This morning we're back looking at the book of Psalms and we're looking at intimacy with God. The whole idea of the Psalms is to be intimate with God, especially the Psalms of Ascent as the Jewish people went higher and higher in their worship. Last Sunday I talked about letting the Lord build your house. which is sort of a transformation of what happens at the house of the Lord, bringing it into your house, letting the Lord build your house. Today, the psalmist is going to talk a lot about being blessed. Do you all like being blessed? Living the blessed life? Psalm 128 is all about that. As a matter of fact, it can be compared to the end of It's a Wonderful Life. and all of the blessings that come from knowing certain things about the love of God. So let's begin. This is Psalm 128, verse 1. It says, blessed is everyone who fears the Lord. First word I want to focus in on the word blessed. How many people have heard the word blessed means happy? Oh wow, you haven't heard that, okay. I grew up hearing that. Matter of fact, the attitudes were called the be happy attitudes, right? So, but this word blessed in the Hebrew, absolutely, positively, no question, means happiness. Esher is the Hebrew word, and there you see that it is how happy, or some Bible translators say this word would be better translated, bliss, bless, bliss. Do you know the difference between being happy and having bliss? Probably not. So let me tell you. Bliss, and this is according to the dictionary, this is why the Bible translators thought it would be better, and you probably can't read that. To feel bliss is to experience a state of profound joy, happiness, and contentment, often described as the feeling of utter satisfaction. So this is like, it doesn't get any better. You ever been in a place where you're like, this is as good as life gets? When you're experiencing the blessing of God, you're experiencing, this is as good as life could be. But it says that this blessedness, this bliss begins for everyone who does what? Fears the Lord. Do you all know what it means to fear the Lord? So I'm going to spend a little time talking about this because it's one of those misunderstood subjects. What does it actually mean to fear the Lord? And what I see in the church oftentimes is there's two ditches. There is on one side, there are the people that just want, hey, We almost sang about it, right? I'm no longer a slave to fear, and we'll talk about what that means. So I don't have to fear anything, including God. And then there's the other ditch, which is a distortion of God's fear, in which you better fear everything. The slightest infraction could possibly cause you to lose your salvation. So you see these two ditches in the church. One is an emphasis that we don't have to fear God at all. And then there's the other, where's this distortion of fear. So let's talk about the no fear people. I was listening to a podcast of some gentleman who says he has now built his ministry on, ready for this, everywhere he goes to remove the fear of God from people. You should be more shocked than you actually are. Do you know how many times the Bible references fearing God? A lot. So somebody who would make a dedication of removing the fear of God. Now, these are the scriptures that they use. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. So the way the argument goes, if you know the love of God and you love God, you don't have to fear punishment. And guess what? Yes! That's true! That perfect love does drive out fear. Because guess what? Now I obey God not because I'm afraid of Him, but because of what? Because I love Him. And do I fear punishment? No! Because I know I'm under grace. And I know God's not tallying up all the dues. No, I am covered in grace. So this scripture applies to the person who loves God and knows that God loves them and is following God. It does not apply to everyone. As a matter of fact, if you're a sinner, you should fear God. But sometimes this is referred to as universalism and it's an emphasis on the fact that God is love and therefore we don't have to fear anything including punishment or hell. Now it's a shame I have to preach this to Christians. It's a shame I have to tell you as a revelation that there is eternal punishment. It's a shame that I have to do this. But guess what? There's podcasts and there's YouTube. And there's a lot of crazy stuff floating around on the internet. And I'm always shocked when I listen to one of these podcasts from one of these types of people. It always begins like this. The person who does the show says something to the effect of, well, we have brother Billy Bob here with us today. Billy Bob, I cannot tell you how much you've changed my life. I've been to every conference. I bought every book. As a matter of fact, it is a tremendous privilege for me to sit here next to you right now and hear what you have to say. Ladies and gentlemen, if you want a mentor, listen to Billy Bob. Billy Bob starts out. The podcaster says, now tell me about your latest book. He says, well, here it is. I was abducted by some angels. One of them, I think, was Malachi. And then he took me to heaven, the third heaven, and he implanted some sort of chip in my brain. And I came back to earth, and now I get transmissions from heaven. And I've been writing books on the transmissions. Now you would think most people would be like, what the heck? But Billy