Good morning, Bethlehem. Over the last few weeks, we have been in a series entitled Mary and Bright. We've been looking at the Psalms, the Old Testament Hymnbook of the Saints, who were able to sing in the best of times and in the worst of times. As we all know, this Christmas season has been unlike many others in the past. In our lives, I know many gatherings were canceled. We had a family member to pass away and had an unexpected trip to the ER. But I'm grateful that God is with us. He's the rock of our salvation. He's the Prince of Peace. And He's the one that guides us through all of these times. As we began this year, I was just kind of thinking about the last message of this year. As we began this year, we talked about 2020 vision and we looked at Luke 16, 19 through 31 about the rich man and Lazarus and how important it was for us to understand that everyone is on a journey. Everyone is on a path, either a path to heaven or a path to the place where God had created for the devil and his angels, which is hell. And we know that everyone is going to stand before God one day and give an account of their lives. And we saw in that story on the very first Sunday of this year about the rich man of Lazarus. Lazarus, who was a poor man, a beggar, died and went to hell, or went to heaven. He went to Abraham's bosom. And he was there comforted. The rich man also died and went to hell. And he said, if somebody were to go to my five brothers and tell them about this place, someone would arise from the dead and maybe they would hear what God's word had to say or what is true. And the words that went back to him was, they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. And so from the very first day of this year, on that Sunday morning worship, we were reminded of the importance of God's word. And that's where I want to end this year as well, is to see the importance of God's word in our lives. Over the last few weeks, we have considered the doctrine of God in Psalm 145. We've seen that he's the everlasting king who has unsearchable greatness. He's good to all. and he's going to reign forever and ever. We looked at Psalm 139 and considered how we were fearfully and wonderfully made. We looked at how tragic sin is, as we discovered in the life of David and his confession of sin in Psalm 51. We looked last week in Psalm 2 about Jesus Christ, who in his first advent, he came as the Lamb of God, but in his second advent, he's going to come as a lion of the tribe of Judah. And brothers and sisters, he's coming again. Today we're going to end in Psalm 1, the very first one. And we're going to go into the foyer of the Psalms and kind of see how Psalm 1 sets the stage for all of the other Psalms. It really gives us a foundation on the Word of God and tells us the importance of it in our lives. And I want to speak to you just for a little while about the good life, the good life. The good life is one where we walk with God and we know Him. and we enjoy Him and we live a life no matter what's going on around us that we say by our actions and by our words that God's presence in our lives is enough. Emmanuel came down, that we could be reconciled to God, that we could be forgiven of our sins, and knowing God is enough no matter what trial we might face. And so let's dive into Psalm 1 today and talk about the good life. Here's what he says. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law does he meditate day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bring forth his fruit in the season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. So as we consider this psalm today, there's several important questions to ask about our lives. What path can we be on to bring about the maximum amount of joy? I don't know anyone that doesn't want to be happy and to have joy in their lives and to be merry and bright. Secondly, now before I go any further, I didn't say that PATH was going to be obsolete of pain and suffering and trials because we all face those things. These are things that are common to man. How can we have joy despite our circumstances? How can you enjoy stability at all times? How can you sing in the valleys and on the mountaintops? And how can you know that you're on the right path? These are some big questions, and this psalm today guides us down the old path that saints have traveled for centuries. It's a path of sanctification. It is a path with a Godward view. It is a path that is less traveled in the world, but it's the good path, and it's the good life. As we break down this psalm today, I want to bring these three things to your attention. First of all, the purpose of life. We see that in verse 1 and 2. Secondly, a picture of life and death. We see that in verse 3 and verse 4. And then finally, the path of life. We see that there is a road to glory, and there is a highway of holiness, and there's also a highway to hell, as we read this chapter today. And these are just six verses, but they're packed with truth. So back to the first verse. He says, blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. As we look at this first word, we're gonna look at two, as we look through this psalm, we're gonna pay attention to the first word and the last word and