Two Ways to Live

Okay, Psalm 1.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Thanks very much, Ralph. Well, let's pray together and ask for God's help as we listen to his words. Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you in particular this morning for the Psalms.

We recognize that we need your help in understanding it, so we ask for your Holy Spirit, that your Spirit would give us understanding, opening up our minds to comprehend.

But also taking what we hear to apply it to our lives, that it would change us and transform us, helping us to be the kind of people you created us to be.

Help us to see the power of your word, the difference that it makes to our life. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen.

Well, Psalm 1.

I don't know if you know that the present population of our world stands at approximately 6.6 billion.

And of these 6.6 billion people, we live in 245 different countries.

And on top of that, we are further divided into the 16,912 known people groups that there are.

And we are further subdivided into one of the 22 major religions of the world.

Each one has their own culture, their unique customs and sacred traditions.

Each one of us have our own way of deciding right from wrong.

Each one has their own system of how we should live in this world.

But of all the religions and races and cultures that there are, the Bible makes this extraordinary claim.

There are actually only two kinds of people.

And consequently, there are only two ways to live.

Psalm 1 introduces us to the choice that we all have to make.

It's easily divided up.

In this psalm, there is the way of the righteous in verses 1 to 3.

Then there is the way of the wicked in verses 4 to 5.

And then these two ways are contrasted in verse 6.

If you look at verse 6, it says,

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Many cultures, many religions, but only two ways to live.

There's a right way and a wrong way.

There's a way that prospers, and there's a way that perishes.

And what we need to figure out is, what way are we going to live?

So let's have a look at these two ways together.

First, the way of the righteous, which is marked by listening to the word of God.

Look at verse 1.

It says, Blessed is the man.

Blessed simply means a person who is satisfied, somebody who's content and fulfilled.

They're not looking for anything extra.

They have everything.

So this blessed person, this satisfied and fulfilled person, verse 1,

does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,

does not stand in the way of sinners,

and does not sit in the seat of mockers.

They simply don't need to,

because they have everything they need in God's word.

Look at verse 2.

His delight is in the law of the Lord.

The law refers to the scriptures.

It's another way of talking about the Bible, God's word to us.

So rather than listening to the world,

the righteous listens to the word.

And this exercise of listening is not just a one-off event

or something we do on a Sunday morning together.

It is a continuous, lifelong discipline.

Look at the rest of verse 2.

On his law, he meditates day and night.

Now meditation for us is, often we think of,

as emptying our minds and maybe sitting cross-legged with your fingers together

and meditation of some sort.

But that's not what meditation is in the Bible.

It's not emptying our minds.

It's actually filling our minds with God's word.

We're to read it.

We're to take it in.

We're to think about it.

We're to reflect on it.

We're to talk about it to one another

and to apply it in our lives.

And there's good reason for doing this.

Because the person who takes God's word seriously,

look at verse 3,

We're told they are like a tree planted by streams of water

which yields its fruit in season

whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever they do, prosper.

I'm not much of a horticulturalist.

You'll have to talk to Alex about all that sort of thing.

But we do have two apple trees in our garden.

And at this time of year, you see the changes from what were just sticks.

There are now leaves.

And the leaves, well the leaves don't change to blossom,

but blossom comes along in the plant.

And after that, you've got these tiny little apples.

But the point is very simple.

It can't produce fruit unless it's cared for,

unless it's watered and fed with nutrients.

And so it gives us a wonderful picture

of how God's word, when it's listened to,

when we take it on board,

when we meditate upon it,

it actually brings fruitfulness to our life.

Taking in God's word is like this tree

planted by a stream of water

which yields fruit in season.

There is something healthy and vibrant about this life

that is engaged with God's word.

It is attractive and beautiful.

It is a good way.

It is the righteous way.

So in verses 1 to 3,

we have the way of the righteous.

Which is marked by listening to the word.

And then we have the way of the wicked.

In verses 4 to 5,

which is marked by listening to the world.

Go back to verse 1.

It tells us there that the righteous person

does not walk in the counsel of the wicked

or stand in the way of sinners

or sit in the seat of mockers.

Well, the wicked person does walk in the counsel of the wicked.

They do stand in the way of sinners

and they do sit in the seat of mockers.

