|
| The Way of the Righteous |
|
| |
1:1Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked, Nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of scoffers: 1:2 But his delight is in the law of Jehovah; And on his law doth he meditate day and night. 1:3And he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water, That bringeth forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also doth not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 1:4The wicked are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. 1:5 Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 1:6For Jehovah knoweth the way of the righteous; But the way of the wicked shall perish.
There is a right and a wrong way to live. God's way is the right way and the way of the sinner is the wrong way. When we live for ourselves, and live to gratify ourselves, we are living the wrong way. The Bible tells us that there is a way that seems right to a man, but it only leads to death. Whereas the way of God is a highway of holiness that leads to everlasting life. The great thing about everlasting life is that it doesn't start when you die. It starts the minute you put you faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord of your life! When we decide to cooperate with God and live in obedience to Him, we will experience the favor and blessing of God in our lives. I am not saying you are going to be rich beyond compare, but you will be blessed, happy, content, at peace, have your needs met and be able to be a great witness for God.
The way of the godly person is the way of seperation. The Apostle Paul urged the Corinthians believers to come out from among them and be separate. Ancient Israel was to be different from the nations around her. We too are to be different than the rest of the world. Psalm 1:1 says that the godly man does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. What does that mean? That means that we do not take advice from the world. The wisdom that is from the world is not the wisdom of God. The wisdom of the world is selfish, envious and of the Devil, whereas the wisdom of God is it pure and peaceable, considerate, submissive and full of mercy. The righteous person does stand in the way with sinners. That basically means that the righteous man is not to associate with sinners. I have friends that are not saved, but my fellowship with them can only go so far. If they want me to go party with them, or to come over and have some beer and watch a movie, I usually decline. There are some that would say, that I am acting too good for them, but it's not really the case, because they would not invite me if they didn't want to be around me. I am careful not to ruin my witness. The Apostle Paul said in I Corinthians 15 that "bad company corrupts good morals." We may be well intentioned, but the flesh is weak. I am careful about who I associate with because I don't want their bad habits, their speech patterns, their attitudes to rub off on me more than they already do! I need to influence them, and therefore, being a "thermostat" I need to control the environment, rather than being a "thermometer" that reacts to the environment. The godly person does not sit in the seat of the scornful. When someone is "scornful" they are bitter, they are mean, ugly and vindictive. The righteous person is not going to want to sit around and participate in that kind of talk around that kind of person. Negative people make other people negative that is for sure! Being around a negative person is like being around second hand smoke. You may not be participating in it, but it gets on you, and it infects you that is for sure. A godly person is going to want to associate with good people, kind people, gracious people, loving people, thoughtful people. We all have "flesh attacks" and act like the world from time to time, (some more than others), but at the very least a person that loves the Lord is going seek to live a separated life.
God's way is a way of security. The person that walks with God and loves Him so, is going to be like a tree that is planted by the river. This is a picture of a tree with a deep root system that shall not be moved easily. The storms of life will come, the attacks of the enemy will come, but the Godly person is going to stand tall, and stand strong. The Bible tells us in I Corinithians 15:58 to be "steadfast and unmovable" just like that tree that is planted by the water. When we walk with God He is obligated to protect us and take care of us. It is when we step outside of God's will, then we will encounter a lot of the trouble. I kind of look at it like an umbrella. When I am under the umbrella, I am protected from the elements. The wind, the sun, and rain won't effect me as long as I am protected by the umbrella. However, if I walk from outside my covering, then I am subject to whatever is out there in the world! It is the same with God. When we live under His authority we are covered and protected from the world and from what the enemy can throw at us. But, when we choose to step outside of His covering and authority we are subject to life without His protection. Just like in the book of Job, Satan said that he was frustrated because God had build a hedge of protection around Job. The way of the Godly is a way of security. It is safe to be with God.
