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[0:00] A beautiful psalm about the word of God. Psalm 1. It says, Like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season.

[0:36] His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment nor sinners, in the congregation of the righteous.

[0:53] For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Psalm 1 is a song about following God's path, about righteousness and holiness.

[1:08] And it tells us of two ways, two ways to live, two sets of people. There's the blessed and there's the blighted. The blessed who know God and his endless hope.

[1:20] And the blighted who do not know God, they have a hopeless end. An endless hope or a hopeless end. It's two choices. The blessed, the blighted.

[1:32] The life of the wicked is truly without hope. But Psalm 1 shows us how to live the blessed life. How to be blessed as godly men and women. And the godly have a God-centered life.

[1:44] They have the source of true blessedness. True joy. The blessing of knowing our Saviour. And his saving love. The Israelites taught this psalm to their children.

[1:56] They sang it in the temple, at the synagogue, in their homes. They taught this psalm to their children. And Psalm 1 became an important part of their lives.

[2:08] Because it showed them how to live. The psalm opens with a promise and a warning. The believer does not walk in the way of the wicked and he will be blessed.

[2:19] Yet the path of the wicked will lead to ruin. It's such a contrast here through the psalm. We see the blessed man. He does not listen to the counsel and advice of those who do not know God.

[2:31] And it's telling us here that we look to God for the direction for our lives. To set the pathway for us. The blessed man does not stand in the way of sinners.

[2:48] Our fellowship is not in that pathway. It's not in that direction. It's not in those ungodly ways. God's people are set apart. They're called to be distinct and set apart unto God.

[3:03] God's people do not sit in the seat of the mockers. They don't hang out with the people all caught up in the worldly ways and worldly thinking. The word rules us so that evil communications corrupt good manners.

[3:17] In other words, if you mix with those that are evil and they communicate evil and they are taking that evil course, that can corrupt those who want to know the Lord and follow him.

[3:30] There's a corrupting influence from that. And Psalm 1 shows us that distinct pathway for the godly. Psalm 1 is a song about having a dynamic and productive life.

[3:42] A blessed life. It tells of the soul, of the health of the soul. So we're going to look through these various verses one by one to capture some of the sense of it.

[3:54] Verse 1. Blessed is the man. This song tells us how we can be blessed by God. Truly blessed. It contrasts the righteous and the wicked.

[4:05] The believer is blessed by God. The believer has chosen to live a life of righteousness. A life of holiness. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sinneth in the seat of the scornful.

[4:23] It's a different way of living. The blessed man, the blessed one, is marked by the things he does not do. The places he does not go. The company he does not keep.

[4:36] And we need to beware lest we be misled. The godly man has chosen a different path. He knows a totally different way of living.

[4:46] It's a different way. It's a different way of walking. Our decisions that we make. That pathway we take for ourselves. The walking, the decisions. A different way of standing.

[4:59] Standing as to our commitments that we make. What we stand for is different, isn't it? As a believer. As God's people. And it's a different way of sitting. Our heart attitude. Where we feel at peace.

[5:11] Where we want to rest and dwell. It's a different way of sitting. A different way of walking our decisions. A different way of standing our commitments. A different way of sitting. Our heart attitude.

[5:22] As believers, we don't listen, linger, or laugh with the godless. God blesses his people. His people. Because we belong to him. Not to the world. Not that we belong there.

[5:34] Our belonging is to our Lord and God. Our Father in heaven. And the blessed man, it says here, puts God's words into his everyday life.

[5:46] The blessed man, it says they do not go to the ungodly for direction. The counsel that they want doesn't come from the ungodly. It comes from God. The great counselor.

[5:56] The great comforter. The great one who leads our pathway. Who is our guide and director. He does not follow the wicked ways of the lost.

[6:09] The blessed man is careful about the direction he takes. And it's telling us here that as God's people, as men and women of God, that we will be careful about the company that we keep.

[6:22] About how we expend our lives. How we spend our leisure time. Will it be worthwhile? As someone has summed it up.

[6:32] The counsel of the ungodly speaks of evil principles. The way of sinners speaks of evil practices. And the seat of the scornful speaks of evil partnerships.

[6:44] Principles, practices, partnerships. Counsel, way, seat. These are all different aspects. It captures that dimension of life. Where we don't want to partake of the way of the world's thinking.