all the words in between, but the first word says blessed. Blessed is the man. It means to be happy. It's a little bit deeper than that, but to be in a heightened state of happiness and joy. It's implying to have favorable circumstances, to be in a good place. So blessed is the man. Have joy despite the things that are going on around you. Brothers and sisters, as we consider being saved by the grace of God, to be a people saved by the Lord, we know what it means to be forgiven of our sins. We know what it means to be in union with Jesus Christ. we know what it's like to know of God's wondrous love and to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God and to be reminded that we're never alone no matter what we're going through. And so these are just some basic truths of the life of the believer that we're we know God and we're blessed and as a result of that we're courageous and victorious and Overcomers these are the words that describe the children of God Because God he who is in you is greater than he who is in this world and so the psalmist is blessed is the man or woman or the person and And so, what does he say here? He gives us three things that the blessed person should avoid, must avoid. He says, number one, do not walk, the blessed man, blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly. So first of all, as we consider this walk with God, a walk is to practice a lifestyle. It's demonstrated by our habits or our manner of life. And so what is the sum of our life? What could somebody look at us and say that our life is really about? And he says here that this man, this woman, does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. Now the council, council, the word council means advice or words of instruction provided to aid in the decision-making process. It is influential on the direction of one's life. And so he said, blessed is a man who walks not in the council of the ungodly. Now I got to ask this question, who has your ear? As a young, young man, sometimes my friends would have have my ear more than my parents. But now that I'm getting older, I realize that my parents loved me and I was called to live under their authority. And the majority of the times they were absolutely right in the things that they suggested and the things that they asked of me to do and called me to obedience. And so got to ask this question, who has our ear? Because whoever has our ear is the one that is influencing us. And so the psalmist is warning here that don't be influenced by the advice of the ungodly or by the advice of the world. It says in Proverbs 20 and 5, counsel in the heart of man is like deep water but a man of understanding will draw it out. And so Council aids in the decision-making process. So what decisions are we going to make and what is going to be the thing that directs us in those decisions? Secondly, as we think about council, council is the act of telling someone what they should do based on a plan or a scheme. So it's important for us to be thinking about who we're listening to because those that are speaking or those that we're seeking to listen to, they have motivations, they have plans, they have schemes behind the things that they direct us to. In this case, he's speaking of the ungodly. And so the ungodly would be motivated toward walking away from the Lord. They would not have a desire to please God in their ways. Their worldview would be perverted or twisted. It would not be directed toward the honor and the glory of God. And so he says to stay away from the counsel of the ungodly because their desire is not going to be set on pleasing God, but to please themselves or please others out of the fear of man. And so he says to avoid these things. And so it's important for us to consider who we're listening to and what are their motivations for what they're saying, because it's gonna lead to our decision-making process, it's gonna lead to the path of our life, and the purpose of our life is to walk with God. And so we must be careful who we're listening to and to be directed by the Word of God, because counsel is rooted in the plans and purposes of the person who's giving the advice. The framework for any counsel is rooted in the beliefs and motives of one's heart. And so the psalmist says, don't listen to the ungodly in regards to your spiritual walk with the Lord because they're going to lead you astray. Counsel is also an opinion of a person given upon deliberation or consultation. And so everyone has a different perspective on seeing things. And so are we looking at things from a Godward perspective or are we looking at things from a worldly perspective? And I must say, counseling is good because we all need guidance. We need someone there to help lead us. But the psalmist here is saying, walk not in the counsel of the ungodly. In Proverbs 11 and 14, he says, where no counsel is, the people fall. or they have no guidance, but in the multitude of counselors there is safety. Proverbs 15 and 22, without counsel purposes are disappointed, but in the multitude of counselors they are established. And Proverbs 24 and 6, for by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war, and in the multitude of counselors there is