Bob's got an audience because people have itchy ears. And there's a whole group of people that want the Bible to say something different. And this isn't a new thing. The Bible says in Jude, for instance, that these people existed even then. Jude says, listen. These are like hidden rocks in your love feast. When they feast with you, shepherds without fear. They don't fear God. They don't fear anything. Shepherds without fear. They feed themselves. They're like clouds of water. They are carried along by winds. They're twice dead. And then, as if to make a point, he goes on and says, they're like waves of the sea. They're casting up a foam. They're wandering stars. And then he says, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever. Should they fear? Do they? No. Are they on a crusade to remove fear? Yes. But then there's the other camp. We'll call them the legalists. And they're always trying to come up with something that the Bible says to strike fear into the hearts of men. And here's one. It talks about in 1 Peter that women should not braid their hair. Or they should not put on gold jewelry. Or they shouldn't put on clothing, I guess, is the next point there. But I get a scripture. I was in one of these legalistic churches in which all the women were all no makeup and no jewelry. And the pastor sees a visitor come in. The visitor's got earrings on. And I see him shifting gears. He's got a whole text on the evil of ear bobs. And I thought to myself, my goodness, isn't there something better to preach on? Now this verse of scripture deals with the emphasis being on outward appearance as opposed to inward appearance. It does not imply that you should not or could not wear earrings, for instance. But for the legalist, the big debate is jewelry a sin? Do we got better stuff to do with our time? And here's the true fact. You can twist the Bible to make it say anything you want it to say. You can bring fear where there's no fear, or you can remove fear where there is fear. All you've got to do is pick out some choice scriptures, base your entire theology on one or two verses. What should you do as Christians? What is the answer to not falling in the ditch? You know what it is? Stay on the middle of the road. The Bible is a balanced book. It will emphasize the kindness of God, it will emphasize the severity of God. As a matter of fact, the Bible says that. Here's Romans 11, 22. Paul is saying, take note then of what? The kindness and the severity of God. Not one or the other. Not God is totally severe, not God is totally, behold both of them. Can you do that as mature human beings? Hopefully you can. Here's the context of those verses. Listen. And it's speaking about Israel being cut off from God. And it talks about us. We will be broken off. It says they were broken off because of their unbelief. But you stand fast in faith. Listen what it says here. Do not become proud, but what? Fear. In other words, if they were cut off, Paul says, you could be cut off. Should you fear? Perhaps, if Paul's telling you to fear. So he says, behold the kindness, and here's Paul. Pay attention. Severity toward those who have fallen, but kindness to you. What does God say? Yeah, if I'm loving God and God's loving me, I don't fear punishment, I'm under grace, I'm not under the law. But if I walk away from God, If I start doing my own thing, yeah, yeah. You should fear. And you should look at the Bible of all the people that have fallen away. Look at what it says. Provided that you continue in his kindness. What does the Bible tell us to do in Romans? Work out your salvation. Does anybody know the rest of this? With fear and trembling. Do you all see how you can't remove fear? If you're to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, there has to be an element of fear in. So let me give you the best definition that I've ever come across for fearing the Lord and what it means. It's a wholesome dread of displeasing your Heavenly Father. I got a dread that I don't want to do anything that God doesn't want me to do. And I have a healthy fear that keeps me from going closer to the edges. Charles Spurgeon, I think, was one of the first people who said this. There's an anxiousness to please and a desire for entire submission and obedience. See, if you wander away from God, you should have some sort of fear that this is not going to go well. Not because God's going to punish you somehow, but maybe because you're going to go out from underneath that umbrella and God's going to let you go and good things are not awaiting. So God loves me, and I love God, and I have a dread of displeasing him. That's healthy. This was my room when I was a kid. Not literally. Not really. That's not really my room. Not really my room. It was actually fairly neat. My mother used to threaten me if I didn't clean up my room that there'd be punishment. My grandmother would lovingly ask me to make sure my room is clean. And I felt such a love for my grandmother. Who do you think, who do you think I never forgot to clean up my room? My grandmother who loved me because I didn't want to disappoint her. My mother on the other hand, I forgot a few times and got punished a few times. But something about love, when you know that you're loved, you don't want to jeopardize that in any way. You want to please that person, so there it is. It goes on to say this, if you fear God, you will walk in His