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[0:00] Blessed. Who's blessed this morning? Blessed. You are blessed. The Bible says you're blessed.! We're going to Psalm 1. Psalm 1 together to look at the blessed man. The blessed man.

[0:14] ! Blessed. Blessed. It says in Psalm 34 verse 8, O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Now, of course, we're going to go to Psalm 1 verse 1, which we'll get to shortly. And it says, Blessed is the man. And it's actually got the sense of a plurality to it. You could render it, oh, the blessednesses. There's blessednesses. There's a blessing after blessing. And so it's saying here how very blessed, how very glad we can be in Christ. The blessed joy that is in him. And as this psalmist puts it here, Psalm 34, taste and see. The Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth in him. And the Bible tells us about many blessings.

[1:06] We could have sung the song, Count Your Blessings. Have you ever tried to count your blessings? You just, there's not enough hands and toes, fingers and toes. Yeah, there wouldn't be enough fingers and toes amongst us to count all of your blessings, would there? And the Bible says of spiritual blessings, it tells us here in Ephesians 1 verse 3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Count your blessings. Name them one by one. Think of the blessings you've got as saved people. When we're saved, we get heaven now, really, don't we? The blessings of heaven in the present tense. It tells us of all spiritual blessings in Christ. And think what you can know in Christ. The greatest blessing, of course, is salvation, isn't it? To know that you're saved, to know that you're a saviour, to know forgiveness, sins forgiven, to have faith in God, to trust in him. The spiritual blessings, salvation blessings, eternal blessings, God's gracious blessings.

[2:13] People are busy searching for fulfilment and happiness, and yet they're missing this most vital blessing of salvation itself. And to miss that one is to miss everything, isn't it? The blessing of salvation that can truly satisfy the heart and soul, bring true happiness deep down within.

[2:32] Not a happiness that's based on a happenstance about what happens, but a joy that comes from him. And so we've got to look at the blessed man. Look at the position, firstly, of the blessed man. And so it talks about separation here. It says that there's a separation that happens when you get saved.

[2:51] There's a change of position, isn't there? And we see that every good and perfect gift comes down from him, and really, salvation is the ultimate one. And the blessed man talks about, as we read Psalm 1 verse 1, it says, blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

[3:18] It's saying we're not there anymore. We'll get to where we are shortly, but there's a change of position. We're blessed because of a change of position. The blessed man has made a stand.

[3:29] He's moved. He's shifted. He's been translated out of darkness into light. And we know, as saved people, a blessed separation. Blessed separation. We've repented. In other words, we've gone from unbelief to faith. We've found a saviour of the world that saves us from our sin and gives us salvation.

[3:57] We have a saviour. That's a transformation that happens, isn't it? We've gone from doubt to belief. We've gone from being an enemy of God to being the friend of God.

[4:10] There's a change of position. And it's a blessed separation because we're no longer there in sin. No longer in that state of being lost. But now we're found. We're no longer blind. Now we see. Amen?

[4:29] There's a blessed separation. And the blessed man takes a different path, a different position from the world. It's a faith that changes everything. We find a saviour and we follow him. And so some of the characteristics of the blessed one, the blessed man, it tells us of this blessed one, blessed in character, in principle. There's a different position. We're no longer listening to the counsel of the ungodly, nor standing with the sinners in their way, nor sitting with the scorners where they sit.

[5:05] We walk different. We stand different. We talk different. There's a different walk. We've found the new way of living, haven't we? We've found the way of life. The ungodly are without God, against God, away from God. They're against God in their counsel, in their advice and purposes. We don't listen to that anymore. Amen? We don't tune into that radio station anymore. Who is it that we listen to?

[5:32] God's counsel. God's counsel. Here it is. We don't hear it from some Latter-day prophet. We hear it from first-person God. Thus saith the Lord in his book. Amen? And by faith we take a different position from the world. We've got the roadmap now, his word, a different way, a different walk. And there's a different stand too. We no longer stand in the way of sinners. We're no longer in that pathway where they walk. There's a different standard, a different stand, a new way of living, new conduct.

