffers, right?

And that's the sound that people make when everybody else with a

different opinion. Doesn't just have a different

opinion. They have the wrong opinion.

Whatever. And they don't just have the

wrong opinion. They have a bad opinion and they

don't just have a bad opinion, they are bad.

And what happens is You Begin by taking the counsel of other

people and then you begin walking with them and their way

of life. And before long you become

cynical and jaded to truth and you just go.

Yeah. Whatever.

Sure. Sure.

Marriage is dumb. Mary just marries an outdated we

weren't created for that. Anyway, didn't start there, it

didn't begin there but how we walk matters and that's just one

example, right? You can apply that to

everything. You can apply that to finances,

right? You want your Finance to be

blessed with the scripture talks about generosity.

The scripture talks about Holding On Loosely and we get

insurance for you. That's dumb.

You can't get rich by being generous.

Let's give students a rich. The scripture says happy Choose

you choose. Forgive love, serve.

See the scripture begins to portray a way of life.

You know, what a way is, right away, is like a road, right?

You go like River roadway, right?

And you walk on, and that's a path and it leaves in, it goes

somewhere. Happy is he, who does not walk

on the way of people who lead away from God.

Now, he begins to get picture a contrast but his Delight.

Not cold, obedience, not not cynical about obedience like,

well, I'm a bang, but God hasn't done what I wanted him to yet,

but his Delight is in the law of the Lord.

Now that word law when this was written, their idea for the law

was the Torah right Jenna Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers

and Deuteronomy the first five books, but scripturally, the,

the the law and Compasses, the whole thing, it's the whole

picture. It is, the law is God's way it

is. What the scripture tells us.

Not the way to live and walk and move with God.

It is it and it encompasses his moral law.

Hey the way of God is love the way of God is Not retaliation

and retribution, the way of God is forgiveness, the way of God

is submit to one another. When we say, husbands love your

wives. That's the Way of God.

When we say wives, respect your husband, that's the way of God

when we say live, generous with people that's the way of God,

when we say, love foreigners and serve them and bring them.

In. And that is the way of God.

And what it says is the person that is Happy, whose Delight is

in the way, as in the law of the Lord and says it on his law, he

meditates day and night. So meditation, before I came

back to Jesus, when I was in college, I didn't like a whole

idea of a great accountability because I knew if there was a

God, I was accountable to him, right?

He was bigger than me and stronger than me.

So I kind of tried to pretend for a little while and so I

spent a long time, practicing like, Eastern mysticism.

I'm right Buddhism and down all that.

And meditation is a big part of that.

Now I learned a lot from those Seasons.

Right. Whatever.

But there's a main difference between Eastern meditation and

Western meditation. Eastern meditation is to empty

yourself. And if I'm just going to sit and

I'm going to empty myself of desires, neat thought here's the

problem. Nature abhors a vacuum.

This we know for sure the idea of emptying yourself Is to give

up control over. What?

Ultimately fills you, when David is talking about meditating,

what he's talking about is filling yourself with the way of

the Lord, filling yourself with the law and the picture, the

word for meditation is like the cud like, you know, a cow right

a cow choose then he swallows it then it comes back up.

So you read The Way of the Lord, right about forgiveness and you

sit in your time in the morning and you're praying about it,

you're meditating on it about forgiveness, right?

And then as it comes up, as you're reading that your little

kid right runs through and just destroy this thing, right?

Sharpie all over the house, right?

And your first response is what did Jesus got?

Get out right, you know what were you saying, right?

And I'm gonna discipline that kid to Jesus, right?

And and so as it comes up, you remember we just talked about

forgiveness. Do I need to forgive my kid for

writing and Sharpie on the wall? And then down the road right at

lunchtime, your husband does something Thoughtless and you

get hurt. And you get mad and you get

angry. And, again, here comes that

teaching on. Forgiveness, how do I forgive,

what, what do I need to do? And the portrayal is Happy, is

the man and the woman, whose Delight is in the law of the

Lord, as we begin to walk in God's way, promise, isn't that?

Going to be rich, promise, isn't that nothing?

Bad is everything. That listen I been stuff is

coming to you following Jesus. Not following Jesus.

That's not that has nothing to do with it.

What has to do with is? Which way?

Are you going to be on when the bad things come?

Are you going to be on the way of Jesus?

Are you going to be on the other way?

Happy is the one who follows the way of Jesus, happy is not the

one who walks, isolated and separated and detached from

God's way. Here's the idea, happiness isn't

found in Bad Company. Happiness, is found in Divine

dependence. Do you want to be happy?

