Two Paths, One Choice: The Blessed Life vs. The Way of the Wicked | Psalm 1 Explained

[0:00] Two paths, one choice. The Bible tells us of the blessed man, the blessed life.

[0:12] ! The psalm shows us two contrasting ways, two paths, only two paths.! We read of two roads, two different kinds of people, two endings, a fork in the road if you like.

[0:27] Two paths, one choice. Every one of us has one choice. Two ways of life, the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked.

[0:43] Psalm 1 gives us this foundational blueprint for the righteous life. The New Testament builds upon that by revealing that Christ is the way.

[0:53] He is the source of that righteousness and God's Spirit is our enabler. Psalm 1, it shows us about the blessed life. It's not by chance, it's by choice.

[1:04] And it's talking about where you plan your life and what grows from it. It's a call to reflect on our choices and the consequences and the ultimate destination of our lives.

[1:20] Our journey will take us somewhere for eternity. Every one of us. And the psalm gives us guidance for really daily living and spiritual growth.

[1:33] So Psalm 1. Now of course it's the old covenant. We see there's a certain application. But we can see as the fulfilment of it in the new is shown to us, it's Christ.

[1:46] Christ is the way to life. Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

[2:06] Let's unpack these words a little as we go through the psalm. Verse 1 tells us the word here, blessed. And this word blessed, blessed, it tells us not just of happiness, but it tells of a deep-seated well-being and fulfilment.

[2:24] There's a lot to the word blessed here. And it's plural in the Hebrew also. And so we could reflect that it's saying, if you like, there's blessings upon blessings.

[2:39] There's blessings multiplied here. This is not one blessing. A one-off good day. It's a life overflowing.

[2:51] That's the picture of it. And when you think of the blessed life as believers, we have that deep joy, that contentment. That comes from Christ. It's Christ.

[3:01] It comes from being right with God. It's by faith. It's not based on circumstances. You know, we might have maybe a nice day, a nice week, and we might say, yeah, we could have some blessings.

[3:13] In a way, yes, we could reflect that. But even if we don't have a good day, even if we have a bad day, we've still got blessings, haven't we? Even if life's pretty hard, we still have blessings because we've got our Saviour.

[3:28] We've got the blessed Saviour. And even if the circumstances don't give us joy, we've got the Saviour who does, don't we? And that we're right with God. It's based on not the circumstance, but the condition.

[3:41] It's walking with God. It's walking in His ways. And God's blessing is for those who walk in righteousness. Our Lord declares, as we know, the Beatitudes, His words of blessing in Matthew 5.

[3:54] And the blessings there, they're not about material things or success particularly. But what are the blessings of Matthew 5? Blessed are the righteous.

[4:06] Blessed are the humble. Blessed are the pure. Those that have a heart for God. They're the blessed. Matthew 5. You could unpack that later for homework if you like.

[4:17] Notice this blessed man. The blessed man. The righteous man. What he does not do. What he does not do. The righteous one does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly.

[4:31] Stand in the way of sinners. Nor sit in the seat of the scornful. Three things here. He avoids that. And when you look at that, there's kind of a progression there of compromise.

[4:45] To walk means maybe a casual acceptance of some worldly thinking. And then you stand. It's becoming comfortable with some sinful behavior.

[4:56] And then to have a seat. It's kind of, yeah, you're going to join in the rebellion and the mocking of God's ways. You see the progression there. Walk, stand, sit.

[5:08] And the Hebrew verbs apparently they imply a slow slide. It's like it's sliding that way. And sin isn't usually a leap. It's a lean.

[5:19] You lean, lean, lean till crash. That's the picture of it. And it's a slow drift as well. First you're just hanging around. Maybe bad advice. Bad counsel.

[5:30] Then you're hanging out with the wrong crowd. And before you know it, you're parked there in cynicism. Central, if you like. And the grammar shows this movement that's turning into stagnation.

[5:41] Some have compared it, for example, like a man strolling past a pub, then standing to listen to a dirty joke, then pulling up a chair and joining in.

[5:56] There's this gradual compromise. And it happens sometimes unknowingly where one moves from innocent to involved and just joining in.