[6:06] We don't approve or applaud or agree with the world. We can see the world for what it is. It's an enemy of God. And we'll go against the flow, against the tide. We'll swim against it. Who are you going to listen to? Are you going to be a blessed man, a blessed woman this morning? It's about who you're listening to, isn't it? Listening to the counsel of the ungodly or listening to the counsel of the Most High God. Who are you going to tune into? Who are you going to stand with? Are you going to make a stand? And as believers, we take a different position from the world. There's a separation.

[6:43] Something happens on the inside of us. We don't think like that anymore. We don't talk like that anymore. We don't walk like that anymore. Our stand is different. And so we see our walk is different.

[6:55] Our stand is different. Our talk is different. So as the blessed one doesn't sit around with the scorners anymore, there's a lot of critics and gossips, naysayers, God haters. And they're the ones that are generally the media, aren't they? The critics, the gossips. We found a new way of thinking, a new way of talking, a new language, a new communication link with God himself. And we've got a new testimony. We've got words on our lips, a hope that is within that gives us a testimony to share, to share the gospel with others. That's why he's given us a mouth that we can tell others.

[7:32] Someone said this when they were talking about, I suppose, preaching. This might be true for me too this morning. Lord, fill my mouth with worthwhile stuff and nudge me when I've said enough.

[7:45] It's been said that it takes two years for a baby to learn to talk, but it takes 50 years for a person to keep his mouth shut. Sometimes the less said the better, isn't it? The best preacher is usually a short preacher. But as safe people, there's a transformation that happens. There's a change of position, isn't there? We're changed from where we were to where we are in Christ.

[8:07] He's seated in heavenly places and he changes us. This transformation happens from the inside out. It's not, as our preacher said earlier, of different works that we do. It's his entire work in us, isn't it? His work on the inside of us makes all the difference. That changes our position.

[8:24] We've got a different position. Secondly, we've got a different pleasure. We've got a different pleasure. It reads on how his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law does he meditate, day and night. Different kind of pleasure. Different position. We're not there anymore.

[8:42] Now there's a different pleasure on the inside of us. There's a delight now. It's a new delight. It's a heaven-sent delight. In this leisure, pleasure-man world, which is all entertainment-focused and tends to be quite godless and anti-God, really, let's be honest, it seems that people are more and more lovers of pleasure, more than lovers of God. Where does the blessed man find his pleasure?

[9:07] It's that treasure, that delight that is his word. And he's blessed because of his source of pleasure and delight. It's no more the things of the world, the fancies and the pleasures of this world.

[9:20] There's that treasure of his soul, that delight that is his Lord and his word, his precious truth. There's a different pleasure. And it says his delight is in the law of the Lord. Amen.

[9:33] The word of God. So we know a blessed separation. And we also have the blessed scriptures, don't we? There's a blessedness of the scriptures. And there's a rightful desire we can have, a pleasure from God's wonderful word. And what a treasure it is to find the precious word of God.

[9:50] It's a great treasure, isn't it? And the more you realise it, the more you want it, the more you want to read it, the more you want to take it in, the more you want to understand it, to know it, to study it, to read it, to search it, to apply it, the scriptures. The psalmist says in Psalm 40, verse 8, I delight to do thy will, O my God. Yea, thy law is within my heart. I delight to do thy will.

[10:17] Thy law is within my heart. It's a different delight. What is the will of God? That's my delight. That's where I get my satisfaction. That's where I get my drive, my motivation, to know him and to delight, to do his will. We aren't led by the false counsel of the world anymore. They would say contrary to the will of God. They would say contrary to the word of God. They're living in this futile, unbelieving, worldly philosophy, this vain human viewpoint of things. The very best source of facts and truth is direct from the maker himself, through the scriptures, the word of God.

[10:52] Here's another Psalm 112, verse 1. It says, Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. So we've got a different worldview. It's like the blinkers get taken off when you get saved, isn't it? You see things completely differently. You get new eyesight. You get a new vision.