safety. safety. And so once again, he just says this receiving advice and getting counsel is good, but we need to make sure who are we listening to? Are we listening to God's word and those that are in God's word to help guide us in our lives? Or are we listening to the world and the ways of the world. He says, don't listen to the ungodly in directing you in your spiritual walk. In the Pilgrim's Progress, there was a character called the worldly wise man, and he was giving a Christian who was on his journey wrong advice and was leading him astray. And so, as we think about this direction that we want to be in our lives, and the things that influence us, the television and music that we listen to and podcasts that we listen to. We must be careful on what are we bringing in and how are we allowing it to influence our lives. Is it something coming from godliness or the ungodly ways of the world? If you listen to music and just consider some of the things that are being spoken, If you were to listen to the advice of some of the music that's in our world today, it's definitely going to lead you astray. And so I'm just encouraging you and reminding you, if we want to live the good life and to walk with God, then we need to listen to the Lord. Now, how many people have you heard say something like this? or just use this illustration. I love my daddy, but I don't want to listen to a word he says. Now, we would say that sounds ridiculous, because if I love my dad, if I love my father, I'm going to respect what he has to say. Well, in the same way, as we consider God and who he is as our father, our heavenly father, we know his word is true, and instead of throwing his word off, we want to fall in obedience to it. Not the ungodly, but to our Father in Heaven who loves us more than anyone in this world. I try to remind my children this all the time, that Dad loves you and Dad wants to give you godly advice. And oh how every parent, if the child would truly listen and obey and trust that that word is true, it would save them from so many heartaches. Can't save them from all of them because this world is filled with brokenness and messiness and things are not gonna go right all the time. But by and large, if we would listen, trust, and obey God's word, it would lead us in the right path. The ungodly person is one who does not know God, doesn't desire to be right with God, and is listening to the world's counsel rather than God's word. And so we must be careful on what we're listening to. He says, do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. And then he turns and says, does not stand in the way of sinners. We see this progression of walking the council, listening to people, and then we see this progression of standing the way of sinners, to be lingering or standing around to lean on or to stay around. And so, who are we spending our time with and being around or lingering near? Are you curious about the ways of sinners? It tells us in Ephesians 5 and 11, have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. And so today in our technological world, I must say this as well, that it's important. You've shown me your friends, I'll show you your future. But also we can say this, in the technological realm, children and young adults and even adults can wander into places of center, they can linger around things online that can be dangerous places. No doubt parents would not want their children to go into these places physically, but I'm just saying that we need to have some safeguards in place to watch over our children so they don't linger and they don't wander into places that they don't need to be, especially online, because there are some places. The adversary is like a roaring lion. He's looking for every avenue that he can get into our homes, into our hearts, and to our minds and to our thinking. And so he says here that the blessed man does not stand in the way of sinners. Once again, he spoke of ungodly. Now he uses the word sinners. A sinner is one that lives an offensive lifestyle to God. They will tempt you to come along with them. In Proverbs 1 and 10, the father tells his son, my son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. He says, if sinners entice you or tempt you, don't go along with them. And then we know that sinners are on the broad road of destruction. Jesus said this himself in Matthew 7 and 13, enter you in the straight gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and many there be that go in there at. And we know that sinners will have their expected end. Jesus says here that they will be destroyed. They lead a life of destruction or of ruin. The psalmist goes on at the end of verse one, he says, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. That means to become friends with, to be in fellowship with. It says in 1 Corinthians 15 and 33, it says, be not deceived, evil communication corrupt good manners. Some people will dwell with others because they want to be accepted by them. But we just see this progression. As God's people, we must be around sinners. Jesus was around sinners. He was a friend of sinners. but he didn't listen to the counsel of the sinners. He didn't stand and linger and say, hey, I might want to try out