[6:09] And this progression. Got to watch that. Goes from casual influence to an engagement with sin. There's a warning for us here.

[6:20] That's the snare of the enemy, isn't it? And James 4 tells us how that it's like an adultery, like an unfaithfulness. No, you're not.

[6:31] The friendship of the world is enmity. It's hateful. It's hostile. Emnity with God. Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

[6:42] And so don't align yourself with those questionable things. Think of it, brother, sister, how can we guard the influences? The influences. You know, the influences.

[6:55] The screens. The media consumption. Can we guard ourselves from that? To not align ourselves with that, which might be of question.

[7:05] Are those influences leading us closer to our Lord or actually pushing us away? It tells us that evil communications.

[7:18] Hey, there's a lot of communications, yeah? Evil communications. Languages. Language. Information. Evil communications. It can corrupt good manners.

[7:30] So the sense of it can actually be damaging to our Christian witness. In other words, avoid those environments that normalise sin. Try to see, hey, actually there's a question there.

[7:43] Maybe that's not going to be good for me. It's going to corrupt me. You don't wake up a scoffer. You slide there. You slide there, don't you?

[7:54] You hang around people that are like that and you end up drifting the same way. Rather say no. And that starts small. Hey, I'm just not going to go there. Do that.

[8:05] Join that. I'm going to unfollow that. That person. Walk away. Change the channel. The mocker becomes so gradually. Before you know it, you're just joining in.

[8:17] You're just one of the boys. And you just like them. And that's a reproach. That's a sad thing. We'd see the mocker. They actively scorn that, which is good.

[8:27] You don't go there straight away. It creeps up on you. And you join in. And before you know it, you're one of them. And the Bible urges us rather take a different path to not hang with the ungodly.

[8:39] Don't hang around with them. Hang around with the people that, you know, hey, they've got their faults. You know, people in church. But actually, they're kind of heading in the right way.

[8:51] They've got their heart in the right direction, right? Hang around those two people for all their faults, even though churchgoers have got faults, just like any one of us. But hang around the good people that have got a heart for the things of God.

[9:05] Hang around the godly, not the ungodly. And their influence will be good for you. It's like, you know, a picture of the rotten tomato in the bag. It's going to infect the whole bunch.

[9:18] Don't hang around with the ungodly if you can avoid it. Now, that's not to say, hey, we want to be a witness to the ungodly, but we don't want to hang with them as, hey, best of mates. It tells us, wherefore come out from among them and be separate, saith the Lord, and touch not, don't even touch it, the unclean thing.

[9:37] If it's unclean, don't touch it. And I will receive you. He says, I will be a father unto you. The blessed man doesn't take that path. Here's what the blessed man does to you.

[9:48] But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. His delight. Here's what to embrace. This is something good for you.

[9:59] This will do your soul good. This is something to embrace. The righteous delight in this. God's law. The righteous, he takes a different counsel. It's what he's tuning into. What that media is.

[10:11] What that communication is. It's a different counsel. He's not walking in the ungodly counsel, but rather the godly counsel. The godly counsel. The meditating of the law of the Lord, God's word.

[10:24] And he takes a different counsel. And rather than the ungodly counsel, he wants the counsel of God. He wants the word of God. He wants the truth of God.

[10:34] And he's wanting to meditate therein, day and night. And he's changed by it too. It's like you get changed by who you hang around with. Hey, you get changed by what you meditate on, don't you?

[10:47] You get changed by it. You get transformed by it. As it tells us, and be not conformed to this world, but be rather transformed by the renewing of your mind. It's getting the hold of the word of God's mind.

[10:59] And it tells us that the blessed man, he loves the word of God. He delights in it. Yeah, I want it. I want to hear it. I want to go where it's preached. I want to go where I can study it.

[11:09] I want to get studying it where I can at home, in my own day by day. And we could say that the blessed man, he delights in the gospel. The gospel. It's salvation.

[11:20] It's truth. It's going to do my soul good. He says he meditates in it day and night, day and night. Our Lord says, John 15, 7, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, they dwell in you, you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you.

[11:38] Wow. There's something there, isn't there? His words abiding in me. I know we could take note and I know some of our friends go on about keeping the word, hiding the word, the word abiding, dwelling.