[11:13] You get a new heart. It's a brand new start. And the light goes on. Wow, you see things much clearer. And the secular views are shown for what they are. And the word of God, friends, today, the word of God has converting power. It's got converting power. Consider the power of the word. There was an old-time preacher in the 18th century, George Whitefield, and there were some people there. They were the mockers. They were the scorners. They called them the hellfire club. And these people would just laugh and mock and scorn and deride the preacher and his preaching and mock him. And on one occasion, George Whitefield was out there preaching to the masses. And there was a man named Thorpe. And he was a bit of a larrikin, a bit of a jokester. And he was mimicking Whitefield to his cronies. He thought he'd mimic Whitefield and pretend to be Whitefield and talk like Whitefield and talk what Whitefield talked about, which was the gospel. And so he delivered this sermon with brilliant accuracy, taking off Whitefield's mannerisms and having a good dig at him, imitating his tone and facial expressions. And then it struck him, the word of God, as he was mocking it, as he was uttering these blasphemies, poking fun at

[12:31] Christians and the word of God and salvation. And he was converted on the spot. The word of God can even work in a mocker's heart by God's grace. Amen. This man was radically saved, even while he was mocking the word of God. And that's the power of the word of God, people, God's word. And it tells us that the godly man will delight in the law of God. And it's in the inward man. It's on the inside of us.

[12:58] There's something happens on the inside of us. The word of God, it's working. It's in our life. It's in our mind, our heart. And it will guide us and cheer us and delight us. It says of the blessed man that he meditates in the word. He ponders it. He studies it. I know someone sent me this scripture lately.

[13:18] Thanks, Sister Joshua chapter 1. It says this. It's fitted really well with what I was preaching today. It says, So Joshua here, it tells how he should meditate therein day and night. Day and night. There's a day and night delight.

[13:54] It's the word. It's the word. I know someone blessed me with a Bible lately and I've been making a special effort to apply myself to that. Morning by morning. I've got to get a night time ritual now. So get the word in the morning and get the word at night as well.

[14:10] Amen. Day and night. Day and night. In other words, 24 by 7 really, isn't it? Is the sense of it. The blessed one goes to the word habitually. It speaks of that consistent Christian life. Take time with the word. I know someone was telling me how they listen to podcasts, while they're at work and they're tuning into the word. They're getting it in. They're getting that feedback. Amen. That's a good practice, isn't it? Get the word in through good preaching, even the very word of God. Playing in your ears when you can. Don't neglect to read the Bible.

[14:39] Someone has said, read it completely like a love letter. Consult it constantly like a road map. Study it carefully like a lesson book and obey it consciously, conscientiously like an army order.

[14:52] How should we read the Bible? A love letter, a road map, a lesson book, God's orders. And there's treasures deep down in the word. Sometimes we've got to dig down deep into them, don't we? Sometimes it's not really that superficial glance. It's actually, what does that mean? Dig deep into the verse as you can. It's been said there's a big difference between the books that men make and the book that makes men. Amen. True, isn't it? So the blessed man knows a blessed separation, the blessed scriptures. And also we've got an assurance of the blessed security, blessed security that's in Christ. We're not like some flim flam floating tumbleweed, as we'll read later in the psalm. But there's a security for you. There's an assurance for you, like our preacher covered earlier in part. So there's a blessed security. You can be secure in Christ, secure in Christ, because it's a God-given salvation. There's a security in that.

[15:55] And we read on as it reads, Psalm 1 verse 3 through 6, Notice where the blessed man is. He's like a tree. He's a tree planted. And notice it's by the rivers, by the rivers of water. There's crystal clear, fresh flowing water here. The word of God, isn't it?

[16:29] The washing of water by the word. The Bible's compared to, as it were, a cleansing water. And God's gracious supply of his abundant grace is for us today. And we see in contrast to that wonderful picture that we've seen of the tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither. We'll go on to see the contrast to that now. The contrast. And it's a stark contrast. Got the blessed man over here, and you've got the ungodly. The ungodly. It says the blessednesses that he knows by faith, and then it tells of the ungodly in contrast, in stark contrast. Now we notice the ungodly man.

