Well, it's always my joy to bring the Word of God to God's people. Today we begin a new summer series in the Book of Psalms, also known as the Book of Praises. And you've probably read some psalms during your prayer times. It's just uplifting as you're crying out to the Lord and you're probably reading those psalms. When I first got saved, I was encouraged by a youth leader, Royal Rangers, it was like a Christian Boy Scouts, and they were telling us, hey, why don't you read the 150 Psalms in one summer? And so every day, I would read one of the Psalms. And looking back now, I really believe that was a major reason I was able to get through many trials and temptations in my life. This summer series in the psalm should be refreshing as we're going to learn about God's truth with poetic elements. It's so important to recognize certain genres in the psalms. So we're going to see that different psalms have different genres. Some are psalms of Thanksgiving, while others are psalms of lament, right? You have remembrance, kingship, confidence, so many different types. And so the psalm we're going to examine today is the wisdom type with instructions for right living. Psalm 1 basically functions as an introduction to the entire book of psalms. It tells of people. paths and permanent destinations. So, let's stand for the reading of God's Word in Psalm 1. Psalm 1. The Word of God says, How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers, But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. And in whatever he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but they are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Amen. You may be seated. Let's pray for the Lord to bless our time in His Word. Well, Lord God, we come before you now, excited in this new summer series in the Book of Psalms. We pray, Lord, you will convict us. Help us to understand your text today. Lord, we see there's going to be this huge contrast in this book, in this chapter here. So please help us to meditate on it, help us to chew on it, to learn about the wicked and the wise. May we examine ourselves today. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Well, we often make comparisons. Who's better, Michael Jordan or LeBron James, the Yankees or the Mets? Sometimes we compare things that are completely different. You've heard the phrase, you're comparing apples to oranges. Let me share a brief comparison that should set up the tone for our text this morning. I'm sure many of you enjoyed many fireworks last week, right? Fourth of July. Well, on Friday night, we met by a golf course at Victor and Linda's house, and we were able to see just so many fireworks up close. It was great. My heart pounded with every loud boom, and as I looked, I could see the kids in the background all nervous, and they marveled at those sparkling colors. As I looked at the fireworks, I saw something else in the distance, and it was shining, and it was constant. I didn't have to wait for this light to go off. This light was higher than all the other lights. It was the moon. The moon God created was way more beautiful than any of the fireworks that night. And so the comparison we can make is that one group of lights were artificial, fake, fleeting. The other light was powerful and real. In our texts, we don't really have a comparison. We have a contrast between the wicked and the wise. Like the moon, the wise in our texts reflect the beauty of God's light in their lives. They will be with God forever. Like fireworks, the wicked in our texts are fleeting and they will spiritually blow up. And although their life may be nice for a while on earth, they will perish. And so as we go throughout our texts today, I want you to keep in mind this contrast and think of this question. Will we walk in the way of the wicked or the wise? We're going to examine these two characters, some characteristics from each and the conclusions of each character. Let's see if one of these work here. All right. And so let's observe the two characters in our text. Look at verse one again. It reads. How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers. And so we begin with the current state of this individual. It's not merely a feeling. This man is blessed, right? He's not cursed. He has this real joy and contentment in God. He has a meaningful life because he knows God is with him. Throughout the Psalms, you can read about the people that are blessed. We see that those that are blessed are those that take refuge in God. They understand that their transgression has been forgiven and their sin is covered. They walk in integrity. If you read Psalm 32, it tells us, How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. If you are blessed by God, it means you're a part of his family. The blessed man has the privilege to be disciplined by God and taught the truth in his law. The blessed man, he trusts in God with all his heart and he cares about obeying God Almighty. Psalm 128 verse 1 says, How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways. And so the blessed man, he has this fear for God. He has this reverence towards Him. And so he's humbled by the fact that God is watching him and he responds in faith. Psalm 111 verse 10 states, And a good understanding have all those who do. His commandments, His praise endures forever. The blessed man is someone who is wise and obeys God's commandments. And so turn with me to Matthew 5. Matthew 5. We're gonna look at verses 3 to 10, and we see here Jesus identifying who are the blessed. And I'm just gonna read the first part of each verse. And so look at Matthew 5, the Beatitudes Sermon on the Mount, verses 3 to 10. If you got it, say amen. All right. Blessed are the poor in spirits. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are the gentle. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the pure in hearts. Blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. And so these are just some characteristics of the blessed. And so in Psalm 1, this blessed man reminds us of the personal choices we all must make, right? We see there it's in the singular, right? It's talking about an individual and then later it's going to talk about the group of the blessed. And so we all have to decide which way we will walk. The way of the wicked or the way of the wise? This is something your mother or father cannot make you do. They cannot make that choice for you. Are you gonna obey what God says, or are you gonna do what you want? We're gonna see later that the wise man, he's associated with the righteous. But for now, let's focus on that personal decision we all must make, and how can we know that we are blessed? We already read a portion of the Sermon on the Mount about who are the blessed. But Psalm 1 also identifies for us in two ways how we can know we're blessed, right? We're going to see the evidence for those that are blessed. The first way is actually the first point. So you can go back to Psalm 1. And let's see here. Thank you, Daniel. First way is the first point I want you to remember, and that is the wise walk away from wickedness. Look at verse 1 again. It says, how blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. And so we have here a negative example. It shows us how the wise man doesn't play with sin. He doesn't even want to be in the presence of sin. The wise do not behave like the wicked. They are different and there shouldn't be a comparison. It's like a living person and a dead person. You might have played this game growing up or gave this worksheet to one of your children. It's called Spot the Difference. You have two pictures side by side, and you have to circle the differences. And if I were to put you side by side with an unbeliever, I should be able to spot many differences. And that's what we observe in Psalm 1, that the wicked and the wise are completely different. We learn from other Psalms that the wicked are those that walk in darkness. Many of them, they deny God's existence. They are fools and do detestable deeds. They are deceitful and pretenders, many of the other Psalms teach us. They are proud. They are boastful. They do not fear God like the wise. And they hate the righteous. Maybe you've seen this recently at your work or in your home. People that do not have a relationship with God often do not want to be around you. We also read in the Psalms about how the righteous are often found praying against the wicked for protection and deliverance. It's not the wicked that have to worry about persecution for their beliefs, it's those that follow Jesus. And so we observe many more contrasts in the book of Psalms regarding these groups. So turn with me to Psalm 32. Psalm 32, verse 10. Looking at the contrast between the wicked and the wise, the first two characters in our book. And read verse 10 here. It says, many are the sorrows of the wicked. But he who trusts in the Lord, loving kindness shall surround him. And so can you spot the difference? Can you see the contrast? Wicked people are not blessed. They will never truly be happy. Only God's people are blessed. They are showered by God's mercy and love 24-7. And when you first understood God's love for you, I'm sure you can tell of the many wicked things you stopped doing. You turned your back on the world, and now you wanted to obey God. And so Psalm 1 continues with this negative example. The text reads, the blessed man does not stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers. And so both are ways of adding to the main truth that the wise walk away from wickedness. John Calvin, he would argue for a progression of sin here. He sees it this way. First they hide in their sin in the counsel of the wicked, and then they make sin their lifestyle with sinners. And finally, they make sin their dwelling place with scoffers. Others will argue that this portrays the totality of evil and synonymous parallelism, which involves the repetition of one idea with different words. And so, yes, we see some differences in verse 1, but I believe the psalmist wants us to convey that same main idea. We see this throughout the songs with the sinners being described as those who do violence, men of bloodshed, and whose hand is a wicked scheme and whose right hand is full of bribes. And so they're just like the wicked because they have the same destination. Look at Psalm 104. Psalm 104, verse 35. We see here that they have the same destination. It reads, sinners be consumed from the earth and let the wicked be no more. And so the sinners and the wicked are part