For this holiday, we are going through Psalm 1 to 3.
I'll be doing Psalm 1 and 2.
So Psalm 1 and 2 are the two foundational Psalms.
If you understand Psalm 1 and 2,
we will be able to help us understand the rest of the Psalms
and also the whole Bible story, the storyline of the Bible.
So this week, I will speak on Psalm 1.
Psalm 1 tells us about blessedness and righteousness.
Men seek blessedness.
God seeks righteousness.
So the title of this sermon is therefore,
Blessedness Out of Righteousness.
It's out of righteousness, not outside of righteousness.
So next week, we will come to Psalm 2.
Psalm 2 tells us about freedom and God's kingdom.
Men want to establish their own freedom.
God wants to establish his kingdom.
So the title of this second sermon will be
Freedom Out of Kingdom.
Before we start, let's pray first.
Almighty God, we are so thankful that we could have your words,
that we are not living in darkness,
and that we have hope that we could look forward to as well.
May you guide us as we consider and meditate on your word this morning,
that we, or that we think about,
and all that we are going to do will be acceptable in your sight.
For we pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Because there's no children's talk today,
there are not many children anyway.
So for the school children,
I suppose you are enjoying your school holiday.
I think for children,
I mean, why is it so enjoyable about holiday?
It would be because if you have parents who are caring for you,
and you like to spend time at home,
and that is the part that is enjoyable.
And I would like to tell you about a little boy,
whose name was Sihata.
Sihata was born as a prince in Nepal.
He was born about 500 years before Jesus came.
Because he lived as a prince,
he lived quite a comfortable life.
He didn't know anything about suffering.
He just thought that that's all about life.
Until one day he grew old enough,
and his parents allowed him to go outside of the palace.
He went out and visited his people.
And during that visit, it gave him a shock.
Because he saw people hungry,
people begging,
people sick,
and even people dying.
And that upset him very much.
And I suppose he's a special person.
I mean, most people said this is life.
But for him,
he didn't think that life should be like this.
He think that life should be like his time,
like in his family.
There's no suffering.
So he was trying to figure out what's going on.
I mean, what is life?
Why was there suffering?
And how could people live without suffering?
So it upset him so much that he couldn't let this go.
And one night,
by that time he had already married,
and he got even a small boy.
But one night he just couldn't take it anymore.
He left the palace.
He went out.
And he gave up all his comfort.
He went out and lived with the people.
And he traveled around,
thinking about life.
After many years,
he came to a conclusion that,
oh, why people suffer so much?
It's because of cravings.
Because people crave for things.
He said,
because you crave for things,
you suffer.
If you don't crave for anything,
then you don't suffer.
Like if we crave for love,
then we can be cheated by someone
who appears to offer you love,
but actually trying to take advantage of you.
You crave for money,
and then we can lose all our wealth by gambling.
So you crave for respect,
why people,
if people don't respect you,
you get very angry,
and sometimes you even kill somebody.
And so we suffer for all those consequences.
But what about people who are born in poverty,
or born with effect?
Then he said,
that's because in your previous life,
you did something bad.
You crave for something,
and you did something bad.
And you didn't get the consequence that time,
but you will get it in your next life.
And so,
Sihata has come to this conclusion,
which is not too bad, actually,
in terms of how to explain life.
But he wants to end suffering, basically.
He wants to,
he sees people suffer.
So he said that if you don't want to suffer,
eventually you need to have no craving.
And unless you,
and this is,
he called that this is a state of blessedness,
when you can get there.
But before you can,
until you get there,
you will keep reincarnating.
So you die,
you get birth.
And so,
you go through the pain of death,
even if your life is not that,
you don't suffer so much,
but on the deathbed,
you still suffer.
Nobody likes to die.
And so you keep dying,
and dying,
until,
at some stage,
you can get to the state,
when you don't have any craving,
then you don't die anymore.
And during each reincarnation,
you may either be demoted
to an existence of more suffering,
or promoted to an existence of less suffering.
And to be promoted to a better state of existence,
you need to accumulate
or save sufficient good karma for your next life.
So if you work hard enough,
after thousands of reincarnations,
you may be able to get to the state of blessedness,
when you will be free from suffering.