[17:14] It says, verse 4, the ungodly are not so. Poles apart. They are not so. Not like the blessed man, planted, fruitful, flourishing. But the ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff, which the wind bloweth away, driveth away. So the ungodly do not have all the blessednesses that we talked about.

[17:36] There's really the opposite of that. There's sad weakness here for the ungodly, a loss. What a picture of chaff that the wind bloweth away. They know not these precious blessings.

[17:49] The blessed man is blessing. The ungodly man is curse, really, the curse of sin, and no remedy for him that he's found. And so the wind blows them, it says. They're not grounded. They've got no roots deep down. They're as chaff, as a tumbleweed. It says the ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff, which the wind driveth away. And so I like to think of it, as you could picture, you see it in some Western movies, that tumbleweed blowing down the dry road in this dry, dusty old cowboy town. The tumbleweed just blowing along with the wind. It's got that picture there. They're not grounded. And so it says of the ungodly, it reads on, verse five, therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. This is a place of despair. This is a place of standing in the judgment and standing in the cell awaiting that judgment day, that fateful day, the great day of his judgment, of his wrath. And it says that they shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. So it's got the sense of they shall not stand acquitted.

[18:57] They're not going to stand and the judge going to say, you're pardoned. They shall not stand and receive an acquittal. They shall not stand and receive a pardon. They shall be sent to their judgment. Friends, that's the state of the ungodly. And this is a fateful, dreadful thought. It's a pressing, dire truth that some are not going to stand in the judgment. They're not going to be set free. They're going to be sent to their judgment, hellfire. And so these are very deep, important truths that we must get our head around. Verse six, it reads on, for the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. The way of the ungodly shall perish. It's going to be destruction for them, damnation for them. The blessed man is different from that wind-driven chaff. They've know a different position. There's a change of position. They've got a new direction for life, for time and for eternity. They've got a different pleasure. His delight is in God and in his word. And there's a different planting as well. There's a planting here. The contrast is the planted one and the wind-driven one. The planted one is the godly man. They're no longer like that tumbleweed, that rolling stone, this aimless, pointless life with no purpose or hope. Two things stand out here. Really, we've got, these ones are firm and fruitful. They're firm and stable.

[20:25] These ones are all flim-flam and empty and vain. It says that we godly people, we, God helping us to be the godly, by faith you're saved through grace. It says that you that are godly, it says that you've got a stability, you've got a strength and you've got a growth. There's a consistency.

[20:43] We're planted. Notice that. It's the work of God. He affects it. God plants us. That's a blessing, isn't it? I think he plants us. We need him to plant us. And this heavenly gardener, also, he nurtures us. Surely it's his will that we grow in grace, that we grow in grace.

[21:00] So we've got to be firmly planted. That's what God does when he saves us. He firmly plants us. We see other like verses talk of that. Colossians 2 verse 7 tells how we rooted and built up in him, established in the faith, as you've been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. There's that sense of being planted. We're putting the roots deep down. We're planted.

[21:21] We're firmly planted. There's a security there. There's a strength there, a foundation. And the plant's life comes from the roots, doesn't it? Our life comes from him. The fruit comes from the roots. We've got to get that strength. We've got to draw it from him, from him. And another verse tells us how Isaiah 61, it reads about how he's given us beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that we might be the trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

[21:54] I know I've had a few successes and failures with planting trees. I don't know about you, but I probably could have got some money back from Bunnings, all the trees that have died that I've planted. But thank God some of them have survived. Some of them have survived.

[22:09] But we thank God. If God's going to plant you, he's going to keep you. He's going to make you flourish. You're going to be a flourishing fruitful tree if you're planted by him. And because the work of that heavenly gardener is not just the planting. He's going to tend you. He's going to provide. He's going to give you grace. He provides salvation and sanctification.