[6:59] Because it's contrary largely to the way of God. And so we want to be discerning as God's people. And beware of the influence of others on our lives. Because when we mix with others, there's an influence, isn't there?

[7:13] We capture the way they talk and act and think. And we can be in danger of backsliding. Of sliding back to that way of thinking and being. The backslider will do the opposite of what the blessed will do.

[7:29] It says here, as we read in verse 1, Of the walking, of the standing, of the sitting again. He walks. He starts listening to the world. He starts tuning in to what the world's saying and thinking.

[7:42] And how the world's acting. It's about the walk. It's about the standing. He starts to go to the same places as the world. Where the world likes to hang out. And ends up adopting that way of living.

[7:57] And then he sits. He becomes friends with the world. Where he's just comfortable in the world's culture. Such that we're not different anymore.

[8:09] That's a danger for us as believers. And we need to all take notice of that. This is not to say that we're meant to be isolated from the world.

[8:22] But we should be separated in a godly way. It's not that we are not able to influence and witness. And very much reach out.

[8:33] And touch the world all around us. The lost people that we rub shoulders with in our workplaces. And home places. And going out places. That we can still be salt.

[8:45] It's not that we cut ourselves off from the world. But we don't adopt the world's way of living. Because we are distinct. And the blessed man, it says, in contrast, his counsel comes from the right source.

[8:58] We have the counsel of God. The wisdom of God that we can take counsel from. From our Lord. His course comes from the right way. God's word. And his companions come from the right crowd.

[9:10] Christians. So, just to recap. His counsel. His course. His companions. These three things. There's a mighty contrast. In how we... Who we take counsel from.

[9:21] In who we choose. What course we take. And in what companions we want to fit in with. And hang with. Who is influencing us? It's a big question.

[9:33] Who are we following? Rather than being influenced, we should be influencing. Rather than following, we should be encouraging others to follow us. To follow our Lord.

[9:44] And come to our Lord. And his saving love. Are we getting direction from the wrong people? Sometimes we can tune in to the world's wavelength.

[9:56] And end up going the world's way. As we take our direction from the wrong people. From the ignorant. From the disobedient. And from the defiant. Of course the world will give us many messages.

[10:08] Through media. Through all kinds of media. As we can tune in. And we start to adopt the ways and thinking of the world. And yet as believers we're encouraged to do the opposite of that.

[10:21] Verse 2 we read on. Verse 2. But. In contrast to all of that. His delight. The godly. His delight is in the law of the Lord.

[10:33] This song here is teaching us that God's word. Challenges us. And it urges us. It guides us to. Commit to being a learner and a doer.

[10:45] Of his word. The blessed man will choose the word of God. It's in God's law. In God's principles. That we find the way to live. We find how to live.

[10:56] And that we find our delight there. This is not a dread. Drei thing. This is a delight. The word of God. Why? Because we have God's voice in his word. We have God's will.

[11:07] We have God's direction for us. It's here that we find the true blessedness. Our creator's instructions for living are found in these pages. So here we can know and find that true blessedness.

[11:21] Notice it says his delight is in the word. There's a delight there. His desire is for the word. He meditates in it. He just can't fill his mind enough to saturate his thinking.

[11:38] That he's got a desire. A meditating in the word. And his devotion is to the word. Day and night. It's not just a passing interest. It's day and night.

[11:49] So there's a delight. A desire. And a devotion. That the word just has some magnetic attraction for us. That we must find ourselves in the scriptures.

[11:59] And saturate ourselves with his precious word. And we draw from the grace and glory and strength of God. As we find our fulfillment. Our delight is in our God.

[12:11] And in his words to us. The blessed man has a heart full of passion for the word of God. There's a desire there. There's a delight. And his mind is filled with the word of God.

[12:21] He wants to hide it in his heart. He wants to meditate. Day and night. Day and night. Find some scripture to dig deep and put his trust in. And find his confidence there.

[12:33] In his law does he meditate day and night. It's so easy to saturate ourselves and our thinking with many things that are all around us.

[12:45] But as a believer we're called to meditate day and night in the word. To fill our thoughts, our thinking, our conversation with what is found here in God's word.

[12:56] We read that it tells us let the word of God dwell richly in our hearts. Let it dwell richly in our interactions, in our daily conversations. Meditation.