[11:52] That's kind of, sounds a bit like memorizing it, doesn't it? Sounds a bit like hiding it in your mind such that it becomes part of you. That, yeah, I love the word so much I want to take it into my memory, into my memory banks.

[12:09] Of course, the Lord himself, as Jeff touched on, the Lord Jesus is the living word. He is the language of love. He is the word of God.

[12:20] And as we delight in him, as we delight in Christ, we see there's a fulfillment there. Because Christ is the fulfillment of the law. He says, I've come to fulfill it, not to destroy it.

[12:33] So the law of the Lord that we delight in, in a way it's Christ. He's the fulfillment of it. And you see here this active, joyful pursuit of God's word. It's not a burdensome duty.

[12:44] Oh, it's Bible study night. Oh, it's, it's, oh, this Sunday night, six o'clock. Oh, it's a burden to come to church and hear the word of God. Actually, no, I'm actually excited.

[12:55] It's another opportunity to gather, to get together, to hear God's word. It's not a burdensome thing. It's a gladsome thing. And we can delight in God's word. It's not duty. It's a delight.

[13:07] As Paul tells, I delight in the law of God. After the inward man, there's an inward man that delights in it. The word of God. There's a joy, a satisfaction there.

[13:18] And the blessed man enjoys God's word. By all means, hear the word of God, however you can get hold of it. I know some love to watch YouTube videos or tune in through various audio means or the written page or fellowship where it's preached and we can study it.

[13:36] It's not a duty. It's a joy to hear the word. And so make scripture a daily priority, day and night, day after day, night after night. And meditate on it.

[13:46] Not just reading it, but reflecting deeply on its truth. So our Lord says, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God.

[13:59] Every word. We want to hang on to every word. And then it tells us, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

[14:10] Hey, even the songs we sing, we've got scripture, truth in them, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. The word of Christ. Let it dwell in you, brother. Dwell in you, sister, richly, richly, deeply.

[14:23] Here's some practical steps we could take. Start your daily day with some of the word, a short passage at least. Journal insights or prayers that are based on your reading.

[14:36] Meditate. Meditate. And this word meditate, there's a lot to that. It speaks really of the original Hebrew of literally mutter or chew it over like the cart.

[14:48] Think of the cows down in the pasture, they chomp and chomp and regurgitate, whatever they do. They chomp and chomp and chomp, don't they? They just want to chew that cart and get every little bit of goodness out of it.

[15:02] And that's like how we should treat the word, to meditate on it, chew it over. Yeah. Yeah. Really munch on it. Digest it. Take it in. Ingest it. And Joshua was told to meditate.

[15:13] And it tells of him, our Lord says, this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night to observe it, to do it.

[15:27] And then there's a blessing. We see Joshua meditate day in. In other words, internalize it. Internalize it. Delight in it. Make it real for you.

[15:37] Apply it in your own thinking, in your own living. It's not just reading the Bible, but it's ruminating on it. Until it sinks into life's decisions such that you're so, the word of Christ is dwelling in you so richly that, hey, that's going to affect the way that you walk, the way that you think, the way that you talk, the way that you relate.

[15:58] It's ruminating on it. An intentional, slow digestion. And John 15, 7, our Lord says, if you abide in me and my words abide, abide in you.

[16:11] That's the sense of it, isn't it? God's word dwelling in. And there's a transformative power of his word. As it dwells in you, brother. Dwells in you, sister. I know the son that likes to read it and hear it over and over again.

[16:25] They've got it on replay. They've got it on auto. What's it called? Over and over again. It's almost like we can't get enough of it, that his words would abide in us.

[16:38] And God does something inside of us when his word is abiding in us. Amen? Back to Psalm 1. And he shall be like a tree, it tells us, planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season.

[16:54] His leaf also shall not wither. And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Think of the picture here of a tree, this image of a tree. Stability, fruitfulness, beauty, ongoing vitality.

[17:08] Brother, sister, keep on being that tree. Amen? Be that firmly planted tree. And this tree, it's planted. It's not some wild, wandering bush.

[17:18] There's some, what they call them, those bushes that blow along the tumbleweed. You're not tumbleweed, you're a tree. And so this tree is intentional.