ways. That's what it says. And we're going to go faster. We're not going to spend that much time on all these points here. But it says, blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways. If you fear God, you will walk in His ways. You will read the Sermon on the Mount, and you will take it very seriously. For instance, the Sermon on the Mount begins this way, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Do you all want the kingdom of heaven? Be poor in spirit. You know what that means? God, in my flesh I got nothing. I am poor in my spiritual life, so fill me from heaven. Yeah. It's not poor in the flesh, it's poor in spirit. You know how the Sermon on the Mount ends? Jesus warns them, if you don't do what I say, you're building on sand. And eventually your house is going to fall and great is going to be the fall of that house. Was this designed to create a little fear? Yes, it was. That you would go, wow, I've got to remember chapter 5, chapter 6. I'm going to remember this whole sermon and do everything that he has said. Do you all take God that seriously? And by the way, Sermon on the Mount, if you really want to know, in the greatest sermon ever preached, everything you need to know about living a Christ-honoring life, just read the Sermon on the Mount. Greatest sermon of every priest. Walk in his ways. Let's talk about the blessings because now we talked about walking in his ways, fearing the Lord. Let's talk about how you're going to be blessed. You all want to be blessed. The psalmist starts out by saying this, you shall eat the fruit of, it says, you shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands. You shall be blessed and it shall be well for you. I was reading some Jewish rabbis and they were talking about this as a double blessing. What they meant was you're going to be blessed on the earth for obeying God and fearing Him and walking His ways. And when you get to heaven, you're going to be blessed. By doing what God says, you're blessed on earth, you're blessed in heaven. That's a pretty good deal, isn't it? Isn't that what Jesus said? He talked about people who gave up everything. He said, you'll have treasures in heaven. Said that to the rich young ruler. But then Peter comes along and says, hey, we've done that. We've given up everything. And then Jesus tells Peter, listen, there's no one who has left home, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, children, lands, for the sake of the gospel, listen to what he goes on to say, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time and at the end of age. You're going to get a double blessing. You be obedient to God, you obey God, you do what he says, there's a double blessing. Then he goes on to talk about the blessings that are passed on to your children and to your wife. Listen, same psalm, following verses. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house. This means if I fear God, if I walk in his ways, somehow that makes my wife more fruitful. And you're going to see that's exactly the context. The American Standard Version, the most literal version that we have of the entire Bible, if you ever want to get really literal, word for word, go to the American Standard. Here's what it says. The wife shall be as a fruitful vine in the innermost part of the house. Again, rabbinical thought believed that this is where the wife is the center of the house. She is the innermost part of the house. In a sense, as the man does his job, the wife comes to the center and then radiates out as if she's a vine. It says the children will be like olive plants all around the table. And again, in Jewish thinking, the woman was to raise up her children For the first 12 years of their life, she was the primary teacher of the Bible, teacher of the law, in the house. She was the one who imparted the faith, most likely, and the husband had a responsibility outside the house. That all changed when the boy turned 12, right? Remember when Jesus turns 12, they go to the temple, and he says, didn't you know I must be at my father's house? Because the 12-year-old boy went from his mother to his father, and then he was apprenticed by his father. Jesus is making that correlation. The mother, though, is the one responsible for that primary growth in the inner house with an inner altar. But I emphasize this, it all begins with the man of the house. This text where it says here, your wife shall be like a fruitful vine, listen, and your children shall be shoots around the table. Listen, behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. In other words, it's saying this is how one of the biggest blessings you have, the fruitfulness of your wife and your kids being like olive shoots. Where does this blessing come from? The Lord shall bless you from Zion, it says. There is a progression here of blessing. Zion, by the way, is the holiest mountain where the temple resided. And everyone believed that the greatness of heaven, the greatness of God came out of Zion. Psalm 50, out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. Zion is the fountain that it all begins. In Ezekiel, what he saw issuing from the temple was water, and everywhere that water went, he says, so everything will live wherever that river goes. God is saying, husband, if you fear me and walk in my ways, I'm going to bless you out of Zion. It's all going to pour down from me. And by the way, Jesus