[13:07] Now the meditation here where it says meditate day and night. Of course we know as some would reckon and has been popularized in eastern mysticism.

[13:18] That some would meditate and just blank their minds and utter some mantras and just some repetitive phrases. And just try to blank out their minds. We're not talking about such meditation.

[13:29] But in the word of God our meditation, friends, our meditation is in this book. It's in this book. We meditate on the word of God. On the words of God. We choose God's words to feed upon.

[13:41] We don't blank out our mind. We fill our mind with the promises of God. We find our strength there. And meditation of this kind is hearing and reflecting and readjusting our thinking and our lifestyle.

[13:59] So we're in accord with the word. We line up with the word and what God's word is for us which is found in his word. And we avoid anything that will distract us from filling our thoughts with what is true.

[14:10] What is honest. What is just. What is pure. What is lovely. What is of good report. If there will be any virtue. If there will be any praise. We want to fill our mind. We want to saturate our mind.

[14:21] Our thinking. And we get our strength from God as we choose his words to feed upon. To meditate upon. To trust his promises. And gain understanding from his word.

[14:34] And the blessed one will choose to find that way to live through the storms of life. As we bring to mind those words of God. As we meditate and we memorize them such that we can bring them back to our mind.

[14:47] And we can recount them. And confess them. And declare them. As we allow God's word to transform our heart. Our mind and soul. So this meditation that the word of God speaks of.

[15:00] It's not a blanked out kind of thinking. It's a focused thinking. It's a focused thinking. On the words of God. That we. As we seek the word. We'll understand the mind of God.

[15:13] It's been truly said. What a man thinks. So is he. What a man thinks. So is he. And how can we readjust our thinking. In a world that's sending us all kinds of messages that are anti-God.

[15:27] How can we think. What is the truth. What is God's will. How can I think. The thoughts of God. And as we saturate. And meditate. And desire.

[15:38] And delight. In the word. It'll make a change in our heart. Verse 3. We read on. And he shall be like a tree. Planted by the rivers of water.

[15:49] This song is using now a metaphor. Of a tree. To describe the effective life. The metaphor of a tree. Of a fruit tree. It says a lot.

[16:00] As we think of fruit trees. As we think of a tree. Which will bud and blossom. And bear fruit. A tree. Is the picture here of the blessed one. Of the believer.

[16:11] Of their strength. Of their steadfastness. Of their stability. It's a believer. Who's growing strong. Growing deep. And strong. And fruitful.

[16:23] And. In seasons of growth. In seasons of strengthening. Such that there'll be a great harvest. There'll be a crop. There'll be a fruit. Resulting.

[16:34] And. We know it takes time. For a tree to produce quality fruit. I know. In our place. We planted some trees. And. I had a. A pair. A pair.

[16:45] Lately. And it was. Really dried up. And. And it tasted a bit funny. Because it wasn't quite. At that fullness of growth. And sometimes we can. Think of Christians too.

[16:58] Can be like that. Can't we? That the fruit. Might be just a little dry. A little bit lacking. The quality's not there. It takes time. For us to grow. It takes time. We need to have time.

[17:09] Allow people time to grow. And encourage them to grow. Encourage one another to grow. That we can. Bring forth fruit. And much fruit. That's God's will. That we bring forth fruit. Much fruit.

[17:19] From our lives. And. For the meantime. God is. Preparing. He's planting. He's pruning. And ultimately. We will be producing. All thanks to his grace. And his.

[17:31] Working. Within our human lives. As. He does that work. So let's trust the Lord. To plant us. Notice it says. Verse 3. That the tree is planted.

[17:44] We trust the Lord. To plant us. To plant us. Where we can blossom. And flourish. Where we can bloom. Where we planted. We can be planted. Where we can. He can nourish us.

[17:56] Where he can work in us. And on us. And grow us. And produce fruit. From our lives. Such that we'll be fruitful Christians. We'll produce a harvest. We'll see others one. And we'll see a fruit.

[18:07] In our own hearts. We are planted. Planted with a purpose. When God plants us. He plants us. He places us. In that place. Where we can grow.

[18:18] He wants to. See us. Thrive. And grow. As a fruitful tree. Would thrive and grow.

[18:31] And that's his plan. That he plants us. We need to allow him to plant us. You know. It's not that we decide. He plants us. Where he wants us to be. And he will show us.