Finally the way of the Godly is a way of success. Yes, that's right. A lot of Christians have fought against the prosperity message, but it is in the Bible. That is not the only message mind you, and I think of prosperity as a by product of loving Jesus and serving God. But here we see what the Scripture says, "Who will bring forth fruit in his season, and his leaf shall not wither and whatever he does shall prosper." In John 15 Jesus said that "If we abide in Him, and He is us, we shall bring forth much fruit." Fruit is a picture of productivity a picture of purpose. A fruit tree is designed to bear fruit. If it does not bear fruit, it is not serving the purpose for which it was created. When we walk in the way of God we are walking in the will of God. When we are walking in the will of God then we will be productive! We will bear fruit. For the Christian, bearing fruit means to first of all demonstrate the fruit of the Holy Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, and self control. But, it also means that we will do things that will benefit the Kingdom of God and promote God's will on this earth. You will find that your work no matter if is considered "Christian or Secular" is going to be blessed. Because you are blessed and when you are blessed you can be a blessing to others. That is the whole point of prosperity. It is not so you can hoard it, and spend it as you will, but that you may bless others with the love of God through it. It says, "your leaf shall not wither." Despite the dry climate and the scortching relentless heat of the sun, which is a picture of the trials of this world, you will remain healthy. You will remain vibrant, you will remain a picture of beauty in a barren land. This is by God's design. God wants you to stand out amongst the crowd. You may ask, Lord, why does it seem that my life is full of hardship, heart ache and pain? The answer is so that you can glorify God. A city on a hill can not be hid you are the light of the world. When men see your deeds they will glorify your Father that is in Heaven. Jesus told the Apostle Paul about his thorn in the flesh, "my grace is sufficient for you, in your weakness, I am made strong." God's power flows through us in the midst of our weakness. People can see that and they know that when inspite of all your difficulties, you remain cheerful, faithful, and hopeful, that tells the world that you are different. Prosperity, covers so much it is not just about money. It is about your total life. The Bible says, that if we will walk in God's way "whatever we do shall prosper." That's awesome! Some of us are afraid to step out into what God has put on our hearts to do because we are afraid to fail. Here, God has given you confirmation to trust Him and to follow Him. He says, if you are walking in His way, that you are living in obedience to Him that you love His word, that you live a life of separation, you will prosper.
Anyway, I fear I have blogged too long I have quit blogging and went to preaching. There is so much more to say, but perhaps another day. Be encouraged my friends, keep walking in God's way, it is not always easy but it is the right way and it is the blessed way. |
|
| To add a comment to "The Way of the Righteous" |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| May 06, 2008 |
 |
|
|
Great one Brother it spoke to me! You can preach to me anytime!
God Bless,
Bro. |
|
|
| May 06, 2008 |
|
|
|
| Love it!!!! |
|
|
| May 06, 2008 |
|
|
|
| Thanks guys! Aprreciate y'all |
|
|
| May 06, 2008 |
|
|
|
It's easy to get carried away with a subject and Person like this! I'm glad you said you "usually" decline =8 > O. It's good that you have some non believing friends that would invite you to hang out. Jesus did too.
PS - I prefer to think of it as God's favor rather than success..but that's just me :) |
|
|
| May 06, 2008 |
|
|
|
| Wonderful blog. Thank you |
|
|
| May 06, 2008 |
|
|
|
| I can always count on you Robin to read and give an encouraging word. Thanks! |
|
|
| May 06, 2008 |
|
|
|
| Charlie, I could have used "favor" but it would ruin my alliteration. A cardnial sin of homoletics. :) |
|
|
| May 07, 2008 |
|
|
|
| i say blog or preach....i always enjoy what you teach.......... |
|
|
| May 07, 2008 |
|
|
|
| Ah yess, the old alliteration ploy :). We wouldn't want to s-s-sin and mes-ss up our s-s-successes now would we? <wink/nudge/nod> |
|
|
| May 08, 2008 |
|
|
|
| Thank you for sharing!! What a blessing! |
|
|
| May 08, 2008 |
|
|
|
Brother Todd, it's okay for you to preach on your own blog because you have so much that I want to learn.
Sometimes... I do wonder about myself. Like Online Sorority thing. What a waste of time. Thank you for helping me to see this. I'm deleting that blog right now. |
|
|
| May 09, 2008 |
|
|
|
You didnt blog to long fo rme..I so enjoyed this read and so idenfied!! I am going to share it with my son!
This is sooo true and it held me back for so long!!
"bad company corrupts good morals." We may be well intentioned, but the flesh is weak.
Thanks for such an insightful post!!! Keepum coming
SO glad I decided to catch up on some back posts...hmmm Gods working! |
|
|
| May 11, 2008 |
|
|
|
| When you guys say things like this it just fires me up! To know that somehow, someway, God touched your life through what I have learned is truly humbling. To God be the glory! And am always happy to preach! |
|
|
Follow this blog