Live radically dependent on God. I want to walk.

Follow God like this. With one foot on his way and one

foot on my way, right? How generous do I have to be to

get God's blessing while, still making sure that I have enough

for me? How pure do I have to be in

order for my marriage to not fall apart, but still imp your

enough to have fun when I want it wrong.

Happy is the one who goes all-in right here.

Let's go. And who finds his Delight in

this but all over here are a bunch of people who are off the

way and they're going, hey come hang out with us and listen, we

found her with his. We're seeing a little loving it

baby. We don't spend our money on that

stuff. We do what we want and they're

calling and they're tempting second Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 6 · chapter mention

Chapter 6. Verse 14, do not be yoked

together with unbelievers for what a righteousness and

wickedness have in common or what a fellowship can light have

with darkness, that gets talked about a lot in terms of

marriage, right? Don't be married to unbelievers,

that certainly makes it difficult.

But here's a picture. A yoke is to be tied right to

link to link arms, right to not be able to be separated.

Well, here's the deal. First of all, this passage isn't

I got winded while I was jumping around like a fool there, huh?

First that passage is not about marriage, okay?

It's certainly has implications for marriage.

There's talk about relationships because here's the deal.

My fundamental Baseline belief as a Believer as a follower of

Christ. I believe that there is a God

who loves us and communicates to us.

I believe that there is a God. Not only there is a God, but he

has made his holy spirit resident in me that wherever I

go, I have access to the Holy Spirit and that that Holy Spirit

Will Lead Me and guide me. But I believe that the holy

spirit will often lead me to walk by faith to do things that

don't seem on the surface of it to make sense, but through

prayer through counsel, through wisdom, through fasting, through

all of these things, that is possible for us to discern, the

will of the Holy Spirit person. A who is not a Believer, not

only do they not believe that there is a God, but they believe

that the whole idea of a God is dumb.

Certainly the idea of any religious based morality.

So then we come to a decision in our business and person a goes,

man. We've got this big huge decision

to make and I sit there as a person and I just go well, I

need to pray about this. What does the other person do?

Well, that's dumb. We don't have time for you to

pray. We don't have time for that,

right? If we're yoked together with

Believers, right? If we're together we can all

together go. Hey, we need to pray about this.

Yes, it's way more. Important that we get God's

wisdom on this. Then we just know that we just

know what we're about. See the way of following God is

to be saturated, and surrounded, and overwhelmed, by the way, of

God, and to surround ourselves with people who point out

though. And again, what it doesn't say

is, don't know anybody who's not a Believer.

No, listen. I love people who aren't

followers of Jesus. They asked great questions and

they challenged me and they make I think about things that

otherwise, I wouldn't put her saying is, don't be yolk, right?

Don't get tied in separately and major or deals in your life.

Don't get tied them because I believe that we have a separate

words, I believe that we are walking a different way to

understand. See we're going.

So blessed is the one who doesn't walk in the counsel of

the wicked or stand in the way that Sinners take her sit in the

company. Mockers verse 3.

Begins to describe not just happy.

What is happiness? Look like.

He's like a tree planted by streams of water which yields

its fruit in season whose Leaf does not wither and whatever

they do prospers. You know, one of my favorite

things in the world are few go on the rivers and there are

those cypress trees. You know what I mean?

You seen him right there. Are enormous.

And I have some friends who have a house right on the Guadalupe

River and during the floods was at 98 flood, the water was

literally over the house, right? Like everything was gone.

Not those trees. Trees are 50 60 70, 80, 100

years old. And what the psalmist is saying,

is the person who walks in the way of God, is like that now.

It says they bear their fruit in season, right?

Apple trees. Don't continuously bear fruit.

They bear fruit for a little while and then they stopped

bearing fruit. See, this is what when anybody

says, wow. I followed Jesus and nothing

happened. It's not like I can jump on the

road and Jesus, suddenly dumps everything.

The idea is, it's a long obedience in the same direction.

Just keep walking. People say, well, I tithed once

and, and I didn't have as much money in that I know build a

system of generosity around with your life and just keep walking

people who tithe over time for the Long Haul, they recognize.

And they have not listen, I have a membership class where we talk

about the tithe and you can always tell who the Tyler's are.

Do you know why? Because they don't shut up about

it, because they have seen the faithfulness of God and deal,

and sometimes it takes time. And does that mean that they're

rich? No.