[18:42] How to live. What to do. As we are. Really. Totally at his mercy. Like a tree planted. That he will plant us. By the streams of water.

[18:53] So we'll have his provision. He'll provide for us. He'll water this plant. That is our Christian life. He'll provide for our needs. And he'll supply streams.

[19:04] For us to nourish and grow. Where God plants you. You will grow and prosper. And so. There's many pictures. We can think of a tree planted. As a tree. We are meant to be fixed.

[19:15] Now the roots go down deep. For stability. And so too. We're meant to be grounded. And solid. Planted. In him. Even Paul speaks of.

[19:27] How Apollos planted. And he watered. And God gave the increase. God wants us to grow. To increase. To be fruitful. And the tree. Is meant to be growing.

[19:40] A tree is planted by the river. The place of nourishment. I know. In my backyard. It's a bit dry. And it's a bit dead. And the trees in my yard. Are struggling.

[19:51] Because there's not a lot of water there. But where God plants us. It's fruitful. It's a rich. Fertile place. That God plants us. The place of his nourishing.

[20:02] The place of his power. His presence. Because he wants us to be growing. A tree. It's meant to be living. You know. Sometimes. I've been out in the backyard. Watering.

[20:13] And I've been watering. Dead sticks in the ground. You know. Once the tree dies. There's no point of watering anymore. Just rip it out of the ground. And throw it in your burning pile. You know. But.

[20:23] God wants us to be a tree. That's got life in it. Amen. And he wants us to be living. To be a tree. That's developing. And stretching upwards. And. God helping us.

[20:35] He gives us his life. Doesn't he? He sustains us. And he. Blesses us with new life. And we're meant to be a living tree. Not some dead stick in the ground.

[20:46] To be a developing. Stretching. Living tree. The blessed man. Is such a tree. Planted by God. Where? By the living waters. By that. Stream.

[20:57] The rivers of water. Notice where it is planted. Is by the rivers of water. We know. In John 4.14. Our Lord says. Whosoever drinketh of the water. That I shall give.

[21:08] Shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give him. Shall be in him. A well. Springing off. Into eternal life. What a picture. Of God's. Overflowing.

[21:20] And. Nourishing. The Lord wants to nourish us. And the rivers in my soul. Will never run dry. Because it's. In us. A will of water.

[21:31] A well of water. That he supplies. A healthy planted tree. Begins to. Put forth. In two directions. Its roots grow deeper. In the ground. And its limbs grow higher.

[21:41] Into the air. And to grow spiritually. One has to reach deeper. Into the word. Into that. Streams of living water. Into that. Rather the. The rivers of water.

[21:53] As we read in verse 3. And. And also to reach higher. In our prayer life. As well. So there's that. Grounding in the word. And there's that seeking out. That reaching out to the Lord.

[22:05] In prayer. It goes on. In verse 3. That. Bringeth forth his fruit. In his season. That bringeth forth his fruit. In his season. So. We read here.

[22:16] That the blessed man. Is likened to. A tree. Which bringeth forth fruit. In contrast to. The blighted man. Who is likened to. The worthless chaff.

[22:27] That the wind drives away. It drives it to and fro. You know. You see. Sometimes that picture. In the western movies. Of that tumbleweed. Just blowing down. That barren.

[22:38] Dry. Desert type street. Just tumbleweed. Blowing around by the wind. That's the picture. Of the blighted man. They like the chaff. That the wind drives away.

[22:48] But the blessed man. Brings forth his fruit. In his season. So there's. A great value. The tree's value. Is its fruit. And likewise.

[22:59] For us. As believers. God wants us to have that joy. That fruitfulness. That. Blooming. And growing. And. That grace.

[23:10] That he wants for our lives. That productive. Useful. Christian life. That he wants for all of us. To find. And to be. Notice that the tree. Is planted. As I say. It did not plant itself.

[23:21] It surrenders itself. Totally to the plants. You know. In the Christian life. Really. We've got to surrender. To the Lord's planting. To. To surrender.

[23:32] To his. Placing us. That surrender. When you're planting trees. You take care about. Where and how. You plant them. You plant them. Where they will flourish.

[23:42] You know. Someone was telling me. Lately. They very much. Water their trees. So. In my backyard. There's. There's areas. That I just cannot get water to. And they've got to kind of. Fend for themselves.