what they want to do. And he didn't sit down with them and listen to their scoffing and mocking, but he spoke into the truth of their lives. And he didn't listen. He didn't allow the mockery and the ridicule and those who made fun God to influence him, but he actually chose to influence them by rebuking them harshly in many ways as you read the Scriptures. And so it's even something that we see in Scriptures that somebody might be religious, but they may not be righteous. I was reminded as I was thinking about just some scoffers in the Bible. I thought about Eli's son, Hophni and Phinehas. They were two men that were serving as priests in the temple, but yet they were taking advantage of the offerings that were brought to the temple, and they also were taking advantage of the women that came into the temple. So they were religious, but they weren't righteous before the Lord, and so just because someone goes to church, you need to watch their actions. You need to see, are they walking in a wise path? And I'll tell you, if you'll choose wise friends, if you'll choose wise people to be around, then you'll grow wiser as you follow their ways and walk. And that's what Paul said. He says, imitate me as I am following Jesus Christ. And so let us live a life that's worthy of imitation in that way. He says, in verse two, what should be the focus? That was a negative aspect, but he says, blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his delight, his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law does he meditate day and night. So the blessed man is focused on the word of God. In Psalm 119 and 97, he says, oh, how I love thy law. It is my meditation all the day. And so, instead of listening to worldly wise men, the psalmist writes to the person who loves God's Word. And as we end this year and we begin a new year, I want to encourage you to rediscover the word of God in your life. In the days of one of the kings of Israel, Hilkiah, the priest was going through some of the things in the temple, and he found the book of the law. And as they found the book of the law, they began to read, and they began to weep because they realized how far astray they'd gotten off from. And I'll tell you, brothers or sisters, if If we do not listen to God's Word, if we don't have a steady diet of God's Word, it's going to be so easy for us to drift. And I pray that as we begin this new year that you'll rededicate yourself to reading God's Word and delighting in God's Word and loving it and say, this is my father. advice, this is my Father's commands, this is my Father's desires for me, and I'm yearning to be pleasing unto God and to honor Him with all of my life and all of my ways and all of my thinking and all of my motivations that I want to be motivated by the desire to please Him. And how do we get to that point? It's by knowing God's Word and delighting in it. to have a high degree of pleasure, a satisfaction of mind to be in God's Word. I tell you that when you read God's Word, sometimes your mind can be in the wrong place, but when you begin to read God's Word and you allow it to fertilize your heart, to grow in your heart, to be that milk that the Bible says that newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word. He told the Hebrews that they should get off the milk and get onto the meat. The psalmist, Psalm 19, says the Word of God is sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. And so it truly is sweet. Job said this about just this daily food. He says in Job 23 and 12, neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips. I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. And so the psalmist says the blessed man meditates on the word of God. He loves it and he thinks about it and it ruminates in his mind and his heart and his or her mind or heart day and night. It is a continuous pursuit. We know it tells us in the scriptures that Joshua was to meditate on the Word of God and not to stray away from it from the left or right, and if he did so, he would find good success. Ezra in chapter 7 and verse 10, he says he set his heart to seek the law of the Lord, to study God's Word, to observe it, to know it, to inquire about it, to consult it, on a regular basis, on a daily basis, how important it is for to consult the Lord and receive counsel from Him. And so what is it that we can meditate? And the psalmist, he's referring to the book of the law, and that would be the first five books of the Bible, the Torah. What can we meditate on just in those first five books? I'm gonna give you a few things real quick. First of all, we can meditate on creation, the wonder of creation and the things that God has made. Sometimes I see the blue jays and the cardinals and some of the finches and other little birds that are outside our windows, and I'm just amazed at the spectacular colors. And I see the barren trees right now, but in a few months, we're going to see the process of change come about as the leaves begin as the trees begin to bud and the leaves come out. There's so many things that we can just meditate on in creation, and be in wonder at the symmetry of a leaf, the way that God designed those things, or just look in the mirror and see