is the new temple. He is the new Zion. And if you look at the order in a house, it goes from Christ to the husband, to the wife, to the children. The blessing flows that way. Jesus said it. The husband is the head of his wife, even as Christ is the head of the church. If you don't like this, if this sounds chauvinistic to you, if you want to change the order of this, do it at your own peril. Let's just change the order a little bit. Let's say the husband is the head and Christ is under what? How about this order? You like this one? Then the children and the wife is at the bottom. How about this one? Christ, the woman, the children, and the husband's at the bottom. There are a lot of houses set up like this probably. Let me just say this. There's no blessing in this. Now I want to say this in balance. If I'm not fearing the Lord and I'm not walking in his ways, the blessing stops there too. And I don't know if my wife should be obeying me if I'm not walking in the ways of the Lord or fearing the Lord. I've already stopped the blessing. But if I am walking in the ways of God, if I am fearing the Lord, then yeah, she would be wise to come under that umbrella of blessing. Christ, Zion, God's blessing flows from the husband to the wife to the children. But the psalmist goes even further. Yes, blessed is everyone who fears the Lord. Yes, blessed is he who walks in His way. His wife, his children will be blessed. But the psalmist goes one step further, and he speaks about unbroken blessing from heaven to earth, generation after generation. Do you all know you can stop the curse if you're raised in a dysfunctional family? You can stop that. And you can begin to put yourself under God's blessing. Listen what he goes on to say here. This is verse 6. Speaking of, because he's writing to the man. He says, you may see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. May you see your children's children. In other words, this blessing that you're under by fearing me, walking by, is not only for your children are going to be blessed, but their children are going to be blessed. It's going to go down generation after generation. And professional athletes talk about generational wealth. That means because they're super talented, they can get super huge contracts and make millions of dollars that is not only going to bless them and their family, but guess what? It's generational. It's going to go down to their children and the children's children. In other words, that one athlete based upon his skills can bring generational wealth generation after generation if he's wise. Guess what? The same thing is true. If you will be that man of God in your family, and excuse me if I'm speaking to men here, but this is the emphasis in Psalms. It will go all the way down. Listen. This godly family that is in order will bless the world, because that's the way he ends the song. He says, children's, children's, peace upon Israel. He started with Jerusalem, and now he goes all the way to Israel. He's basically saying godly families who are set up in orderly ways will bring blessings to society, will bring blessings to the entire nation. Do you all believe that? You remember the story of a wonderful life, don't you? And they paint George Bailey in this movie as a God-fearing man. As a matter of fact, they go out of their way to show George Bailey praying before the angel comes. But if you remember when Clarence comes, he goes strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. That's what the psalmist is saying. Your life is not going to just bless you. It's going to bless your whole family and their family, and it's eventually going to bless the world. Do you believe that? When he isn't around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he? Do you see how God designed this to be? George prays and the revelation from heaven, which was wise, he's getting ready to take his life. Think, George, about all the times that you were sacrificial and that you did something loving and think about how it, remember his brother. What did he do? He jumped into a freezing cold lake to save his brother. Risked his own life for his brother's life. Generation after generation, his brother goes on to save a bunch of military people. Then there's his wife, and then there's his children, and then there's even Gower, who slaps him around. I mean, most kids today would have that guy in jail, Not try to protect him. Doesn't want to work at the savings loan. Does it because of the love for his dad and love for the town. Transforms the entire community. And that's the point of the movie, right? It's not just your own life. It's like if you're not here to do what you're supposed to do, the whole entire city will be different. Do you all understand this? I love the way they paint what it could have been because it looks like Las Vegas. showgirls, and he is shocked at just what a difference he made just by doing the right things. And that's the psalmist point. Be God-fearing. Walk in the ways that God wants you to walk in, and you will release a blessing from God that will transform not only your family, but transform generation after generation, present, future, and even go all the way out to the nations. Fear God, walk in His ways. Let's pray. Thanks for listening to this message from River Mountain Church. If you'd like some more information, visit our website, rivermountainchurch.org. you