[22:28] And we rest in his work. So we plant it. It's actually got the sense of transplanted. It's like we were somewhere else and he's transplanted us. He's taken us. I kind of like the picture of the thought that he's translated us, I suppose, from the wilderness, the barren soil. He's planted us by the river, by the river, where there's a supply, there's a richness, there's an abundance. And he's tending us like a plant. And he's a good gardener. Amen? He's a good gardener. He's taken us out of Satan's domain and given us true life. And we're planted, we're fixed, we're settled. There's an assurance there for you, believer today, that you can know his tending. And he's planted us. He's not just stuck us in the ground. I know Julie rightfully helps me with my gardening. Because sometimes I just dig a little hole and just plonk it in and don't really look after it very good. So that's why my planting is not very good.

[23:22] But I think with God, he doesn't just stick us in the ground. He digs a great big hole. He puts all the fertilizer in and makes sure the dripper systems are working. And, you know, I'm just being a bit picturesque here. But that sense with God's going to plant you, he's going to look after you. Amen? He's going to be a good gardener. And not just stick us in the ground. He's going to plant us. And there's a quality, there's a strength there. It's what God does. And he's our source of our life, isn't he? But then you've got on the other side, the wind drives away the godless. There's no security there. There's no roots there. They're just blowing around with every little bit of wind. But the blessed man is steadfast, unmoved. There's an assurance for you that trust him. Even though the fiercest storms come your way. The blessed man doesn't drift around like the sand or the snow. There's a planting there. Amen? Here's another verse that talks about the like picture of planting. Jeremiah 17, it says, Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted. Planted. There's that word again. Where? By the waters. By the waters. That spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh. But her leaf shall be green, and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. Again, just to illustrate in some measure, I know I've planted trees where it's been quite dry. And the neighbour keeps telling me, you should plant them down where there's a bit of a hollow. There's a bit of a valley kind of near our place. And if I just planted them where the water is, that's what we need to do. Amen? Brother, sister, you need to be planted where the water is, where the rivers are, where the waters are. And that's in

[25:10] Jesus, isn't it? His supply, his abundant life. And it says that you're going to put your roots down by the river. It says, your leaf shall be green. You're never going to cease from yielding fruit.

[25:20] That's the picture of the blessed one, isn't it? God helping you. You're going to be a fruitful Christian, a green Christian. And so Ephesians 3, 17 talks likewise how Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, that we're being rooted and grounded in love. And it reads on of how there's a blessed place there. Amen? So our soul is dependent upon our Lord, like the tree drawing its sustenance from the river. What a picture. It's got that sense of that soul continually drawing, drawing from the rivers of living water. That's why fellowship is good. That's why times of study are good. It's why personal devotions are good. So you can put your roots deep down, roots deep down. I know, again, I'm really not much of a gardener. And I'm almost ashamed to talk of my skills in gardening as far as being any good, really. But, you know, we've got, we've tried a new kind of new fad way of gardening, of wicking beds. People might have heard of that, where it's like a container. And you put this plastic layer in it, and you fill that up with water. And then you put these various layers of stone and of a fibre layer. But the point is that the water underneath draws up, and the plants get fed from underneath. So they say it's quite a good way of gardening. So you can ask me for my notes later, and I won't charge you much for my professional advice. But, you know, there's that sense where when you plant things, then the water is drawn up from underneath, and it waters the plants from underneath. So you save wasting water from evaporation and all that. So, you know, it's really quite an innovation. And in trying to make some application of that, the point is that the roots are drawing the water from underneath. I mean, and it's the same for you and me, isn't it? We draw our sustenance, we draw our strength from him. We feed from his word, there's a refreshing, and there's a continual source of water as we're just feed on the word of God. Take that time to feed on the word of God. It says that the roots are going to flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon, this really big tree, Psalm 92 verse 12. So it tells us how our soul has these resources. There's boundless resources. There's abundant resources. Now, sometimes we might struggle with our Bible study or learning and knowing about God. There's an abundance here. There's rivers of living water here. There's rivers here. You know, you can carry these rivers in your pocket, and you can tune into the rivers of water. You can be planted there. There's resources from God that are at your disposal. So let's choose to live by them. Amen? Those streams of water and draw our sustenance from them. We see, as Peter writes, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby. Desire it. Have that delight and have that desire for his word. Our heavenly father wants us to be like children, crying out, wanting to grow, not to have stunted growth, not to be stale and stagnant, but to grow, to be growing Christians. Now, there's a lot of talk about smart technologies.