So rather than listening to the word,

they're spending their time listening to the world.

And look at the contrast of this life.

Verse 4.

Verse 4 breaks in with this.

It says,

Not so the wicked.

It's making a comparison

with what it says in verse 3.

The wicked are not like

the person in verse 3

who is a tree planted by streams of water

which yield as fruit in season.

Instead,

verse 4,

the wicked are like chaff.

Not like a tree,

but like chaff.

Now, chaff is that waste

which you get around the corn

or the grain.

It's of no value whatsoever.

The husk, we might call it.

It's useless.

If you were to go shopping in Tesco's tomorrow morning

for your favourite cereal,

you're not going to find anything

called chaffabix

or chafflakes

or chaffos.

Why?

Because chaff is a waste.

It produces nothing

of any value whatsoever.

It's to be thrown out.

In fact, I'm told

that it's so useless

you can't even start a fire with it.

And so it gives us a terrible picture

or image

of someone who listens to the world

rather than the word.

It's a life

that is fruitless

and all that they produce in the end

is worthless.

It's of no value whatsoever.

Verse 5,

Therefore,

the wicked

will not stand

in the judgment

and sinners

in the assembly

of the righteous.

the way of the wicked

is ultimately

destined

to fail.

It offers nothing

in the end.

So this psalm

makes this contrast

between,

on the one hand,

we've got the way of the righteous

listening to the word

and the way of the wicked

who listen to the world.

It's very important

what we listen to.

I'm sure

you've all heard

the health

gurus say

we are

what we eat.

And to some extent

that's true.

Our health

depends on what we take

into our bodies.

So if we were to eat

McDonald's

24-7

we're going to end up

in the operating theater

needing a new heart,

aren't we?

It's not good for you.

On the other hand,

if we eat

the right kind of food,

as much as we don't like

our greens,

we need to eat them

because

it will produce

a vibrant

long life.

Well,

Psalm 1

is saying to us

we are

what we listen to.

If we listen to the word,

well that's a healthy diet.

It's going to help us

live rightly

in God's world.

Have a look at Psalm 19.

We sang about this

a little bit earlier on.

Psalm 19.

This is a psalm

that speaks about

the greatness

of God's word.

Let's pick it up

in verse 7

of Psalm 19.

Psalm 19.

Psalm 19.

The law of the Lord

is perfect,

reviving the soul.

The statutes of the Lord

are trustworthy,

making wise the simple.

Verse 10.

They are more precious

than gold,

than much pure gold.

They are sweeter than honey,

than honey from the cone.

By them

is your servant warned.

In keeping them

there is great

reward.

So God's word

is good for us.

It's healthy.

On the other hand,

if we listen to the world,

it's going to be

an unhealthy diet.

It's going to pull us

away from God.

It's going to leave us

without meaning

and without purpose.

Look back at

Psalm chapter 1,

Psalms 1:1

verse 1.

I wonder if you can

notice the progression

that there is

in verse 1.

The person who

spends their time

listening to the world

rather than the word.

They start off

by walking

in the counsel

of the wicked.

And then they stop,

don't they?

And they stand

in the way of sinners.

And then they

progress further.

They actually

sit down

in the seat

of mockers.

It's a very

dangerous progression,

isn't it?

When we listen

to the world,

we start off

by thinking

like them.

And then we

kind of make

a progression

from thinking

like them

to actually

behaving like them.

and then we

end up

belonging like them.

You see,

it's most important

to think through

what or who

we are listening

to.

And as we

live in this

world,

there are going

to be many

voices that are

competing for

our attention

all the time.

The atheists

will be saying

something like this.

There's probably

no God,

so go and

enjoy your life.

the pluralists

will say,

uh-uh,

they're wrong.

There are

actually many

gods,

so you choose

who you want

to listen to.

And then there's

the secularists,

and I think

that's more

what our society

is like,

and they will

say,

you're God.

You yourself

are God.

You listen

to yourself.

You know

better than

anybody else

what's good

for you.

And these

are the voices

that come

through the

media,

they come

through our

friends,

they come

through the

books we

read,

and the

underlying

theme is

this.

Whatever you

do,

don't listen

to God.

Listen to

anything else,

but don't

listen to

God.