[17:30] It's planted. It's got its roots deep down. And the Hebrew here implies intentionality. In other words, someone has planted this tree. Hey, guess what? You've been planted by God. Amen?

[17:40] God's made you. He's planted you. He's given you life, eternal. And someone put that tree there by the rivers of water. It was an intentional planting of the tree.

[17:53] God is the gardener. And we are as a tree. We could liken the well-watered tree to the true vine of John 15. Our Lord of the vine and of the branches.

[18:05] Our Lord speaking of abiding in him and bearing much fruit. Can think of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Love, joy, peace, etc. The righteous life of someone. It's the fulfilment of the Spirit-led life.

[18:19] And there's fruit there. We've promised it. It's fruit. Someone tells of rivers of water. Notice that. There's constant nourishment. Don't you love going down the river?

[18:32] Down where the water is. And just that refreshment. And we see the river, the tree by the river here. It speaks of, not of a seasonal supply.

[18:42] But because they're by the river, there's always the water there. And notice it's not just one river. There's multiple streams. Rivers. There's multiple streams. We think, as a Christian, what do you have?

[18:54] You've got a nourishment. You've got the Word. There's nourishment here. You've got the Spirit of God. You've got the nourishment of brothers and sisters. There's a godly fellowship.

[19:04] And these streams are like channels, aren't they? They're not wild rivers. They're a supply of steady, reliable water. We're planted there. Planted by the streams.

[19:17] And this thought of trees by the river, that the tree by the river is going to survive the drought. We know in many places, even our own state, there's a lack of supply.

[19:30] But the tree by the river is going to be resilient. And think of it, brother, sister, you've got an eternal supply. Eternal supply.

[19:41] And God's will for you is that you have an abundant life, that you be like that deeply rooted, nourished tree, producing fruit. And when you think of a fruit tree, we don't have to force it to happen.

[19:54] Because we're a fruit tree, it happens. You are a fruit tree. And you don't have to force it. It's just going to happen naturally. God's going to help you be that fruit-bearing tree.

[20:06] And he tells us, Abide in me. Except a branch abide in the vine. Can't bring forth fruit. No more can ye.

[20:16] Except ye abide in me. Just have that life connected with God. It's that simple. Your life connected with him, fruit will follow. God will help you to be a fruitful believer.

[20:29] And sure, look, we have times where we maybe drop the bundle, we drop the ball. God will help you to get fruitful. He'll give you that fruit. He'll make you fruitful.

[20:40] He says, I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me you can do nothing. Hey, we can't make it happen ourselves. We can't bring forth good fruit of ourselves.

[20:53] We need Jesus to be that one. So it's connection with him. And so for the believer today, we see that our fruitfulness, it comes from him. He's the one who makes it happen. It's from abiding in him.

[21:04] And trust God's timing. Maybe you're going through an unproductive season. You're feeling like you're not producing. You're not fruitful. Just trust God. It's in his timing. Maybe the fruit's still coming through the branches.

[21:18] And this tree, it says it's resilient. It says the leaves do not wither. Think of our leaves. Maybe you could reflect. Maybe that's my testimony. That, hey, my leaf's going to always stay green.

[21:29] Even though there's dry times, my leaves are going to stay green. It's that sense of, maybe that's my testimony. That even in times of hardship, in times when it's tough, I'm going to keep bearing those leaves.

[21:44] I'm going to keep bearing those leaves. Even in those seasons of hardship, that my life will point others to Christ. We read of the blessed man that whatever they do prospers. Now that's not necessarily, of course, materially, but there's a wonderful abounding that comes.

[21:59] If you're in Christ, there's an abounding. But that's a spiritual, eternal truth. There's a thriving there. That's God's will for us as believers. And so, brother, sister, cultivate that, that stability.

[22:11] Be like that tree. Be like that branch in the vine. Fruitful, bringing forth his fruit. Enduring his leaf also shall not wither. Successful, whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

[22:23] And success, not as the world calls success. It's about being spiritually blessed, isn't it? A son, a daughter of the living God. Hey, you're blessed. You're blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ.

[22:35] There's no more blessings that outweigh that, or outmeasure that. The blessings in Christ, isn't it? That's what matters. And so, just stay as that tree, grounded, rooted in the right place, bearing fruit.