[28:36] I want to tell you about something that's a good kind of smart to have today. It says here that we can be smart with the word of God. So here's a little acronym for you to take home, to be smart with the word of God. In other words, studying it, memorising and meditating on it, applying it, reflecting it, teaching it. It's a good truth, isn't it? Study it. Go to Bible study. Have personal Bible studies. Have family Bible studies. Study it. Be a student. It's the greatest, you know, you can go to TAFE or university. Rather go to the word of God. That's even better. That's the best. That's the best university. That's the place, best place of learning is to study the word of God. Be a student of the word of God. That's what the word disciple means. You're a learner and that doesn't stop. When you get saved, you start the learning and we keep on learning till glory and then we know everything.

[29:28] Study the word. Memorise it. Put it in your heart. Meditate on it. Just mull it over. Chew on it and apply it. Live it out. Reflect on it. Bring it to mind through life's experiences and then teach it. Share it. Tell others. So there's a wonderful supply. There's an abundance, streams, rivers and we draw our sustenance from the river. And we need the river and you could picture it likewise of the Holy Spirit. And I know Spurgeon said this, organisations without the Holy Spirit are like mills without power. Even a church that is thoroughly orthodox and accepts biblical standards is as useless as our clouds without rain until endued with power from on high. We need to have that spiritual receptivity, don't we? A receptivity to the Holy Spirit. Of course, the Holy Spirit will always act in accordance with his word. This is how you know whether it's the Holy Spirit or not.

[30:20] So there's a lot of talk about the Holy Spirit, but this is how we measure whether it is the, truly the Holy Spirit. There's a lot of funny things going on and they're very popular right now, which have actually got big question marks I can share for those that want to know more.

[30:33] But we can be spiritually rich and fruitful Christians. There's a nourishment for us. And we know that the root supplies the fruit. It tells how 1 Timothy 6.10, for the love of money is the root of all evil. It's a source of it, isn't it? Not money, but the love of it is a source, it's a root of all evil. And likewise, the root, the fruit that we need, the spiritual fruit, we've got to dig down deep, be planted deep, drawing deep from God and be dependent on him like a tree is planted. And likewise, the tree is fruitful.

[31:07] We see that you're going to bear much fruit, it tells us. And really, God wants every one of us to be fruitful believers. The Lord Jesus tells how, this is how my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, so shall you be my disciples. He wants us to bear fruit, much fruit.

[31:27] Think of the fruit, the Bible talks about the fruit of the Spirit, talks about fruits of righteousness, of fruit unto holiness. It tells us how we should be fruitful in every good work, fruitful in every good work. And so, it tells how the leaves should always be green. We should be evergreen Christians, all right? Evergreen. Our leaves won't wither and fall off. God will sustain you. Believer, God is sustaining you. Sometimes we don't even realise it, do we? God is sustaining me. He's sustaining my life, my situation. He sustains us, doesn't he? The question is, are you a tree or are you chaff?

[32:06] It's one or the other. You've got to know the separation, in other words, salvation. You've got to be translated, a change of position, to be a planted tree, a growing tree, a fruitful tree.

[32:18] And so again, Psalm 1 verse 3 says, we're planted by the rivers of water. And why? That we bring forth his fruit in his season. Believer, God wants you to be fruitful. He wants you to bear fruit, good fruit. Fruit that is to his praise. And you know, sometimes, I know, again, Julie helps me with my gardening. Sometimes I'm a bit hard on the plants and I'll hack them back. Have you ever done that?