And it

seems that

very little

has changed

from the

Garden of

Eden,

when the

devil came

along and

spoke to

Adam and

Eve,

and said

this,

did God

really say

the first

point of

attack was

to tackle

what God

said.

Don't

believe what

God said.

Yeah,

I know

he made

the world

and he

made you

and he's

in charge

and he's

the boss,

but did

he really

say that?

Through

Psalm 1,

God's

voice is

crystal

clear.

word.

It's

saying do

not listen

to the

world,

but listen

to the

word.

The word

that spoke

creation into

existence,

the word

that made

you and

sustains you,

the word

that became

flesh and

lived among

us in the

person of

Jesus Christ.

And remember

it is Jesus

who said,

I tell you

the truth,

whoever hears

my word

and believes

him who

sent me

has eternal

life and

will not

be condemned.

He is

crossed over

from death

to life.

So it's

an encouragement

for us to

listen to the

word that

can save

you, the

word that

can change

you and

transform you

into the

kind of

people that

God created

us to be.

we are

simply what

we listen

to.

We become

what words

we take

in.

Now this

all challenges

us to think

through which

way am I,

are we going

to live?

It presents

us with two

ways to live.

And the

question we

need to ask

individually is

which way am

I going to

live?

Now I'm

sure we all

know which

way we do

want to live.

And we all

want to say

yep, I want

to be the

person of

verses 1 to

3.

That's me.

Well the

reality is,

so often we

are not like

the person in

verse 1.

We do walk,

don't we,

in the

counsel of

the wicked.

We all

stop and

stand in

the way of

sinners.

sinners.

And we

all sit at

the seat of

mockers.

Now this

doesn't mean

to say that

we have to

kind of

somehow become

like little

monks living

away off on

some little

island somewhere

and not

listen or hear

to anybody

else.

Now we are

in the world,

we are with

people all

the time,

but sometimes

we become

more a part

of the world

than we

ought to.

We join

in with

other people

where we

ought not

to join

in.

We agree

with what

they say

rather than

challenge what

they say.

And so

often we

are not

like the

person of

verse 2.

We don't

delight in

the law of

the Lord.

It's an

absolute drudgery

if we're honest

to sit down

and read our

Bible.

It comes to

reading our

Bible and

we're not

jumping up and

down all

excited and

saying,

oh I can't

wait to

read it.

It's like,

gosh do I

have to

read it?

And as

far as

meditating on

it day and

night,

my goodness

me it's

hard enough

to open my

Bible once a

week,

let alone try

and do it

day and

night.

And I'm

sure if we

were to do

a little

survey,

myself included,

we would be

all extremely

embarrassed to

say how many

times we

actually did

open up our

Bibles this

week.

So where

does it leave

us?

Although we

like the way

of the

righteous,

we like to

put ourselves

in verses

1 to 3,

the reality

is we

are very

often like

verses 4

and 5.

And the

consequences

are serious.

Look at

verse 6.

The Lord

watches over

the way

of the

righteous,

but the

way of the

wicked will

perish.

You see,

our problem

is,

and the

problem that

this psalm

confronts,

it's like

there's a

sting in the

tail.

it all

starts off

very exciting

and yes,

I like this,

but by the

time we get

to the end

of it,

it paints a

picture of

what we're

really like.

And the

terrible conclusion

is we're not

like the way

of the

righteous,

we're like

the way

of the

wicked.

We slip up

far too

often,

and we

fail too

much.

So is

there any

of us

who can

actually live

the right

way?

Well,

the answer

is none

of us can

live the

right way.

But there

is another

way.

There is

one who

has lived

the right

way.

And more

importantly,

and the

exciting and

the good

news is,

he has

lived the

right way

for us.

He lived

a way that

we could

never live.

Do you

remember the

verse that we

started with

this morning?

It came in

2 Timothy 3

15.

I'll read it

to you.

It says,

the scriptures

are able to

make you

wise for

salvation

through faith

in Jesus

Christ.

It's telling

us that the

scriptures,

the Bible,

the Psalms,

included,

tell us

about Jesus

and our

salvation

and all

about Jesus

who lived

the perfect

way for

us.

This is what

this psalm is

pointing us

to.

It's ultimately

pointing us

to Jesus

who lived

the way

that we

could never

live.

Where we

disobey,

he is

obeyed.