Does that mean that they never struggle?

Absolutely not listen. I got three kids are about to

all be in braces. We're about to be eaten

Hamburger Helper, right? Except it's like helper, right?

Because sometimes we can't afford like the hamburger thing,

right? Listen.

But that doesn't matter. Listen sometimes the

faithfulness of God is you're going to put your kids in braces

and make it See the way of God doesn't promise that.

Nothing bad is going to ever happen if I come.

If you ever, If I Ever Lose My Mind and come tell you just so

10%, see it. And you'll never like, listen,

I've lost my marbles, I'm off. It doesn't work.

That way, what he says, what the psalmist says is.

He's like a tree who doesn't ever get uprooted, who's by the

streams of water. And on the waters flow, they

constantly nourished and there's leaves when they're supposed to

be leaves and there's fruit when there's supposed to be fruit and

the 23rd psalm, what is the psalmist say even though Walk

through the valley of the shadow of death.

I will fear. No evil.

The psalmist. Doesn't say no more Valley of

the shadow of death for me. No, I reject that I'm a child of

the king. No more desert me.

No. The psalmist says, I'm his

Valley of the shadow of death but I don't fear because I know

I'm on a way that leads through the valley of the shadow of

death. That's the promise of scripture

life with God is abundantly. Fruitful In time.

In time. And listen, you may be in a

season right now where it's not your fruitful season.

Listen, friend fellow traveler, don't lose.

Heart, listen to psalm 37:4. Take Delight in the Lord and He

Psalms 37:4

will give you the desires of your heartless.

And you may be on a stretch of road that seems all Darkness

right now. Don't lose hope.

Don't get off the way because what is the other one?

Had the promise? You, we'll listen.

Here's what they say. First for not.

So the wicked. They are like chaff The wind

blows. Therefore the wicked will not

stand in the Judgment nor sinners in the assembly

righteous. There's a lot going on there.

The chaff is it's like paper almost.

It's very light. It's the seed.

You have a kernel of corn or a kernel of wheat or corn or

whatever. And there's that papery kind of

stuff on the outside. But you know, how they separate

the wheat from the chaff literally in any Breeze, they

throw it up and the chap just blows away.

There's nothing to it. It is you look at it.

It's covering everything and it looks everywhere.

And we look around the world and we look at people use, go

everybody's doing something else.

And I've just got to pray and wait and it looks like.

But listen, when scripture says is those people who are not

rooted and grounded in the word that are not rooted, they don't

have something Timeless and steadfast in their life, they

are being blown away by the wind and the way that it expressed

explains that it talks and relational terms, right?

It says, they won't stand in the Judgment, they won't be

surrounded when they face up, right?

And what does judgment, I think the author.

Here was talking about ultimate and final judgment, but there's

a judgment that happens on a day by day basis, right?

And what that says is, what does your life produce?

Right when I stand in my way is spend on what I want, right?

That's the that's the prodigal, son, go.

And I'm going to buy what I want and I'm gonna Gamble and I'm

going to buy all the booze I want and all the women I want

judgment is coming when the money Runs Out.

Do any of those things last? No, they're like, chaff blown

away, then it says, They don't stand in the Assembly of the

righteous. Listen, those who walk the path

of God together, who say, listen, we're not perfect.

We are badly broken. But we're deeply loved and we're

going to we're going to face Purity the same way and we're

going to talk about these things and we're going to hold each

other accountable. When people start, trying to

walk out on their marriages, we're going to point to him and

go. No brother, respect your wife

will love your wife, loved her whatever she does that's

irrespective you don't you're not off that easy you love your

wife and then we go to the white.

We don't respect him, treat him with If I get off and start

doing, read all that stuff, when we walk together, we walk in an

assembly. Here's the thing.

Over the last couple weeks, we talked a lot about gossip,

right? Like people who are gossipers,

here's the thing that I know, I know this, if you will come to

me and gossip about somebody, my friend Mickey's right here,

like, if you will come to me and gossip about Mickey, here's what

I know for sure. You will go to somebody else and

gossip about me and here's the problem someday.

Me and Mickey are going to talk and we're going to find out that

you talked about us. Listen, there's a method for

resolving conflict and it namely says go tell them talk to them,

not somebody else and what happens is the person who

doesn't walk that way, who doesn't acknowledge God's role

for relationships finds themselves radically alone.

Blown here and there like chaffed tossed around by the

wind when we get independent. And that's what this way is.