[23:53] And they're not. Fending that well. But. God plants us. Where we're going to flourish. Amen. He will plant us. And he'll. He'll nourish us. He'll sustain us. And he'll make us bloom.

[24:05] In other words. Find God's will. And do it. Trust the plant. Trust his. Care. Trust his. Placing of you. In. In your situation. It goes on to say.

[24:17] His leaf also shall not wither. But whatsoever he doeth. Shall prosper. The leaf shall not wither. Again. I think of this. At times.

[24:28] These dead things. I've had. Planted in my garden. And. They're just fit for firewood now. Because the leaf is withered. But. God says. For you.

[24:39] The leaf is here today. That your leaf shall not wither. And. God will prosper. He'll bless. It speaks of the promises of God. That we can put. Our trust in.

[24:50] That. The prosperity here really. That we can truly know. Is spiritual. It's a spiritual. Wealth. That we can know. You know.

[25:00] There's some that are. Poor in this world. Rich in faith. That's what counts. Isn't it? To be rich in faith. Not a prosperity. That the world would reckon. In terms of bank account value.

[25:12] But. Rich in faith. God wants us to be a people. That are rich in faith. A people that are productive spiritually. That are prosperous spiritually. Where in the heart and character.

[25:22] There's a value there. That God's planted us. And he's bringing us. Fruitfulness. It comes from that deep rooted life. It's the one. Where the tree is planted.

[25:34] By the rivers of water. That's where the tree can get the strength. You know. You see down. Like the Gaw River. You see the huge gum trees. Where the river runs.

[25:44] Is where those huge majestic gum trees are there. And some have been there for hundreds of years. And why are they so strong. And mighty. And powerful. Because they're. Grounded.

[25:55] By the rivers of water. They're grounded. Where they can get the strength. And this speaks to us. Of the depth. Of our spiritual life. As we are grounded. In the rivers of water. As we are nourished.

[26:06] By the. The water of the word. The word of God. Is like a. It's just full of nutrients. Spiritual nutrients. That we need. To grow. So let's meditate in it.

[26:18] Day and night. And find that. Depth. Of our spiritual life. From the word. Verse 4. We read again. It tells us. The ungodly. Are not so. But are like the chaff.

[26:29] Which the wind. Driveth away. Here we see. A bit of a swapping now. We've talked about. The blessed man. Now we see. The blighted man. We see the ungodly.

[26:41] Are not so. It's in direct contrast. To the godly. The blessed. Is the blighted. The ungodly. What a contrast here. What do we hear. Of the ungodly. It tells us here.

[26:52] Of the tragedy. Of a wasted life. Of wasted. Lives. The life of the ungodly. Is a wasted life. It's a loss.

[27:03] Notice here. What it says. About the ungodly life. It says. Two words. To describe. The life of the ungodly. The ungodly. Are not so. Not so. It tells us.

[27:14] Two words. Everything that was said. Before. About the godly. About the blessed man. It's not so. For the ungodly. The ungodly man. It's not the master. Of his own soul.

[27:25] As someone. Would say. I think there's a. A famous quote. From someone saying. That they're the master. Of their own destiny. Really they're not. Satan is their master. When they're outside.

[27:35] Of Christ. They're not the master. Of their own soul. Satan is their master. And chaff is totally. Worthless. We think of it. Down in the. In the. Backyard.

[27:46] As it were. And. Out in the farm. The chaff. They just throw it up in the air. And the wind blows it away. But the wheat is there. It's divided. The chaff. The chaff is divided. From the wheat.

[27:56] That. Substance. That. That can nourish. And. Feed the animals. Is that wheat. But the chaff. Is just like straw. Blowing in the wind.

[28:07] It's totally worthless. That's God's evaluation. Of the ungodly. That's God's evaluation. Of the life. That has no room for him. The life of the wicked. Is compared to chaff.

[28:18] It's a life of nothingness. It's just blowing in the wind. There's no substance. There's no value to it. The ungodly. The unrighteous. Are like chaff. Blown away. By the wind. What it's saying really.

[28:29] Is that all that one's achievements. And successes. And fame. And honour. And praise of men. Is nothing but chaff. It's just vanity. What a life. A life lived without Christ.

[28:41] Is a life. Really when it boils down to it. A life that is meaningless. And of little value. When judgment comes. Everything that he is proud of. Will vanish. It's like chaff.