[22:49] It doesn't have to strain. It's just, it's Jesus happening in you, out of you. It's like you overflow him, isn't it? He flows out of you, into your leaves, into your branches, into your fruit bearing.

[23:01] So, the question is, are you planted in the word, or potted in the world? It's the one that's abiding in me, he says, my word abiding in them. As you're, like that tree, planted by the water, you're connected to your spiritual source through prayer, fellowship, worship, and you bear the fruit, even in the challenging times of life.

[23:21] What matters is where you're located. Are you positioning yourself, near the spiritual nourishment? Just as trees need water, we need regular spiritual practices to flourish.

[23:35] The leaf not withering, even when the heat is on, think of that. The leaves shall not wither, even when the heat is on, even when there's drought. It talks about a resilience beyond your own, because here's your supply.

[23:49] And we can know that. When the storms come, whether it be illness, job loss, grief, it's your roots that will determine your survival. It's not about the circumstances.

[24:03] And we can pray for our children, believe for our families, that we'll bear fruit, God helping us. The question is, where are you planted?

[24:16] Are you planted near people who drain you? Or planted by streams that feed you? Fellowship, godly friends, prayer, it says we're going to bear fruit.

[24:28] And sometimes fruit, it doesn't happen straight away, does it? Can take patience. I'm still waiting for some of my fruit trees to bear fruit. But one day, one day, God helping us.

[24:41] But you know, sometimes fruit can take a while, can't it? There's times where you don't maybe see fruit, but God helping you, as you abide in me, he says, you're going to bring forth much, much fruit. Maybe it's not instant, but it's real.

[24:52] It will happen. It matters where we plant it. Did you ever see a tree bear fruit in a desert? Get planted by the river. And so the truth, there's no water, no life.

[25:04] He says, I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. Think of the abundance that we have. It's Christ, isn't it? And so we'll see God's blessing. Think then further, verse 4 of Psalm 1, it tells of the ungodly, that the ungodly are not so.

[25:19] They're not bearing fruit. They're not got leaves green. They're not planted. It says, the ungodly are not so, but they are like the chaff, which the wind driveth away. Maybe the tumbleweed, a picture of maybe dry leaves, of just dross, of that husks left over from the threshing of the grain.

[25:36] And it's in contrast to the blessed man. Of that fruit, of that life we saw with the blessed man, now with the ungodly man, it says that they're likened to chaff.

[25:48] Rather than being like a strong tree, they're like this light, useless, gone with a gust kind of chaff. Weightless, worthless, blown around by the wind.

[26:00] Rootless, unstable, easily blown. No roots, no weight, no staying power. Of the ungodly, it says that their lives lack substance and eternal significance, chaff.

[26:13] You know, when they winnowed the grain, they threw the grain up in the air, the wind blew the chaff away and the wheat was kept separated. What a picture of instability, blown away by the wind.

[26:24] We might think of some, we might see some and maybe envy those that seem successful yet wicked. But really, that's temporary, isn't it? Very temporary and hollow.

[26:36] The time is coming of our Lord's judgment and John the Baptist tells of this separation. He says he's going to burn up the chaff, he's going to separate the wheat from the chaff and then the chaff is going to be burnt with unquenchable fire.

[26:49] It talks about the concept of final judgment. A life separated from God is destined for destruction. What matters is that we be like the sturdy tree, brother, sister.

[27:01] And chaff gets blown away, but trees stand tall. Of the wicked tells us further, verse 5, therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

[27:12] It tells that of the ungodly, they're not going to stand in this judgment. It speaks of a legal standing in court. Basically, they don't have any defence. They have no defence.

[27:23] They won't have a leg to stand on. It's the kind of picture. They've got no leg to stand on. There's no legal standing in court. Basically, nut, you're done. Gone.

[27:35] No question. Basically, they face judgment. The final judgment day is coming. Of course, it's a very sombre thought that the dead, small and great, will stand before God.

[27:46] The books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. It tells the dead were judged. And so judgment is looming. Now, of course, for we that believe Christ, we know that our judgment's already happened at Calvary's Hill.