yourself. There's so many things that God has done that we see this glorious Creator who made all these things by the Word of His power. He did that by the Word of His power. He communicated that, and it came to be, and He spoke in this book. that is pure and holy and unadulterated and will change your life if you'll get into it. But we can meditate on creation. We can meditate on the fall, that as soon as Adam and Eve sinned, death entered into the creation, and we see fear and anxiety and guilt and shame and all these things introduced. We can study the patriarchs, and we can see the bondage in Egypt, the redemption out of Egypt, God's mighty hand to deliver His people. We see God's provision of the manna. We see God's holiness and laws in the book of Leviticus. We see God bringing His people into the promised land. He kept His promises. We see them fighting battles and gaining victory. We can see a picture of Jesus as the Creator, the last Adam, the virgin-born Son, the one greater than the righteous man Abel. We can see Him greater than faithful Noah. We can see Him greater than chosen Abraham. We can see Him as the promised son Isaac. We can see Him as Israel, the suffering servant like Joseph, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the one that's greater than Moses the Deliverer. We can see him as the Passover lamb in the tabernacle, the one who dwelt among us, tabernacled among us. And we see him as the ultimate sacrifice. These are just a few things we can meditate on in the book of the law. But the writer says he meditates day and night. That means to ponder, to give serious thought or consideration. to take time to think about what you're thinking on, to study, to turn or revolve in your mind over and over and over again, to reverently contemplate, God, what are you saying in this verse? What are you speaking? And so we see here the purpose of life is to walk with God. Let's turn to the picture of life and death. He says, he shall be like a tree. planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he does shall prosper." There's a beautiful picture of the blessed man or woman's life here. It says he's like a tree planted by the rivers of waters. If you know how water travels, it travels through the path of least resistance. And this tree must have been positioned in the valley because that's where the water flows. And how much of the Christian life is down in the valley? It's down in some low places, some hard places, some difficult places. We do climb mountains and we do get on mountain peaks, but much of our lives is spent on the climb and on the descent and down in the valley. But we get a picture of the blessed man's life here down in the valley as we follow this illustration. But he's by a water source. The weather, neither hot or cold, is going to impact it. It's nourished regardless of how the wind blows or the weather is going, despite the circumstances. The blessed man who is rooted in God's Word, that is receiving the Word, the water of the Word in his life, despite what's going on in the world, he's being nourished, he's being strengthened. And as we've gone through 2020, If you've been in God's Word, it'll strengthen you. It'll make you stronger, despite all that we may travel through. It says the tree is near a water source. It's also rooted. It has stability, it has strength. It is drawing that strength for something deeper within, something deeper without, that's coming within. And it says here that it's fruitful, that brings forth its fruit in a season. We know that producing fruit is a production, it's a process. Just like as I look out at the trees right now, they're barren, there's no leaves, there's no fruit on the trees around us in our area. But it's a process, and it's going to come in its season, he tells us here. But as we consider what Jesus said in the parable of the sowers, he said the seed, some of the seed that is sown is the word of God. Some of it falls by the wayside, and the fowls of the air pick it up. Some falls on rocky soil. There's no depth. It's just an emotional response to the gospel, is what Jesus would later say. Some falls among thorns, and the cares of the world choke it out. But he says that some of the seed falls on good soil. And some bring forth fruit, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty-fold. Regardless of the measure of the fruitfulness, we see that for the life of the believer, the one that is connected to the Lord, one who is born of incorruptible seed, and the one who has a law of God written on his heart. This is what happens at conversion. The law of God is written on our hearts, and we have a new desire to please Him. And this is a beautiful thing that God does. And we begin to be committed to this process of bringing forth much fruit. And that's what Jesus said in John 15, that you might bear much fruit for without me, you can do nothing. If we're not connected to him, we can't do anything. But with him, all things are possible. And as the word of God begins to multiply in our own hearts, We began to be disciple makers. We began to multiply ourselves in the life of others. In Acts 6 and 7 it says, The Word of God increased and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. As