[28:52] That the wind. Driveth away. And friends. What it's telling us. Is the great loss. The great tragedy. The great waste. Of a life lived without Christ.

[29:03] It's like. Chaff. Which the wind driveth away. Let's not make that mistake. The ungodly. Are not so. They're not blessed. Not truly blessed. They might have. Affluence.

[29:14] And praise of men. But when it all boils down. To a life lived. There's nothing there. That is of eternal value. It's worthless. It goes on. Verse 5.

[29:24] Therefore the ungodly. Shall not stand in the judgment. Nor sinners in the congregation. Of the righteous. It's telling us here. The ungodly. Have a life that cannot stand. Up to God's coming judgment.

[29:36] It's telling us. It's telling us. It's telling us that when we will stand. As an ungodly one. Before the judge of all this. Earth. That our life will be. Measured.

[29:47] As like the chaff. That the wind driveth away. That we cannot stand. Before God's coming judgment. And know God's. Favor. As the judge.

[29:58] That we will be condemned. Doomed. Damned. What a loss. What a waste. Let's not make that mistake. Let's be encouraged rather. To be amongst the blessed.

[30:08] The blessed men and women of God. It says verse 6. It goes back to. The contrasting again. Of these two ways. Verse 6. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous.

[30:20] But the way of the ungodly. Shall perish. There's only two. Only two. Two ways. The way of the righteous. The way of the ungodly. There's only two ways.

[30:30] The way of the cross and glory. The way of the curse and destruction. There's only two classes. The saved and the lost. There's only two. The blessed and the blighted.

[30:41] There's only those with the hope. And those with no hope. And the majority sadly of the world. Are ungodly. How can a man be blessed? How can we know him?

[30:52] How can we know his way? By making his way. Our supreme aim. By making his word. Our supreme authority. By making God's will. Our supreme aspiration.

[31:04] That we will know. Whom to know. Is life eternal. The blessed man. Knows Christ as Lord. The creator of this world. Of this universe. Of our own lives. To know him.

[31:17] As Lord. Of our lives. The blessed man. But the blighted man. Rules God out of their lives altogether. They won't spare a thought. Or maybe just a token.

[31:28] Pretense. But the way and walk of the blessed man. Is totally contrary. To the way and walk of the blighted man. The blessed man will go to heaven. The blighted.

[31:39] Will go to eternal damnation. In hell. The plain teaching of this psalm. And of the whole bible. Is this complete contrast. Between the righteous. The blessed.

[31:50] And the wicked. The cursed. There's only two groups of people. The godly. And the godless. These are the saved. And the lost. We read in Matthew 7. Our Lord tells us.

[32:01] Of a narrow way. Of a straight gate. He says. Broad is the way. But leadeth to destruction. And many they go. There be which go in. There out. But enter ye in.

[32:12] At the straight gate. For wide is the gate. And broad is the way. That leadeth to destruction. And many there be. Which go there out. Because straight is the gate.

[32:24] And narrow is the way. Which leadeth unto life. And few there be. That find it. Will you find that narrow way. That gate. Or will you take the.

[32:34] Broad and easy. And wide way. That leads to destruction. Two ways. Two classes. Two. Directions. What path. What direction. Are you taking.

[32:45] The blessed man. Gets his heart right. He finds God's peace. And truth. He finds God's. Fulfillment. And. Direction.

[32:56] Eternal life. He gets his heart right. As he finds his direction. From the word of God. From the. Instruction of God. God. And this is the basis.

[33:08] For blessing. Is finding God's way. Where are we planted. In a world gone mad. We see people. Without solid grounding. They're not planted.

[33:19] They're living shallow lives. Shallow lives. Like plants. Blown by the wind. Like the tumbleweed. Down the stream. Yet we are called to be. As trees. Planted by God. Isaiah 61.

[33:30] 3. In part. It says. That they might be called. Trees. Of righteousness. The planting. Of the Lord. That he might be glorified. Trees of righteousness.

[33:42] Now like those majestic gums. That are just. They seem like they're going to live forever. But we're meant to be. Trees strong. And vibrant. And flourishing.

[33:53] Because we're planted by the rivers of water. Do we believe God's word. Or man's word. What is our foundation. Every day we're planting. Amen. Every day we're planting.