[28:00] But for some, their judgment is still yet future. And someone tells of our ultimate accountability. The ungodly, they have no mediator between God and man. Yet for the blessed man, we have a mediator.

[28:12] We have Christ who stands for us, an advocate with the Father, we have God's oversight over our life. And it tells of the righteous, it says that the Lord's known of them, and they are known of God.

[28:27] It says, For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. It's telling us here that God watches over the righteous with their intimate care and knowledge to know that God knows you.

[28:42] He knows you. He knows you by name. He knows every hair on your head. He knows the sparrows that fall. He knows every little bit about you. He knows you inside out. And it tells them, The Lord knows you.

[28:55] And that's got this sense of intimate knowledge, of relationship, of care, of knowledge. It tells us how God cares for you, that are saved. And He protects you.

[29:06] It tells us He is the good shepherd. And He knows His sheep. There's a wonderful reality that He knows you, and you know Him. And you can know God as your shepherd.

[29:18] The Lord knows the way of the righteous. He knows you, intimately, personally, even though you think, Well, I've blown it. I'm not very good. I'm not a very good Christian. Hey, God knows where you're at.

[29:29] And He's patient. He's patient. Thank God He's patient with me. The Lord knoweth them that are His, it tells us.

[29:40] It's an intimate relationship. He knows you better than you know yourself. Think of it. And 1 Peter 3 tells us that the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous.

[29:52] He's just watching. I like to think, really, we've got 24 by 7 security. By 365. The Lord's eyes are over the righteous. He's watching over you.

[30:04] And His ears are open, it says, unto their prayers. So I think of it, friends, as we think about the two ways, two roads, two destinies, one choice.

[30:15] The way of the wicked, it leads to destruction. But the way of the righteous, it's everlasting. There's ultimately two outcomes to life. And the psalm begins with blessed and it ends with perish.

[30:30] Interesting contrast, isn't it? Blessed is the man, the ungodly shall perish. It shows the stark difference, poles apart, isn't it, between the paths. Are we like the tree, firmly planted tree, drawing from God's resources?

[30:45] Are we like the chaff, just guided by whatever influences blow the strongest? Life is like a fork in the road, if you like. Think, there's a choice here, two ways, one choice.

[30:57] And every small decision leads you down one path or the other. Where will you be in your path, perhaps 10 years away, in eternity, perhaps. The Bible shows us we can know the Saviour and He can know us.

[31:12] Life is a journey, two paths, two destinations, one leading to life, one leading to destruction. The Lord tells of this in Matthew 7. He says, Enter ye in at the straight gate.

[31:25] Hey, it's a narrow gate, He says. But wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be that go in thereat because straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it.

[31:40] What's He talking about? Jesus is the narrow way. It's a narrow way. But there's a broad way as an alternative and most people take that path.

[31:52] Rather, trust Christ. Trust Christ. Narrow is the way. The way that leads unto life. That's the way we want, isn't it? The way that leads to life. So choose Christ.

[32:03] Trust Him. And know that true joy that comes from knowing Him. Sure, life's still going to have its hardships. You're still going to have some burdens. You're still going to have some hurts and heartaches.

[32:14] But He's with you. And it's His way, isn't it? The way that leads to life. It's Christ. Trust Christ. Here is the fork in the road. It's Christ. And it's not choosing fleeting places like the chaff, material success as the world would reckon it.

[32:32] Someone calls us to a choice. Which path will we take? And the blessed man, He doesn't hang around the people that are going to cause Him to deviate.

[32:48] Who are we going to fellowship with? Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather reprove them. We're going to choose the fellowship that we have.

[33:01] In other words, who are we going to hang around with? Well, we delight in God's Word and be like a fruitful tree or will we be like a drifting piece of chaff?

[33:13] Choose the blessed life. Really, the blessing is Christ. Paul says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel, the good news of Christ. It's the power of God unto salvation to everyone which believe at the Jew first and also to the Greek.

[33:30] Here is the righteousness, it says. Therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written that just shall live by faith. Of course, we're talking about the blessed life, the righteous, the ungodly.

[33:42] How do we get righteous? It's Christ. It's Christ. The righteousness of God. It's by faith in Christ. It's not by any works or law keeping.