the Word of God increased, the disciples increased, and the influence increased around them. Bethlehem, oh how we need to be in the Word of God and be like the psalmist says, oh how I love the law of the Lord is my meditation day and night. He says it'll be fruitful and flourishing. His leaf shall not wither. There will be a vibrant witness because there's a deep root system. We're rooted and grounded in Jesus Christ, the child of God. The leaves or the foliage does not wither, shrivel, or lose vitality or lose its color or shape because it's not subject to death or decay. Brothers and sisters, I know some of you have gone through some tough times this year, but I've seen you that are rooted in God's word. I've seen you be vibrant and faithful and encouraging despite the circumstances that you're in. And that is how the attractiveness of Christ, the attractiveness of the gospel begins to influence the world rather than allow our circumstances to bring us down and to cause us to withdraw from the world. We're called to engage the world and to show forth this flourishing of the Lord. On Christmas Eve, I had a precious phone call from a dear saint who was in her 80s. She called and just, she was on the phone for maybe a minute or two. She just said, I want to check on your family and let you know how much I love visiting at Bethlehem and how I'd love to hear the Word of God. And I thought, What a vibrant witness to the Lord, how flourishing it is. This picture of this blessed man or woman, even in old age, is still flourishing, still has the sap of life and fruitfulness, even in those days. It says, though the outward man perish, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. He says here in verse three, whatsoever he does shall prosper. The blessed man prospers because he's faithful. Faithfulness to the Lord, you may not see the external results that you desire, but I'll tell you that God knows your faithfulness, and God sees when you live a life desiring to please him. Jeremiah, many would say that his life did not appear to be faithful, but fruitful because The Babylonians came in and had overtaken Judah. But I tell you that Jeremiah was a faithful man. He was blessed by the Lord because he walked in his ways. And we see him in Lamentations chapter three saying, great is thy faithfulness. He declares God's goodness that he is still there with them. Now in verse four, we see a great contrast. He says here that the ungodly are not sold. What does that mean here? The ungodly are not so. He says they're not like that tree that looks like it's full of life. The ungodly are not so. They're not filled with spiritual life. The ungodly are the wicked, the criminal, those still guilty of their sins, deserving punishment, still living in unrighteousness, not reverently living in the fear of the Lord. As Jesus would tell Nicodemus, you must be born again. And I pray that everyone that's listening to this is born again. And if you know someone who's not, encourage them to listen to this about the good life. The good life is the one that we walk with God. That's the purpose why we're here. And the psalmist gives us a picture of the two different lives, a comparison and contrasting them. We see that he says the good life is like this man that's like a tree that's fruitful, that's vibrant, that is full of life and full of joy and full of peace. and full of power because God is at work in their lives, but he says the ungodly are not so. But they're like the chaff. They're not fruitful, they're not flourishing, they're not the faithful tree or living a faithful life. They're fruitless and dead and deviant or defiant. And he says they're like chaff. So we go from a tree that's planted by the rivers of water to chaff. Chaff is like the husk from the wheat. And John the Baptist said that God would gather his wheat into his garner, into his barn, but the chaff he would burn with unquenchable fire. So the psalmist has given us a grave picture here. He says the ungodly are like chaff. They're destined for the fire. They're like refuse. They're worthless matter. They're light, or they're driven around by the wind. They're walking about with every wind of doctrine, as the scripture was saying in Ephesians 4. And so, there's no stability. There's a lack of purpose, because if we miss our purpose for life, we're made to walk with God. Adam and Eve walk with God. in the cool of the day. And God designed us to do the same thing. He wants that for our lives. But he says, they ungodly are not. So this is why our hearts should be so burdened for the loss in our world that don't know the Lord. They don't know what it's like to have peace with God. Jesus says, my peace I give unto you, not as the world gives, but he said, I give my peace to you. And oh, how peaceful he was between he and the Father. the joy that he had, the love that he had, and that's what God desires for us to know this wonderful life, to know this good life, to be merry and bright, to be like a tree. But those who don't know the Lord, the psalmist says this, he says they're like the chaff. They're just driven away by the wind. They're aimless. They just blow from here to there. They have no stability. They're