Right? Its independence from God at

saying, I don't want to listen to God.

I want to listen to myself. I want to listen to other people

when we live independently from God, we get isolated and when

we're alone, we are unstable basically life is unmanageable

by ourselves. We can't live and we can't walk

that way. And the things the things that

we do come back. Galatians chapter 6 7 & 8, do

Galatians 6 · chapter mention

not beseech, do not be deceived, God cannot be mocked a man reaps

what he sews. If you plant the seeds of

Walking In God's way, if you plant the seeds of faith and of

faithfulness and of goodness, and of Purity and of

reconciliation. If you say, We Are One flesh and

we will not leave. I will honor you with my body

with my money with my finances life.

If we say, I will walk that way. God's not deceive.

God can't be Mont. God will in time you will find

fruit and fruit may just be. You made it?

You got it. You did it.

This isn't a Genie in the lamp kind of deal.

This is God's way and God's desire is.

Trustworthy. And the whole thing comes down

to verse 6 for the Lord Watches Over The Way of the righteous,

but the Way of the Wicked leads to destruction, this isn't

saying what this doesn't say when it says it leads to

destruction, this is just saying the westbound Road leads, west

to east bound Road, leads East, all roads, lead to the same

place. Nice.

That sounds like somebody who doesn't want accountability for

their action. That's sounds like somebody who

wants to walk like this through life.

Work that way. If you go west, you're going to

head, you're going to hit California.

If you go east, you're going to hit New York.

But this doesn't say is that God chooses to punish and hate and

Destroy people who walk away from.

It says that there is a way that God's good and loving and kind

site lingers on, that's the way that God chooses and there is a

way. That leads to destruction.

Andy Stanley says this, you cannot gain or maintain the

blessings of God by violating the principles of God.

Do you want a healthy marriage? Love your wife.

Do you want a healthy marriage? Respect your husband.

You cannot control your husband into submission, you cannot

ignore your wife into love. The principles of God's stand.

Are your finances always? Listen, commit and say, listen,

I'm going to give God his part, and I'm going to organize my

life around a set of principles and then watch and see what God

does. The psalmist is telling us he's

encouraging us. There is a way of God that leads

to fruit and stability. Okay, and it is found in God's

law, the laws the way. Are you ready?

Follow me. Psalm 1 talks about the way of

God, talks about the law of God talks about trees and fruit.

Now, fast-forward a few thousand years on the shore of the Sea of

Galilee, and a 30 year, old Rabbi named Jesus from Nazareth

stands, and he looks at his disciples and says, I am the

way. I am the truth and he stands in

Matthew Chapter 5 and he stands on a hill.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

Overlooking his disciples and he teaches them.

He says, I haven't come to abolish the law.

I have come to fulfill the law. You know where the law leads,

the law leads to me, it leads through me.

The psalmist says, you shall be like trees planted by streams of

water, that bear their fruit in season.

And Jesus, in John chapter 15, he's walking through a Vineyard

John 15 · chapter mention

and he says, you're the one. I'm the Vine.

You know, the tree is, I'm the tree and he says, apart from me,

you can't do anything. He says, it's to my father's

Glory that you bear fruit. You want to know how you bear

fruit. You remain in me, you know, who

the tree is? The tree planted by side streams

of water. That bears fruit and season

whose Leaf never Withers. Everything he does prospers.

You know, who that is Jesus, Everything Jesus does prospers,

listen Jesus, even died and that prospered.

Jesus got on a cross and that prospered.

See, I want Jesus to fix my finances without Jesus.

I want Jesus to fix my marriage without his marriage.

And Jesus says, I don't have a way I am the way. we get blown

around and Paul in Ephesians chapter 4, Verse 15 will no

Ephesians 4:15

longer be infants. Talk about maturity notice the

language, right? The chaff remember blown around

and we won't be infants tossed back and forth by waves and

blown here and there by every wind of teaching by the cunning

and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming instead

speaking the truth in love that's a relational principle

that's the way of God. We want all things grow up, grow

up into what the mature body of him.

Who is the head? That is Christ.

The more mature. We get, the more we look like

him, the more we look like him. The more we Like that tree

planted by side streams of water.

And listen, the psalm leads us to that place the songs and we

speak the truth and love the Psalms teach us how to go to God

and go. God, where are you?

I'm tired of a fruitless season, God.

Why have you forsaken me? And then when this fruit comes,

you can go how great it is to be in the presence of the Lord.