He not

only read

God's word,

he obeyed

God's word

in all its

fullness.

Where we

fail,

he was

faithful.

Where we

sin,

he was

without

sin.

So Jesus

came,

the word

became flesh,

he lived

his life

on earth,

he lived

the perfect

life for

us.

But more

than that,

Jesus not

only lived

our life,

he died

our death.

He was

treated as

wicked for

us,

so that

we might

be treated

righteous

like him.

Let me

read that

again to

let it

sink down

as we

reflect on

Psalm 1.

He was

treated as

wicked for

us so

that we

might be

treated

righteous like

him.

He died

for us so

that we

might not

perish,

but that we

might prosper,

that we

might have

eternal life.

so through

our faith

in Jesus

who lived

the perfect

way,

we can

have salvation.

And then

we can read

verse 5,

in the light

of all that

Christ has

done and

know that

the wicked,

people like

me,

will be able

to stand

in the

judgment

because Christ

has taken

the judgment

for me.

A sinner

like me

will be

in the

assembly

of the

righteous

because I

am no

longer

seen with

sin,

but I

am seen

with the

righteousness

of Christ.

All of

this comes

as we

think upon

God's

word and

understand

his amazing

salvation

for us.

The way

of Christ,

he lived

the life

that we

could never

live.

So where

do we go

from here?

Well,

it might

be stating

the obvious

to say

that Psalm

1 is

Psalm 1.

That it's

the very

first

psalm.

Well,

there's a

reason I

think that

Psalm 1

is Psalm

1 and

not Psalm

15 or

38 or

something else.

Because Psalm

1 is all

about the

importance of

listening to

God's word.

It's an

introduction.

Psalm 1 is

an introduction

to the

rest of

the

psalms.

In other

words,

it's telling

us,

don't stop

at Psalm

1,

but now

go and

read them

all.

Get into

God's

words.

Because it

tells us

about salvation.

It tells us

about Christ.

It tells us

about the

way we

should live.

In fact,

the application

is wider.

It's saying,

read all

of Scripture.

Because if

we do,

then we

will be

like

verse 3,

that tree

planted by

streams of

water which

yields its

fruit in

season.

Now I

know,

and I

want us

to be

real about

all of

this,

that we

do find

reading the

Bible hard,

don't we?

We all

find it

difficult.

It doesn't

come easy

to us.

So I

want to

encourage us

in two

ways how

we can

read the

Bible.

Just two

ways in

which we

can read

the Bible.

The first

is,

read the

Bible on

your own.

Nothing

difficult,

read it

on your

own.

Well,

you say

to me,

but I

don't have

time to

read my

Bible,

I'm just

too busy.

By the

time I

get up

in the

morning,

I'm

having to

leave the

house at

seven o'clock

or half

seven,

I've got

to be

at work

at a

certain

time,

then I'm

leaving home

to rush

home for

dinner and

see the

kids,

and then I've

got to go

out somewhere

in the

evening.

I just

don't have

time to

sit it

in.

Well,

let me

read a

quote from

a well-known

preacher,

Martin Lloyd

Jones.

He was

actually a

physician,

a doctor as

well.

And this is

what the

quote says,

Martin Lloyd

Jones once

spoke with a

group of

medical students

who complained

that in the

midst of their

training and

the ferocious

work hours,

they really

didn't have

time to read

the Bible and

have their

devotions and

so on.

He

brittled and

said,

I am a

doctor.

I have been

where you

are.

You have

time for

what you

want to

do.

After a

long pause,

he said,

I make

only one

exception.

The mother

of preschool

age children

does not

have time

and emotional

resources.

I think

that's very

important for

us all to

listen to.

For all

the men,

and for

all the

rest of

us who

don't have

kids,

we can

make all

the excuses

in the

world.

But at

the end of

the day,

that's what

they are.

They're just

excuses.

We all have

time to watch

the footy on

telly.

We all have

time to look

at other

programs and

read magazines.

And I'm not

saying don't

do it.

It's good to

do it.

We've all

got time.

We've just

got to make

it our

priority.

And the

only ones

who have a

genuine

reason,

according to

Martin Lloyd

Jones,

and I

think it's

a good

one,

are mums.

Those with

little kids.

