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Praise God with me for the freedoms we still have to worship Him and celebrating our Nation's Independence. We pause to remember those who sacrificed for that freedom back in the Revolution and for those who continue to protect it under the true spirit of the Constitution. I was blessed, along with my parents last night, to experience a Celebration of America concert and presentation at a location about 45 minutes north of me at Alton Bay Christian Conference Center. My boyfriend grew up in that area and used to sing with a Gospel group called The Southernaires. (give a shout if you've heard of them) They were based out of a Church Choir in Lenore, North Carolina in the late 80's-90's. The presentation was AMAZING!! (I wish I had brought my phone in with me for pics and video. It's not on YouTube as yet, but IDK if it might be later this week. They had people acting as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Abigail Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Patton, Abbott and Costello, and Elvis!! Lots of audience participation as well. It made for a long day after my mother's side annual Family Reunion, which takes place on the 3rd if the 4th falls on Sunday. Especially since Rindge is in the opposite direction from Concord!! (and we had to go to Warner for my uncle) Pheew!! LOL
Anyway, on to today's Sermon Summary, which is uniquely connected to our country's celebration of independence. And if you've been following for a while, (or since last week) you know that we're starting a new series this week, so be excited!! :D
Today we begin a sojourn through the Psalms. The official series title is Bringing All of Me to All of Him - Engaging with God through the Psalms. This week's message title could be The Pursuit of Happiness. (See?? Connection!!) The Psalms may be a comfort for some, but uncomfortably raw and visceral for others. There is a mix of joy, anger, sadness, and even vengeance to be found. Our view of God can sometimes be skewed by our need for control.
What we need to understand and appreciate is that that's okay. God doesn't want us to hold anything back from Him. He invites us to express our emotions as needed and process them into His love, peace, joy, and abundance by the end. As the series title reminds us, we need to bring all of ourselves in order to receive all of Him.
As Americans, we can easily take for granted all the choices we have when we're shopping for things. Pastor Matt shared this morning about toothpaste. Going to any given store here in the US, we have a dozen different types in as many different brands. He shared that going to certain other places in the world, there are no choices. Just one kind on the shelf. Take it or leave it. Sometimes, the options can be overwhelming, other times not.
Psalm 1* is about choices on the surface, but at it's core, it's really about happiness. Not just the pursuit as promised in our Constitution, but true, lasting happiness, which is only found in God and maintained through Jesus Christ. The basic meaning of the word "blessed" is "happy". We see it in other places throughout Scripture. The Beatitudes in Matthew 5 is a major location; but the deeper meaning is that it's a gift from God. It brings all the good emotions to the top and shoves the bad ones away.
As humans, we experience moments, or even periods of joy and happiness in life, but they don't last. Something happens to disrupt it and that's it for a while. The "party's over". Pastor Matt's second "side-story" was about vacationing at a friend's cabin at a lake. He was out early. The lake was smooth as glass. There were the jet-skis, just begging to be ridden. He hops on and takes off. No one else on the lake, just him out there enjoying the freedom and fun of a small but speedy water craft. He circles around to see his youngest on the dock in his life-jacket. The two go out together for a few minutes, and then... sput..sput...... nothing!! From pure joy to disappointment in a moment.
An in depth look at Psalm 1 offers the solution in just 6 verses --
There are 4 basic points to consider in this passage --
Reject wickedness -- Verse 1 tells us that we can only be truly happy by not pursuing wickedness. Those who show dishonor and mockery of God are not good company to keep.* Sometimes it may be overt, sometimes more subtle. Discernment is important.
Counsel of the wicked -- While we shouldn't be spending a ton of time with the wicked, we shouldn't necessarily be listening to their advice, either*. As the saying goes, "you can't stop a bird from landing on your head, but you don't have to let it nest there." The point is this, what we think matters. What do we focus on most?? What do we "hold on to"?? More subtly, what do we maybe fantasize about that seems harmless?? What would you do if you won the Lottery?? Ooops!! So now God's provision isn't enough??
Stand in the way of sinners -- The next line of verse 1 tells us not to "stand in the way of sinners". This isn't talking about being "in the way" as in the need for them to excuse themselves as they walk by on a crowded sidewalk or what have you. It's talking about our actions and words. How do we behave on a daily basis?? How do we talk?? Do we honor God or ourselves??