not rooted. They're not grounded in truth. They're grounded in the world's philosophies and the world's ideas, and they fail to know the love of God. and brothers and sisters, as a vibrant tree living a blessed life, we're called to demonstrate this love of God toward those that are broken and empty. And sometimes we can get into some bad places too, but that's the reason we need one another to pull ourselves out and remind us to meditate on the truth of who we are in Christ Jesus, that we're in union with a living God. We're seated in heavenly places, we're forgiven, we're redeemed by his precious blood, we've been adopted into the family of God, and we're on a road to our heavenly home. But there are many that are on that broad road to destruction. And he says they're like chaff. They're living a life that is not pleasing to the Lord. They're ready for destruction. In Luke 3 and 9 it says, And now also the axe is laid into the root of the trees. Every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. And so, we see they're not ready, and they reveal a corrupt heart eventually. In Luke 6 and 43, Jesus said this, so the ungodly do not have spiritual life or vitality and really the chaff is it's worthless the grain is what you need this has a substance and but the chaff is lifeless and there are many in this world that are alienated from the life of God they're still dead and trespassed and sins and we must evangelize them we must tell them the truth we must be on the offense and carrying the gospel to this world so that they don't live a purposeless life and to live a life that is tragic. As you see that picture of a living tree compared to a dead piece of husk, a chaff, it shows that those that live for the glory of God, there's a weightiness to their lives. But for those that don't know the Lord, it's all lighthearted and it doesn't really mean anything. But that's so far from the truth. That's where the adversary would love people to remain. This last couple verses talks about the path of life. Where will our journeys end? There's a great separation. He says here, therefore, the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment. There's a great difference between the blessed man and the ungodly man. Who are we listening to, the world or the word? Who are we hanging around? Who are we fellowshipping with? Show me your friends, as I said earlier, and I'll show you your future. And what life, what picture is your life painting? Is it a life-producing tree? I've got a oak tree out here than in our backyard that every year it has hundreds and probably thousands of acorns that fall from it. The seeds of a new tree are just multiplying over and over again, and they get into our flower bed. They begin to be things that I have to uproot to keep them, but they're producing. It's a life-producing tree, or is one's life just like chaff? It's dead. That's a very clear picture that he gives us. He says the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment of The Word of God one day will be open, and it's going to judge and try the thoughts and intents and even the words and actions of every person that's ever been born. It tells us this over in 1 Peter chapter 4. He says, For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles when we walked in lasciviousness, lust, excess of wines, revelings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries. wherein they think it strange that you not run with them to the same excess of right speaking evil of you, who shall give account to them that is ready to judge the quick and the dead." And so one of these days judgment is going to come and our lives are going to be brought into account and those that don't know the Lord are going to have no standing. They will not be able to stand in the congregation of the righteous. And so, who is influencing us? Is the church impacting the world, or is the world impacting the church? The Word of God reveals that I need a Savior. It reveals that as I read the Word of God, as I read the Book of the Law, the Ten Commandments and everything contained there, I've missed the mark. But praise God, I've been convicted of my sins. I've been reminded that I've been on the wrong road. I've been called out of this world, and I've called out to the Lord, and I've trusted that He is righteous, that the truly blessed man, the one that this psalm could perfectly represent, would be Jesus Christ, who was holy, undefiled, separate from sinners, who lived a life pleasing to God in everything He did. That's whose footsteps that I wanna walk with in, because He's the one that's, Leading me in my relationship with God. He's the one that he says that he says I'm gonna follow him I got to deny myself take up my cross and follow after him Daily, but the wonderful thing he says the Lord knows the path of the righteous in the Treasury of David it says this or as the Hebrew hath it yet more fully, the Lord is knowing the way of the righteous. He is constantly looking on their way, and though it may be often in the midst of darkness, yet the Lord knows it. If it be in the clouds and tempest of affliction, He understands it. He numbers the hairs of our head. He will not suffer any evil to befall us. He