Listen, the only solution for an unmanageable life is Jesus.

And the Psalms lead us to him. So what do you do this week?

The first thing that you have to do is look at your life and

admit where it is unmanageable. Listen, if I take my car and I

drive it into a lake of Hop, the curve Dukes of Hazzard.

I'm at a crucial moment. Am I going to admit that?

My car is in a lake and I need to get out.

Or am I just going to keep whistling?

Hope this works out going to keep revving the engine.

You have to acknowledge and begin.

Where is your life unmanageable? Because what the scripture tells

us is there's a way that leads to an unmanageable life when I

acknowledge and identify the way that is unmanageable, I can

begin to change. That is called repentance and

say, I've gotta quit hiding from my spouse, and I've got to start

telling my spouse, the truth. I've got a quit being selfish in

my marriage, and I've got to start loving in my marriage

acknowledge where you are a second.

I want you to do. Immerse yourself in the word, I

want you to memorize Psalm chapter one, I could never do

that in. Six verses take the rest of the

day off. Start tomorrow, memorize one

verse a day. Blessed is He Who Walks not in

the counsel of the wicked nor stands in the way that Sinners.

Take course. It's in the seats seat of

mockers. That's 11 verse, but his Delight

is in the law of the Lord. And on it, he meditates day and

night Verse 2 now, it's Tuesday, you're already in Jack, you're

already evaluating your relationships.

You're doing all of these good things, right?

Third. And this is most important don't

just know about God. No him.

No Jesus. No the person of Jesus stand

before him and just go, I don't get it.

Jesus maybe I've never even believed in you before but I

know that the way that I'm going doesn't lead to fruit and so I

want something else. More thing I want you to do, I

want you to talk about this this week and your small group, but I

don't have a small group look questions.

You know, what a small group is, it's a group that is small.

So if you and two other people go get coffee.

Ask these questions to each other and tell each other the

truth and then next week do it again.

And then next week, do it again our connections, Pastor, Nick

Fox is going to be outside. He's the bald-headed guy because

that's yeah, throw a rock in this room and you're going to

find. Bald-headed guys, that fit that

description, right. Nick is our connections past

will probably be out there with an iPad and just tell them take

your connection card and say, hey, I need to find a small

group and we'll do our best to get to get you connected.

But if you can find this with week, just asked a couple of

people to go with you. In to talk about this, what is

one and two look like what does it mean?

What in my life is? Bearing fruit Jesus, I ask that

you would make us fruitful people And I acknowledge. too

many times, I take your counsel last or even second.

And if I'm honest, I'm looking for someone who's going to tell

me what I want to hear. Jesus, you're the way that leads

to happiness. You're the way that leads to

Prosperity or the way that leads to Deep Roots.

There's one thing we know. Living in New Braunfels floods

are coming. Jesus, in our life, there's

going to be rain. And it's going to threaten to

wash everything away. Let us be like those trees.

And I pray for everybody in here, whose marriage is on the

rocks? And I pray that they would begin

to seek out your counsel and your Clarity and your wisdom.

I pray for everybody in here whose finances are just a

shambles, are they would give them Grace and I pray that they

would begin to align their principles with you. pray for

people who have only loneliness and seem to be in long extended

seasons of fruitlessness, and I pray Jesus that you would give

them fruit and season. But not without walking in the

way. So Jesus draw us to yourself.

For those maybe today, who for the first time want to trust

you, they want to follow you, they want to get off the other

Road of the want to get on your road.

I prayed that they would have that moment of awareness.

And I prayed today, they would say Jesus, I want you to lead me

differently. I pray that they would just ask.

And your word says, you'll give them your spirit.

To lead us and guide us. So Jesus, that's what we ask and

we pray Jesus that everything we say and do will bring you honor

and glory and I pray that we as a church as a specific local

congregation in New Braunfels as River City Church.

I pray that we would be people of the way.

Who walk according to you. And Jesus, we ask these things

in your name and for your glory, amen, may the Lord bless you and

keep you and make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you

may lift his countenance and give you peace have a great

week. We'll see you next time.

Thank you for joining us today. River City Church is all about

experiencing and expressing God's love in our lives and

community. And we hope that you've been

able to experience that today as grateful.

As I am. That you've spent this time

listening in this morning, this podcast is no substitute for

full. Participation and a local

church. I love it when River City people

listen to other pastors, but it is those who show up week after

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Thanks so much for listening. May the Lord bless and keep you

in all Grace and peace.