I know

Kirsty had to

look after

two little

kids.

And you

get to a

certain point

of the day

and it's

just whacked

out,

mentally,

emotionally

exhausted.

Can't even

sit and read

the Bible

and take it

in.

So if you're

a mum here

this morning

and you're

in that

situation,

you just

find it

really hard

and really

tough.

Don't beat

yourself up

about it

and get

all guilty

about it.

But if

you're a

husband of

that mum,

you've got a

responsibility

to make sure

that they

have time

to encourage

them,

maybe to

read it

with them,

to pray

for them,

to be that

support that

they need.

And mums,

it doesn't

last forever.

It is a

season,

but we

do need

to gather

around and

support and

to encourage.

So first

of all,

read the

Bible on

your own.

The second

way to read

the Bible

is to read

it with

someone else

because it

provides

accountability

and support.

The Christian

life is not

something we

live on our

own.

It's not

to be done

in isolation.

We're to do

it with the

care and

the help

and support

of one

another.

And it's

something that

we encourage

very often

from the

frontier

and informally

with each

other.

To take

somebody

who you

can sit

down with

and read

the Bible

with and

challenge them

about what

it says.

I read the

Bible with

different people

and if you're

stuck and you

have nobody

to read it

with and you

haven't got a

friend, I'll

be a friend.

I'll read the

Bible with you.

Very happy to

do that.

But one of

the things I

read recently

with someone,

this is what

it said.

And it's

why it's

good to

read it

with somebody

because they

ask you

things that

you would

never ask

for yourself.

We read

these verses.

People will

be lovers of

themselves,

lover of

money,

boastful,

proud,

abutiful,

disobedient to

their parents,

ungrateful,

unholy,

without love,

unforgiving,

slanderous,

without self-control,

brutal,

not lovers of

the good,

treacherous,

rash,

conceited,

lovers of pleasure

rather than

lovers of God,

having a form of

godliness but

denying its power,

have nothing to do

with them.

Now if I was

to read that

myself,

I'd say,

well that's

other people,

that's not me.

The person who I

was reading with

perched up and

says,

well Johnny,

which one are

you?

You see,

I would never

ask that question

of myself.

but with somebody

else,

we are challenging

each other over

God's word,

hearing what it

has to say,

being accountable

and being

supportive.

And if we do

miss a day where

we don't read the

Bible,

if we miss two

days,

if we miss a

week,

if we miss a

month,

we need people

who will gather

around us and

encourage us

and support us

and say,

I'll sit down

and I'll read it

with you

and I'll pray

with you

and encourage

you.

Now these two

ways,

reading the Bible

on your own

and reading it

with somebody

else,

I don't suggest

it's one or the

other.

I suggest you

do the two.

You read it on

your own,

but you also

read it with

someone else.

Verse 1 of

Psalm 1 says,

Bless us.

The satisfied,

content,

happy,

fulfilled person

will never be

striving or

looking for

anything more

because we

have everything.

For the person

who delights

in the laws

of the Lord,

who meditates

on a day and

night,

who will be

like a tree

plant by streams

of water,

which yields

its fruit

in season.

Let's be

encouraged

to be people

who listen

to the word

rather than

listening

to the world.

Let's pray

together.

Amen.

Father God,

thank you

that you

are

personal,

that you

relate to

us,

that you

speak to

us.

Change

our priorities

in our life,

change our

attitudes,

so that we

make listening

to you

the most

important thing

in our lives.

Help us to

listen to what

you are saying

to us about

yourself,

about what

you're like,

about what

we're like,

and most of

all,

what Jesus

is like,

who lived

the perfect

way for us,

who lived

the life

that we

could never

live,

who died

the death

for us,

so that we

would not

perish,

but that we

would prosper

and have

eternal life.

Help us all

to be practical

about this.

Give us

good and

inventive ways

of reading

your words

with one

another.

Help us to

support each

other and

ask each

other how

we're getting

on.

And if

somebody's

struggling,

Lord,

give us the

courage to

get alongside

them and

read with

them and

to help

them.

We pray

this in

Jesus'

name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Well,

we've got

a pal,

and I

think we've

sung it

before,

which reflects,

helps us to

think through

a little bit

about what

we've been

looking at,

speak on the

word as we

ąż

how

A