[34:04] We're planting seeds. We're bearing fruit. And what kind of seeds are we planting. In our lives. You know. There's so much power. Tremendous power. In a seed. Some time ago.

[34:16] Archaeologists dug. Into a pyramid tomb. In Egypt. And in that tomb. They found. Several jars. Or containers of seeds. And these seeds had been buried. With this.

[34:27] Deceased person. You know. With some pharaoh. Or other. Now. 3,000 years before. 3,000 years. They'd been buried. In this pyramid. And those scientists. Took these.

[34:38] Ancient seeds. That they found. And they planted them. In good soil. And they watered the soil. And waited patiently. And after a time. Those ancient seeds.

[34:48] And those seeds germinated. And tiny plants. Pushed their way. Through the surface of the soil. 3,000 year old seeds. They were planted. And watered.

[35:00] And they grew. And so too for us. Maybe in our Christian lives. We have times. Where it seems like. We're not growing. If we just let God plant us. If we let God water us.

[35:12] We will be fruitful. We will produce. You know. As a Christian. Sometimes you might think. I'm not a very fruitful Christian. I don't feel like I'm very strong. God will help you to be strong.

[35:24] God will plant you. There's a like scripture in Jeremiah 17. From verse 7. It says. Blessed is the man. That trusteth in the Lord. And whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree.

[35:35] Planted by the waters. That spreadeth out. Her roots by the river. And shall not see when he cometh. But her leaf shall be green. And shall not be careful in the year of drought.

[35:46] Neither shall cease. From yielding fruit. Tree planted. Spreading out the roots. Leaf always green. No need for fear. In the time of drought.

[35:58] Shall not cease. From yielding fruit. That's God's plan for you. For me. That we will. We will be truly. Fruitful Christians. That we'll reap what we sow. And it will be good.

[36:09] A good harvest. Because we'll be sowing righteousness. We'll be sowing wisely. We'll be planting good things. In our lives. What are we planting? Is the question.

[36:20] The Bible tells us of wheat and tares. It tells us. Tares are like a. Look alike to the wheat. Tares are like an imitation.

[36:31] Of the real thing. A counterfeit. And. I know it's very real. That in. At times. In gatherings of. Of church goers. That sometimes. There's.

[36:42] Some. Who look like they're a Christian. But they're really not. They're not. They're not. The real deal. They're not. Real. They're counterfeit. And. But we can't tell.

[36:54] By looking at them. It's not. The wheat and the chaff. Don't really look much different. In. In the early stages. They look much. Alike. And. The question is.

[37:05] Deep. Deep. Deep down. Within. Am I right with God? Am I right with him? Do I know him? And if you do know him. You'll be like.

[37:16] You might feel like. You're that seed in the pyramid. That's. That's pretty. Not. Seen a lot. Happen. For 3000 years. Well. Maybe not quite that long. But. You might feel like. You're a little bit like that seed.

[37:28] But God can plant you. And he can flourish you. He can bless you. He can grow you. And you can. Be. Such that you're planting. Good seed. In your life.

[37:39] Not destructive seeds. You know. Some would sow discord. Some would sow destructive seeds. Seeds that are. Not good. And we can sow to the flesh. And we'll reap corruption.

[37:51] And so we want to sow good things. In our lives. And. As we do sow good things. We can. See the result. That God will bless.

[38:02] When we. When we sow. Righteousness. We'll reap a harvest. Of God's blessing. And. This must be the question. For all of us. What am I sowing?

[38:13] What am I. Planting. In my. Dealings with people. In my life. Am I. Showing. Godly fruit. Such that others will want.

[38:24] To know my saviour. How is our planting. Sometimes we can have problems. When we're planting. With weeds. And bugs. And there's many. Reasons why it's hard.

[38:35] To be planting. Even just a backyard veggie patch. Is hard work. And. Likewise. To. There's a. A sense of application.

[38:45] There's a sense of. Intent. Intentional. Intending to. To plant. In our lives. To make that intent. To make that. Determination.

[38:57] I'm going to keep planting. You know. Years back. Julie and I. We had a veggie patch. In our. Backyard. And. I. I. I prepared it. Just perfectly. And. Almost looked like a graveyard.

[39:08] There's these. Little lines. And pathways. In between. Little rocks. In between. But. I. Really. We really. Had no success at all. Because we. Scarcely planted anything. And.