So Sihata started Buddhism,
and his name became Gautama Buddha.
So while Gautama Buddha's explanation of life
makes some sense,
his understanding is not complete,
because he left God out of the picture.
So before God is a reference point,
Gautama Buddha thought that boys and girls,
men and women,
can be righteous if they try hard enough.
Like all men make religions,
the assumption is that
man's outward performance of righteousness
is sufficient to be considered
making the passing mark for righteousness.
And Jesus gave us a surprising answer about this.
In Matthew 5.20,
Jesus said,
For I tell you,
unless your righteousness exceeds
that of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
The scribes and Pharisees
were the most righteous men ever lived.
They were zealous for the law.
They only wanted to do what God wanted them to do.
But Jesus said,
that is not enough.
Why is that not enough?
Just because they were doing it for themselves,
and not for God.
And those righteousness are outward righteousness.
We will come back to that.
And secondly,
without God as the source point,
Gautama Buddha thought that
blessedness is the absence of suffering.
He did not know God,
so he didn't have the concept of God.
He could only see things through his woe-ly eyes.
He had no idea what God has prepared
for those who loved him.
So he left out an important part of life
because he left God out of the picture.
If Gautama Buddha had read Psalms 1 and 2
and understood them,
he would not have needed to waste his time
trying to invent the will.
In these two Psalms,
God has revealed the reasons
for our suffering
and the way to blessedness and freedom.
So Psalm 1 starts with,
blessed is the man.
Gautama Buddha was correct
in thinking that the state of blessedness
is the longing of humans.
So even though he said
that we shouldn't crave for anything,
but he actually craved for blessedness.
That is a paradox in itself.
If a Buddhist somehow managed
to achieve Buddhahood,
then at least that
he will not reincarnate again.
He has achieved the enlightenment
enlightenment
to the state of having no more cravings
and no more conscious of self.
To a Buddhist,
the state of blessedness
is when he becomes nothing.
Someone tells us that
blessedness is about
our relationship with God.
It's not becoming nothing,
but being filled with the greatness
and goodness of God.
Because of the blessed man's
relationship with God,
his cravings have also become holy.
It does not crave for things
like sinners do.
Sinners are people
who disregard God
and live for themselves
and do whatever is right
in their eyes.
Verse 1 tells us that
the blessed man
does not associate
with the way of the sinners.
Verse 1 tells us
in what ways
the blessed man
does not associate
with the sinners.
So,
there are
the three ways
I would like to think about.
First,
in his deeds,
in his actions.
Wicked men
are those who walk
according to their own will.
They disregard God's will.
They do what?
Pleases them.
And the most
wicked action
in the world
would be
for the Jews
to put
Jesus Christ
on the cross,
to put
a righteous man
on the cross.
So,
in his actions,
in his thoughts,
sinners
naturally
put themselves
as their own kings.
They think
that they are
entitled
to admiration
and comfort.
They think
that they deserve
a better life,
a comfort in life,
and they think
they can stand tall
in any occasion.
So,
when
Jesus challenged
the Pharisees,
they could not stand
Jesus
because
they want to be
in charge.
And they,
and so they have
this thought
of killing Jesus
and Jesus has been
challenging them.
Why do you want
to kill me?
They just didn't
think about
these sinful thoughts
in their minds.
And so that is
in actions
and in thoughts
and thirdly
in his words.
scoffers
sit there.
So,
sitting there,
a righteous man
does not sit
with the scoffers
because the scoffers
are those
who sit there
doing nothing
and just
give all the
complaints,
criticisms,
comments
about things.
So,
it's easy
to scoff
just like
people
who scoff
at Jesus
that you
can save,
you said
you are the
son of God,
why don't you
save yourself?
come down
from the cross
and this is
the scoffer.
And so,
the scoffer
has the ability
to tear down
but they don't
know how to
build people
up.
So,
I put a
table there.
So,
Psalm 11
is the way
of the
sinners
that
the righteous
person
will not
associate with
them
in the way
they think,
they speak
and they
do things
but
the blessed
man delights
in the
law of
the Lord.
In what
way does
he meditate
on the
law,
God's
law,
all the
time?
And in
what way
does he
meditate
on the
law of
God?
