Psalms 1 Pastor Howard Park

Psalms 1. 1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. The hymn we sang Nearer My God to Thee confesses to God that we will bear the cross and still sing nearer my God to thee. This is the song of a true believer. In our walk when we face difficulties those moments are when we are to persevere and keep going forth, but rather we give up and put the cross down. Why do we do this? It is because we are being fooled by the devil to think that this is not the way. When we look at a situation we can see it either as a challenge or something to complain about. The cup is either half full or half empty. You are here in a country of abundance but rather than giving thanks for what we have we complain of what we lack and continue to want more and more. The life I have been given by God, the place I have been put, if I am able to see the hand of Gd doing His work in me I can go forth with gratitude but if I only see what I am lacking then the path I go down in destruction. Today's passage says "blessed is he" if we are blessed then why do we complain? Do you step with the wicked, stand ithe way of sinners or sit in the company of mockers? It says the one who is blessed will meditate on the law of the Lord day and night. If you remember all the things that you have been doing wrong, and those thoughts are binding you and you cannot free yourself from the worries of life, could it be that you are failing to do what the blessed one is supposed to do? I frequently give examples of the gardening that I do. I spend hours clearing out the weed to plant the vegetables but the next morning the weeds will come back. The plants that start to grow are eaten by the birds and the insects that feed on them. If I am not able to remove the weeds completely they will grow back. If the plants I desire to grow are not deeply rooted into the ground then they will die quickly. The world is against you. It is dangerous. We are told to love but we don't love completely. We are told to forgive but we don't forgive completely. Instead of following God completely we pick and choose how we will follow Him. Is that then the right way? In the study of genetics if we change the genes is the product the same? If we are changing the truth is it the truth? If the bible is specific but I interpret it in my own way what do you call that? If the bible does not specify a certain matter and I am free to become the measuring line, is it not a dangerous situation? Are you prepared to answer for the choices you make? Are the choices that you will make be according to what God desires or what you desire? Do you look to God to show you the way that will give Him glory or do you look for solutions to your problems that make it the most comfortable for you? Do we not call it grace when we follow the path that God shows us and find comfort in doing what He says is right rather than what we think is right? Grace is undeserved. It is God's love for us given to us freely. God's love was given to us when He sent His Son to die on the cross for us. Grace is not something that you feel, it is the revelation of knowing that God has forgiven you for your sins and that you a now free to have eternal life through Jesus. If all I do is recieve the gift of Jesus dying on the cross but do not participate in the death and resurrection then there is no use. I must be convicted in my heart and seek to find the path that will glorify God for the gift of grace. That is conversion. To know the depth of God's love I must do all that is within me to pursue it though mind, spirit and strength. We all desire to satfisfy ourselves. It is foolishness. We would rather hurt ourselves pursuing our pleasures rather than restrain ourselves and receiving the blessing from it. When I am hurting because of physical negligence, then those around me also suffer. If I am able to restrain myself and keep myself well, then those around me are free to not worry about me. I must be able to let go of the things of this world and jump freely into the grace that God has given me so that I am able to live free in Him. Grace does not mean that we can use it as an excuse to do what we want. Grace affords us the opportunity to do what God wants when we surrender to Him. The bible has no record often at we are to recieve grace. It is recorded that we are to recieve teachings, sufferings, faith, healing....but it never mentions grace. We misunderstand what grace is and it causes us to live a life that does not give God glory. Instead of being transformed by the gift of grace we think grace is continuously given to us daily and instead of changing we sit in confort and use grace as an excuse to do nothing. If grace does allow us to do nothing then what use is it? I has no power, it means nothing. But if it does cause us to change, then we can say we have recieved the gift of grace. If I do not meditate on the law of God, and do not discipline myself I will not recieve the blessings that God has for me. Peter acted on His faith and jumped onto the water. The cripple was healed when he stood up to walk. You must act upon your faith. The blessing will only come after you act upon your faith. Even Peter doubted and started to drown. Do not believe 99.9 %. That is not complete faith. You must believe 100%. If you read things in the bible that do not make sense to you but you put all your strength into doing it, you will be blessed. When you do the things that God desires, God will receive the glory. It is for God's glory that we are here. It is for His glory that we are to live free of worry and stress. Though no one else follows after me, I must follow God and live the life that proclaims His love. May you all live the life that will give God he glory and recieve the blessings that He desires for you.