knows the way that I take, and when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as I'm glad the Lord knows the way of the righteous, and I'm glad that because of Jesus Christ, I have a standing before God in Jude 1 and 24, now to Him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. One of these days, Jesus is going to present us to the Father, and He's going to defend our case with exceeding joy. He's going to present us faultless, faultless, without fault, without guilt, blameless, because He's going to say, Father, I've covered their sins. This is the blessed life to know Him. But we see the last word of the psalm, it says, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Jesus would give us a sobering warning in what he said in Matthew 7 and 13 and 14, and Adam will leave this with you. He says, "...Enter ye at the straight gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many therein which be that go in thereat. Because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads into life, and few there be that find it." Jesus says, this is a sobering reminder that there's going to be many that are going to miss this good life. They're going to miss this blessed life. He says there's going to be many that are on that road to destruction. This last word of the psalmist, the word perish, to die without hope, to die in a ruined state, to be lost Forever. Dear friend, if you're here today and you don't know the Lord Jesus, I beg of you, you don't have to remain lost. Jesus is a seeking Savior. If you'll turn to Him, call out to Him and ask Him to have mercy on you, you can be and know this blessed life and you can walk with God both now and forever on the everlasting heels of glory. And so this good life, I just want to challenge you as I close. As we get into God's Word this year, I want to challenge you to renew your focus. Try to read a chapter a day and find one piece of manna to take you with the day. I had a friend, Brother Josh Darnell, reminded me of that years ago. He says, I read the Word, I take one thing out of it, and that's what I meditate on throughout the day. So as you read a chapter, pick out a verse and meditate on it. Another thing you could do, Brother Johnny Carver, as I went to McFerrin earlier in my Christian life, he said he was in the process of reading a proverb a day, and he'd read whatever day of the month it was that Sunday morning, read a proverb, and it had a great impact on my life. Dr. Donald Whitney has a book that he wrote about reading five psalms a day and allowing one of those to really speak to you. If you break out the psalms, there's 150 psalms, and there's 30 to 31 days of the month. If you read the first, the 31st, the 61st, the 91st, the 121st Psalm. You can pick one of those and you can read through the Psalms in a month or just be in the Psalms and to have a word whether you're in the mountaintops or whether you're down in a valley, you have something that you can grow in. I want to encourage you to practice family devotion with your family. It's as simple as this. Read a chapter, pray, and sing a hymn. And it can last 10 minutes, 15 minutes, but I'll tell you it'll have a profound effect. And we're called to have secret and family devotions according to our church covenant. That's something that's godly, something that's good for us to do. And so practice that in your home. Imagine if we practice that worship in our homes, how much more powerful it would be in the church. And then finally, be preparing yourself. Set your heart to seek the law of the Lord like Ezra did. That you might provide a defense of the Christian faith when someone would ask of you of the hope that lies within you. That you might be able to tell them, this is what you need to know to be saved. You need to call on the name of the Lord. This is the gospel. And then finally, just last word, are you conforming to the world or being transformed by the renewing of your mind? Brothers and sisters, I pray that all of us at Bethlehem will enjoy this good life, and that we'll walk with God through this next year, and we'll enjoy His favor and His presence, no matter what we have to walk through, just knowing that He is enough, His presence is enough, and as we follow the living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, that we are obedient to the written Word, because Jesus is always gonna lead us in that. His Spirit is always gonna work in accordance to His Word, and lead us in the good path, the old path. the old path that the saints have tried throughout the centuries. They have been the people of the book, the people of the book of the law, and now we don't have just the five books of the Bible, we have 66 books of the Bible to guide us. And I pray they'll be a blessing to you, and I just encourage you, let us all join in, and let us all commit ourselves to rediscovering the word of God, and living the good life, and drawing near unto Him, and being a vibrant tree, and a vibrant witness, and faithfulness, and fruitfulness, and flourishing in this world, no matter what 2021 holds. God bless you. I love you. Thank you for hearing me today. And I pray that God has encouraged you and challenged you to be more like his son, Jesus.