So,
in
column 2
in the
table,
Psalm 1-2,
the law,
so,
the righteous
person is
delight and
meditate on
the law.
So,
in his
thoughts,
thoughts is
the
commandment
1-2,
that there's
only
one God,
there's the
only God,
and also
he would
make no
image
about this
God.
He
understands
that God
is above
all creatures
and he
does not
displace
God with
other
things.
And in
his words,
he speaks
to honour
God in
all his
words,
that's
commandment
3,
he does
not take
God's
name in
vain,
and his
deeds,
he sets
aside time
in regular
interval to
enjoy God's
presence,
that is
commandment
number 4.
And also,
in his
relationship
with people,
in his
thoughts,
he honour
his parents
and respect
other people,
he does
not cover
their
properties,
that's
commandment
5 and
10,
and in
his
words,
he does
not
deceive,
depreciate,
or despise
others in
his words,
commandment
number 9,
and in
his actions,
his deeds,
he does
not damage,
seduce,
or defraud
other people,
that is
commandment
6,
7,
8.
So,
just a summary
for the
Ten Commandments,
but obviously
there's more
detailed
explanation of
the Ten
Commandments
in the
Old Testament,
but come to
the New
Testament,
Jesus sums
this up,
he says
that the
righteous
person
loves the
Lord,
his God,
before his
heart,
his being,
and loves
his labour
as himself,
and so the
blessed man
delights in
loving God
and loving
his
neighbours.
others.
So that's
verse 1
and 2.
In verse 3,
it says that
the blessed
man is like
a tree
planted by
the streams
of water
and yields
its fruit
in its season.
The sinner
can only
grab
everything
for their
own comfort
and survival.
The blessed
man produces
fruit of life
for the
blessing of
other people.
Adam and
Eve could
have eaten
the fruit
from the
tree of
life.
If they
have done
so,
they will
become
trees of
life to
give life
to their
descendants.
They choose
to disobey
God and
eat from
the tree
of knowledge,
the tree
with the
fruit of
the knowledge
of good
and evil.
Their
disobedience
did help
them to
know what
is good
and evil.
So after
they disobey
God,
they know
that to
obey God
is good.
to
disobey
God
is evil.
So
disobedience
led to
God's
judgment.
They were
cast out
of God's
garden.
Their
life became
difficult as
the land
was cursed.
Men
suffer to
find a
living.
Women
suffer to
produce
offspring.
Men and
women suffer
more in
trying to
fulfill their
cravings.
They know
that they
do,
they need
to put
in a lot
of effort
to get
very little
return.
But even
in his
judgment,
God was
merciful to
us.
The
hardship in
life is
there to
help us
to seek
God.
The
blessed man
is already
seeking God
all the
time.
He does
not need
hardship to
help him
to seek
God.
In all
that he
does,
he
prospers.
Prosperity
here does
not mean
an easy
life,
but a
fulfilling
life.
Jesus
Christ
came to
do God's
will.
In all
that he
did,
he
prospered
until he
fulfilled his
mission.
verse 4,
the wicked
are not
so.
Despite all
their efforts,
they cannot
achieve anything
of substance.
When they
look back
the years
they have
lived,
they cannot
find anything
to cling
on to.
Their life
is like
calf,
that the
wind drives
away.
It's quite
scary,
isn't it?
We can
spend our
whole life
doing
something,
many things,
and then
at the
end,
it actually
meant
nothing.
I hope
that
these words
would
strike us
that we
need to
really
be wise
in terms
of how
we live
and why
we live
for.
So that
in verse
5,
in the
day of
judgment,
we can
stand
before the
judgment
seats.
In the
day of
judgment,
those who
stand in
the way
of sinners
will not
be able
to stand
before the
judgment seat.
They have
nothing of
glory and
honor.
Everything
they have
lived for
has been
borne away.
Sinners
cannot stand
in the
congregation
of the
righteous.
They
will not
lie.
Even if
God opens
the door
and says,
come in,
but if
you are
not a
righteous
person,
you
won't
find
yourself
at home
in the
congregation
the
righteous.
You
are just
totally
out of
place.
You
don't
know
what
they
were
talking
about.