[32:46] I just think, oh, that tree's just too big. And I just get the chainsaw out and hack it, hack it to pieces. But then actually, it grows back better. Mostly, it does actually grow back better.

[32:57] And I'm not meaning to be flippant here, but there is a sense where God prunes us. Amen. Ouch. Ooh. God's cut a bit off me off here. There's a sense where he's dealing with us like a plant because he wants you to grow. And really, the tree that's well pruned grows more fruitful. Amen.

[33:18] So, brother, sister, don't shy away from his pruning. You get those seasons of pruning. Actually, God's doing something. And it's something good. There's something good going to come out of it.

[33:29] There's a true prosperity as you're in his will. Even when you're in those times of pruning, it's a maturing process, isn't it? As the Lord compares himself to the true vine, and he says that he purges these branches, he trims them, he prunes them, that it may bring forth much more fruit. It's been said the fruitful life results from showers as well as sunshine.

[33:54] It's true, isn't it? You might have those seasons of life. Things are pretty tough. When God puts his children through the fire, he goes with them. He goes with them. Brother, sister, you can know that today. And we can know that pruning, that sense where God's adjusting things.

[34:10] We have times where we get God's discipline and chastening. Why? Because he loves you. It's the Father that loves you, chastens you, so you can grow. And so his will is that we be fruitful in every good work. Fruitful in every good work, as we read before.

[34:28] So just to recap real quick, we see Psalm 1. There's so much in there. It's one of my favourite chapters of the Bible. It's a good one to commit to memory, the whole psalm. Try to make a point. Try to commit Psalm 1 to your memory because it's so beautiful, so precious, so deep, so relevant, so meaningful.

[34:49] We see these things that we talked about, the separation. You know, no longer in that darkness, you've been translated into his light. You're no longer sitting with the scornful, the mockers, the way of sinners, the ungodly, the counsel of the ungodly.

[35:05] Suddenly there's a separation that happens. You're not there anymore. You're with God now. You're with his truth. You've got the blessed scriptures that you get a delight from them.

[35:15] Every time you open the pages, there's a new delight. There's a new gem, a new jewel, a new treasure of truth, a new nugget of gold.

[35:26] And then there's a security. No longer like that storm-tossed tumbleweed, that kind of chaff blown around willy-nilly, no stability. There's a security for you.

[35:38] In Christ, you that are saved, there's a sure salvation. It's an assured salvation. Not that you can be blasé or claim any credit for it or be some kind of holier-than-thou, but because thanks to his grace, I have it.

[35:54] It's his gift, and I know I've received his gift of salvation. That's the point. There's a security there. And so there's a change of position. There's a new pleasure, the delight of God.

[36:05] And there's a planting. You can know assuredly you're planted. And he does that. And he'll help you grow in every good work. So the lemon tree is best recognised by its lemons.

[36:18] And the orange tree is shown by its oranges. And so likewise, we like God helping us to be a Christian. It's shown by our fruits. The Bible talks about fruits worthy of repentance.

[36:30] It talks about fruit of holiness. It talks about the fruit of the Spirit. So God helping you, you can prayerfully be planted, know his resourcing, know that God will help you to be a fruitful believer, because he wants you to be fruitful unto his praise.

[36:46] Let us pray. Lord, we thank you that you are the one that affects that planting. You transplant us from darkness to light. You give us that resource of your word, of your spirit.

[36:57] Lord, we pray for each one to know what it is to be saved, to know that you take us from our unbelief into faith. Lord, you take us from our lost estate and you make us save people.

[37:10] Lord, and it's all by your mercy and grace. And we cannot reckon even the wonder of it, why we should be such a people. Lord, we pray each one might have that heart to know you, to have a heart that will trust you, that will have a will to follow you, that will be a planted people, flourishing, growing, blessing and being blessed.

[37:35] And Lord, we pray for each one might know especially the blessing of salvation, which is only by your grace and gift. Lord, we thank you for all these treasures of truth. In Jesus' name we pray.

[37:46]  Amen. Amen.