[39:18] It was just. It was all for show. It was just. It looked like a nice veggie patch. But. Really. It was nothing to show for it. But. Now. Sometimes. We can be like that. As Christians. That. We might get it all.

[39:30] Looking nice. But. We've got to actually plant. We've got to plant some seeds. We've got to. Sow some seeds of righteousness. Sow. Sow righteousness. And we'll reap. What we will sow. And.

[39:42] Sometimes we can put things off as well. Just like we did. Well. I did really. With my veggie patch. And never got around to it. And. It's about getting around to it.

[39:52] Isn't it? Sometimes. But. What am I going to sow. Into the lives of others. In my life. How can I sow some good seed. And of course. There's many parallels.

[40:02] And pictures. And metaphors. About seeds. And sowing. Of course. It talks about witnessing. As being like. Throwing the seed. The sower went forth to sow. And it was the word of God. What a picture that is.

[40:14] And how can we sow the word of God. How can we tell others. Of this gospel good news. How can we. Be used of God. We've got to get that sense of urgency. That time. Is limited.

[40:25] And we've only got so much time. To do some sowing. We have been planted. We know God's goodness. We know the nourishing. Of his word.

[40:36] Of his life giving. Feeding us. And nurturing us. And it begins as we surrender. And let him plant us. Let him. Plant us by the rivers of water.

[40:49] So we can be. Feeding our soul. On the word of God. So we can be. Drawing our strength. And nourishment. And know his sustaining. And.

[41:00] In spending time in God's word. And in prayer as well. That we're growing. Upward. As well as downward. As our roots. As it were. Grow. Downward.

[41:10] And we draw. Upon the resources of God. In his word. And we're also drawing. On the resources of God. In our prayerful. Walk with him. So that we know.

[41:21] What it is. To live a. Separated. Godly life. Not that we're in. Some kind of. Holier than thou. Looking down. On everybody else. I'm one of the godly. And they're.

[41:32] The way of sinners. But we want to reach in. Reach out to the sinners. All around us. Because. Such were we. And but for the grace of God. We would still be. But let's be.

[41:43] Such that we're sowing seeds. Of righteousness. We're sowing the. The gospel seed. We're reaching out. I know. Folk in this church. Are doing just that. They're reaching out. With the gospel seeds.

[41:53] As it were. Gospel tracts. And words of witness. We need to reach out. And plant. While we can. And let's see others. Come to know. The grace of God.

[42:04] Blessed is the man. Let's be such a people. Amen. Let's be such a people today. To know his blessing. Where does it come from? To know him. To delight in him.

[42:14] And his word. To be like a tree. Planted by God. Fruitful. Growing. Blessed of God. Not necessarily. In material sense. But in what really matters.

[42:26] In the deep. Deep down. In the heart. Of the man. Of the woman. Here today. To know his grace. And it's all because of the cross today. Isn't it? It's all because Christ died on the cross.

[42:38] Rose again. Offers us his eternal gift. It's all his grace. All we have to do is trust. And receive. And I urge you today. If you've yet to trust him.

[42:50] Make it today. Make today the decision day. For your eternity. To trust him now. Let's pray. Dear Lord Jesus.

[43:01] We thank you that. On the cross. You bore our sin. You carried our penalty. Of death. Our sin. You paid its penalty.

[43:12] In full. In dying at the cross. Lord. And in raising from the dead. You brought victory. And you give us.

[43:23] That blessed. Hope. That we too can know. Your saving grace. And we can know the power. Of your resurrection. Lord we pray for anyone here today.

[43:34] That is yet to determine. Is yet to. Confirm. That they want. To be yours. That they will put their trust in you. Right here and right now.

[43:45] And Lord. If there's such a one here. If it's a male. We'll find a male to counsel. If it's a female. We'll find a female to counsel. And encourage you.

[43:56] Make that decision today. Let's not put off eternity. When today is the day. We can make. Our decision. For an eternal.

[44:07] Destination. That we won't walk the way of the sinner. But we'll walk the way. Of the godly. And we'll find the blessed way. Is found. In his grace.

[44:18] It's found in his will. It's found in his work. His working in our hearts. And it's all thanks and praise to him. That we can give him. All the glory. In Jesus name.

[44:29]  Amen.