[33:54] Of course, we know he's fulfilled all that. He is the law. He is Christ. He is our Savior. His righteousness is Christ himself and our true righteousness, it can only come from Christ.

[34:08] The question is, do you know him? And maybe you've slipped and slided a bit. Look, just refresh your faith and trust him further.

[34:19] Trust him, lean upon him. Listen to him, meditate upon his words and this fruit's going to happen. Fruit will happen for you. Think about it, friends, as we wrap up here, the influences of our life.

[34:34] Could be habits, priorities. Are we committing our life to Christ? Are we mindful that we're under his watchful care? Are we the blessed lives that say, hey, I'm not going to hang around that which is questionable.

[34:50] I'm going to pursue that which is going to bless me and help me grow. Choose blessing. How can I be righteous? It's by faith of Jesus Christ, it says.

[35:01] The righteousness of God, it's by faith. It's by faith in Christ. It's for those that believe. No matter who you are, there's no difference. True righteousness, it comes through faith in Christ.

[35:12] You might be hearing my words here tonight, today, and you've got this uncertainty. Simply trust Christ. The righteousness of God is by faith in Christ.

[35:27] It's that simple. And then there's a new way of walking. The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us because we walk not after the flesh but after the spirit.

[35:37] So here's the fulfillment of Psalm 1 for us in our time. The blessed life, those two ways, we're going to choose Christ. We're going to choose Christ, choose his way to walk after the spirit, not after the flesh.

[35:49] To walk by faith, not by the flesh. It's a new and living way. Are you planted or drifting? To close some practical takeaways we could think about and really for believers here, hey, you're on the way but maybe you slipped a bit here and there.

[36:08] Some practical tips, takeaways. How can we walk more wisely? How can we walk closer to our God? Here's some ways that you can better walk perhaps with your walk with God.

[36:20] Audit your influences. What is it that I'm tuning into? Who am I walking with? The social media, friendships, entertainment. Check out your influences.

[36:31] Hey, maybe there's some influences that are taking me the wrong way. I'm going to audit that. I'm going to cut that. How's your delight? Do you delight in the word of God or is it something that you feel like it's a duty?

[36:47] Hey, maybe get that first love back. Delight. Find your enjoyment in the word and sink your roots deep down. Join in some of the fellowship groups. We've got different options the Thursday, the Wednesday.

[37:00] Join a small group. Suffering will come but hey, you won't wither because you're planted. Get your roots deep down. Be one of the ones that are planted here, all right?

[37:11] Or plant yourself in a good church somewhere. but get your roots down. It's going to outlast the storm. And then think about your fruit too. Ask a trusted friend, what spiritual fruit do you see in me?

[37:23] Maybe our fruit could do with some checking too. Is it the fruit of the spirit or is it the alternative? So, I urge you here today to think of these truths of Psalm 1, the blessed life, the blessed man and it's a choice, two ways, one choice, where you walk, what you chew on, what you meditate on, what you hang with, whether you're letting God nourish your soul, being planted where the water is, where the word is and plant yourself there.

[37:57] Think about the meditation. Meditate day and night. Get a hold of the word and speak it to yourself, to your soul and say no to the drift, that compromise, just cut it off.

[38:12] Don't drift. Stay strong. Let God water you, fill you and fruit will come. Two ways. It matters whether we're on the right road and really as we could understand it in our context today, it's Christ.

[38:28] He is the way, the truth and the life. There's a way which seems right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of death but Christ is the way, the truth and the life and I urge you today to trust Christ and believers be encouraged in that walk, the walk of faith.

[38:42] Keep strong, keep planted, keep growing, keep fruiting that fruit that fruit that is of God and God will help you to be that blessed man. There's a blessing. Let us pray.

[38:53] Lord, we thank you for your word and for our fellowship here just now and Lord, for every soul that each one will know that trust in Christ, that soul-saving trust, that Christ is the way, the truth and the life, that there's no other way, there's only one saviour, one way to be saved, one name under heaven, the name of Jesus.

[39:14] We thank you for that, Lord, that our trust is in you, not in any doing of our own and to be that blessed one, help us to be stronger in our faith, we pray in Jesus' name.

[39:25] Amen.