Sitting in the seat of mockers (scornful)* -- The end of verse 1 is about identity and belonging. Who do we identify most with, the scornful or the Saved?? The original readers of the Psalms would have been Post-Exile Israelites. After 400 yrs in captivity, it would be easy to understand the inclination to blend into the society of their captors, but it was a real proof of character if they didn't. Those who stood by their roots and followed God returned to rebuild their homeland and re-establish their freedom.*
So how do we fight against all this wickedness to which we are naturally drawn?? We need to act with intention to push it away. Verse 2 shows us what to do and what the results will be if we follow through consistently --
Delight in the Law of the Lord -- Now, to those original readers, this meant the Ten Commandments and the Torah. To those Saved since the resurrection of Jesus, it simply means to follow what Jesus said in Mark 12:29-31 -- "... Love the Lord your God with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength... love your neighbor as yourself..."*
Tree planted by rivers of water -- This shows stability and abundance. If we are anchored to God, we will bear good fruit and enjoy happiness in life. We will not wither away to nothing. God wants us to have abundance and flourish in Him like Adam and Eve did during their time in the Garden. God is about the business of restoring us to Himself like that.
Wicked like chaff -- This is an image of wheat threshing. Separating the good grain from the useless parts. The chaff is the rootless, weightless dust that blows away during the threshing process. I don't know about you, but I like to feel like my life is useful in some way.* Most of you probably don't like the idea of your lives having been wasted in pointless "busy-ness". (the dash between the dates matters)
The Lord watches over the righteous -- Verse 6 promises protection for those who follow God and reminds/warns us that the wicked will end in destruction.
In Matthew 16:24, Jesus is in conversation with the Disciples ahead of His trial. Peter has just tried to reprimand Jesus for thinking He would ever be killed for His teachings. This is an excellent example of actively rejecting wickedness. But our focus is actually on the next passage where Jesus gives them the choice of "taking up their cross" and following Him or giving way to their sinful nature and living life on their own terms. Wickedness is natural/intuitive for all of us. Righteousness and true happiness can only be found in Christ. Our Eternal Life of security and joy begins with Salvation. The choice is yours, which will it be??
Pastor Matt left us with 2 final thoughts this morning -- the first was this --
"In our Independence, let us cling to and be dependent on God."
The second was actually a bit of homework -- (seriously!!??) LOL
Read a few Psalms every day this Summer. One idea is to read according to the date and then add 30 twice so you're reading 3 chapters. The other is to just read straight through, taking 3 chapters per day. -- God Bless!!
Footnotes --
Don't worry, we're not going through ALL the Psalms!!
You've probably heard it said that the 5 people you spend the most time with determine your life?? Well it's true, so be picky!! At the same time, you can't share Christ with someone you share no connection at all with. As we see in the Gospels, Jesus shared meals here and there and conversed with "sinners", just don't make them the sole group you spend time with.
As to advice, it depends on the subject and the person's area of expertise. Again, use discernment.
Mockers are NIV, Scornful are KJV -- Same diff', so take your pick. (that being said, there are those who feel KJV is the only Bible worth opening, but they're just deluded and prideful) Sorry if I have any readers in that category, but facts are facts. The KJV is nothing more than the Latin Catholic Bible translated into English. (look it up, I did) Also, it's a basic fact that there are inherent differences in languages, and therefore the wording isn't always going to match between translations or versions. That's okay, HONEST!! As long as the core point of Jesus' divinity remains in tact, it's all good!! (Think of Grimm's Fairy Tales vs Disney, the point/moral is there, it's just that some of the more "graphic" details have been edited) ((Sorry, Andrea, but it's a good analogy)) lol
Sadly, they're still fighting to maintain it, but it's still important to defend them in it. As God promised Abraham, those who bless you, I will bless and those who curse you, I will curse. That's just as true today as it was then. I defend Israel to my dying day.
There are those who will pull Matthew 5:17-20 out and claim that we are still under the OT Law, but they are just "cherry picking" because, as we saw earlier, Jesus literally sums up the Law by saying that all that's required is to love God and each other. Just 2 things, not 600+!! We are all under grace now, whether we are Gentile or Jew, as long as we believe in Jesus as the only way to Eternal Life. And we can totally embrace that because Paul spends the balance of the NT saying so, and Jesus wouldn't have chosen a messenger that was going to teach anything contrary to Himself. There are lists you can look at that prove the teachings to be the same. (Now concerning the whole "grace thing", --and you've read this before if you've been following a while -- it's not about doing "whatever" because all is forgiven. It's about asking forgiveness and trying better tomorrow as needed.)
For me personally, a different life would have seen me designing interiors professionally. At this point, it remains as nothing but a hobby. Honestly, I'd have to say that raising my 3 wonderful kids and watching my granddaughter as needed were the most useful things I've done with my life before starting this blog. Life doesn't always, "go to plan" does it?? But we learn to trust God, and He eventually gets us to where we need to be, so it's all good.
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