But for
those
righteous
who
find
themselves
out of
place
among
sinners
in the
world,
they
will
find
themselves
at
home
at
last.
Verse
6,
God
knows
the
way
of
the
righteous.
He
will
make
sure
that
these
righteous
would
come
home.
So
he
knows
their
way
like
he
knows
the
way
to
his
children.
He
watches
over
them
and
leads
them
home.
The
way
of
the
wicked
is
not
so.
The
wicked
runs
away
from
God
and
runs
towards
destruction.
Guatemala
Buddha
thought he
could get
to a
state of
blessedness
by his
own
righteousness.
We
can
define
righteousness
in
whatever
way
you like.
You
can
see
that
if
different
religions
define
righteousness
in their
own
way.
We
can
define
righteousness
in their
own
way.
But
if
everybody
defines
righteousness
in their
own
way,
there's
no
righteousness.
Just like
if I
define
the length
of one
meter this
way,
the other
one is
that way,
the other
one is
that way,
then there's
no standard
and there's
no righteousness.
So
there's only
one real
righteousness
that would
need to be
defined by
the creator.
And
also
there's only
one real
blessing and
that's only
coming from
God as
well.
So we
need to
be right
with God
to know
what
blessedness
is.
Righteousness
is being
right with
God
primarily.
Being
right with
people is
only the
full-on
effect of
being right
with God.
The
Ten
Commandments
start with
the requirements
to be right
with God
the first
four.
So in
Luke,
chapter 18
verse 18,
a rich
young ruler
asked Jesus
how he
could get
to the
state of
blessedness.
Jesus
asked if
he had
obeyed the
last six
commandments.
Yet he
was right
with man
in all
that he
did.
The ruler
said he
had.
Then Jesus
asked if
he would
give up
his wealth
and follow
him.
The ruler
went away
sad because
he loved
his wealth
more than
he loved
God.
He
actually
covered
his wealth
as well.
He
believed
that Jesus
came from
God and
that was
why he
asked Jesus
this question
and he
kneeled
before him.
Jesus
revealed to
him that
all his
good works
were done
for his
own glory.
He was
not living
for God,
he was
living for
himself.
Buddhism
is the
way to
become
Buddha.
All the
genuine
Buddhists
worked very
hard to
accumulate
enough
karma to
achieve the
state of
blessedness
through
Buddhahood.
It is
like a
game of
slates and
ladders.
There is
no certainty
that you
can get
there.
More
importantly,
even if
you get
to
Buddhahood,
would the
absence of
craving
himself
really be
the same
as a
state of
blessedness?
Christianity
is not
the way
to become
Christ.
There is
only one
Christ,
Jesus Christ.
there is
only one
righteous
man,
that is
Jesus
Christ.
Jesus
Christ is
the only
man who
gains
favor from
God
because of
his
righteousness.
The rest
of us
can only
gain favor
from God
because of
God's
mercy
through the
righteousness
of Jesus
Christ.
Someone
gives us
a picture
of the
blessed
man.
He loves
God and
delights in
God's
words.
Because his
delight is
in God,
the world
cannot tempt
him away
from God.
Woe
pleasure,
fame,
and comfort
have no
effect on
him.
God
watches over
his way.
The Holy
Spirit,
like streams
of water,
sustains
him.
He
produces
fruit of
life so
that others
may be
blessed as
well.
A blessed
man is
not one
who has
no cravings
or feelings.
He is
one whose
cravings
have been
filled to
overflow by
God's
greatness.
And he
is one
whose
feelings
have been
overwhelmed
by God's
goodness.
Psalm 14
tells us
that all
men have
turned away
from God.
There was
none who
does good,
not even
one.
The
descendants
of Adam
were hopeless
until Jesus
Christ
appeared.
From
childhood,
Jesus grew
in favor
with God
and man,
as in
Luke 2,
verse 52.
Why did
Jesus need
to grow
in favor
with God?
Isn't
he the
son of
God?
Yes,
he's the
son of
God,
but he's
also came
as the
son of
man.
He lived
out a
life of
obedience
to God
as a
righteous
man
supposed
to.
In
Hebrews 5,
verses 8 and
10,
it says
that although
he was
a son,
he learned
obedience
through what
he suffered
and being
made perfect,
he became
the source
of eternal
salvation to
all who
obey him,
being
designated
by God
a high
priest after
the order
of Melchizedek.
We thank
God that
Jesus lived
out a
righteous
life in
his suffering.
Because he's
the righteous
man, we
can now
also become
righteous
men and
women in
Jesus.
Because he
had gained
God's favor,
we become
acceptable to
God through
Jesus Christ.
He became
the source
of eternal
blessedness to
all who
obey him.
How do we
obey him?
He said,
I am the
bread of
life.
Whoever
comes to
me shall
not hunger.
Whoever
believes in
me shall
never thirst.
In
John 6,
36.
If anyone
thirsts,
let him
come to
me and
drink.
Whoever
believes in
me, as
the scripture
has said,
out of his
heart will
flow rivers
of living
water.
John 7,
37,
38.
I am the
light of the
world.
whoever
follows me
will not
walk in
darkness,
but will
have the
light,
the light
of life.
John 8,
12.
To come to
Jesus,
we must
first know
that we
are deficient,
defective,
and deceitful.
We must
admit that
we live in
darkness.
We must be
hungry and
thirsty for
righteousness
and light.
when we
can let
go of
our
self-importance,
then we
can hear
his call
and come
to him.
Guatemala
Buddha was
correct in
thinking that
becoming
nothing was
the way to
blessedness.
He was
halfway there,
but he
could not
see beyond
nothingness.
Being
nothing is
not the
end of
our
incarnation of
earthly life,
but being
nothing is the
beginning of
a new
life.
When God
blesses us,
he will
first empty
us.
He will
empty us
of our
boasting
and pride.
He will
empty us
of ourselves.
But he
does not
leave us
there.
He will
fill us
with himself.
God's
blessing
satisfies
our deepest
longings.
We do
not need
to follow
the ways
of the
sinners
to try
to gain
satisfaction.
In fact,
we can
be so
filled by
God's
blessing
that we
want to
be a
blessing
to others.
Matthew
5,
11.
Blessed
are you
when others
revile you
and persecute
you and
utter all
kinds of
evil against
you falsely
on my
account.
The change
brought about
by Jesus'
redemptive
work on
the cross
is so
drastic
that our
own comfort
is no
longer the
focus of
our life.
The love
of God
constrains us
not to
avoid the
wicked,
the sinner,
the scoffers,
but to live
among them
and serve
them.
The grace
of God
sustenance
that we
do not
fear
suffering
anymore,
but we
become
willing to
suffer for
righteousness'
sake.
God
seeks
righteousness
and we
seek
blessedness.
There is
no
blessedness
without
righteousness.
We do
not have
righteousness.
All we
have is
rebellious
nature that
deserves
God's
judgment.
God
has
placed
the cross
in between
what he
seeks and
what we
seek.
On the
cross,
Jesus has
become our
righteousness.
In Christ,
we can now
become the
righteous man
who enjoys
God's blessing
freely and
joyfully.
And this
is the only
beginning.
Guatemala
Buddha had
no idea
what God
has prepared
for those
who loved
him because
Guatemala
Buddha did
not know
God.
If you
know God,
you will
also have
no idea
what God
has prepared
for those
who love
him because
God's
grace and
glory is
so rich
that every
day of our
life,
only in the
beginning,
we can never
know the
extent of
blessedness
that we
have in
Christ.
And I
hope that
the love
of Christ
will
constrain
us to
love God
more each
day.
And enjoy
his presence
and his
work in
our life.
Okay,
let us
pray.
Father,
we used
to think
that being
righteous is
such a
painful
life
that we
need to
sacrifice
many things.
We need
to avoid
all the
joy in
life.
And we
thank you
for your
mercy that
you have
called us
and showed
us the
glory of
the Lord
Jesus Christ
that we
might now
know
that
what a
joy that
we have
not
experienced
because
we
were
afraid to
be
righteous.
Lord,
we
want to
get
closer to
you
and to
enjoy
your
presence
with us
and to
see life
as you
see
and to
even
more so
to wait
for the
day
when we
shall see
you face
to face.
Thank you,
Lord.
We pray in
Jesus' name.
Amen.