of the same team. They both disobey God and they're both going to be judged. We know that they're also associated with the scoffers, right? Those are people that are boastful, mockers, arrogant. They are fools and they do not respond to instruction. In Psalm 50, we see there that, but to the wicked, God says, what right have you to tell of my statues and to take my covenant in your mouth? For if you hate discipline and you cast my words behind you, when you see a thief, you are pleased with him and you associate with adulterers. You let your mouth loose in evil and your tongue frames deceit. And so notice here in Psalm 50 that the wicked, they're also liars. They have much lust in their hearts. They do not listen to God. They are religious hypocrites. And so they're devoted to self. And what do we learn from this? That the wicked and the wise are clearly not friends. They are part of different families. Jesus would say of the wicked what He said to the Pharisees in John 8, you are of your father the devil, and if you want, you do the desires of your father. He continues in John 8, he who is of God hears the word of God, for this reason you do not hear them because you are not of God. And so let's ask ourselves this, am I walking away from wickedness? Am I putting all aside that evil, deceit, hypocrisy, and envy. Maybe we can ask ourselves this, is there any friends in my life that I need to say goodbye to? Is there anyone close to me that is leading me in the ways of the wicked? Beloved, we need to be careful before we commit to any type of friendship. One practical example is who will we marry? We know we must not marry an unbeliever who is walking the way of the wicked. we ought to consider someone who is walking in the way of the wise. Someone recently asked me, hey Kevin, how did you and Veronica meet? And so I told him the story. But just to add to this point of being careful with who you marry and all that, Veronica wasn't a believer at first. And so yes, I was attracted to her. I was like, oh, maybe I should talk to her and all that. But I had other wise friends tell me, hey man, She's not a believer, what are you doing? And so I didn't talk to her for maybe seven, eight months. I didn't think I would ever marry her. But eventually she got saved and she was walking in the way of the wise. And so I did not pursue her until she was walking in the way of the wise. And so our calling as believers is we need to walk in a manner that honors God. And that's gonna mean we're gonna have to be patient in many areas in our lives. And we might have to say no to many things we may want. And so the first step we must take is to walk away from wickedness. We're not going to be able to do the next step in verse 1 if we do not do the first step. Calvin, he writes, the psalmist teaches us how impossible it is for anyone to apply to his mind meditation upon God's will, law, and who has not first withdrawn and separated himself from the society of the ungodly. And so the next step we find is in verse 2 of chapter 1. Psalm 1 verse 2 here. This is the second way we can know that we are counted with the blessed. Let's read it again. Psalm 1 verse 2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. And so we observe here a chiastic or introverted parallelism. The logical units are developed in an A-B-B-A pattern. And so just notice here, look at verse 2. We have there at the end of the first line talking about the law. And then when you go to the second line, what's at the beginning? Again, the law. And so the law has in mind all that the Lord has taught us. And that is why our next point I want you to remember is the wise walks in the word. The wise walk in the word. So here in verse two, we have a positive example, right? First verse was a negative example. Here we have a positive. The wise are those who delight in the law of the Lord. This is their joy. This is their chief desire in life, to learn about God's word and to obey what God has said. So ask yourself, is the word your delight? Is it sweeter than your favorite sports team winning? Is it better than your favorite dish of food, like ceviche? Is it better than going on a vacation to a country you always wanted to go? Is it better than your summer bonus, or maybe your company prospering? Is it better than meeting a new potential spouse? The law of the Lord should be our greatest delight. We should understand that it is the word of God that restores us, it stabilizes us, and it's our foundation. We read about the law in great length in Psalm 119. We should say like David in Psalm 119, verse 40. The Lord's teaching and instruction is wonderful. It's life to our bones. And David's love for God's Word was so fervent that he would meditate upon it all the day, according to Psalm 119.97. All the day. I don't know about you, but maybe you spend just one day just reading the Word and you just were before the Lord and just praying and seeking His face. It is beautiful spending time with the Lord. And that is what David did. He spent time with his king. And so this leads us to another characteristic of the wise. The wise do not only delight in the law, but they also meditate on it day and night. And so the word for meditate pictures a person thinking, talking about God's word, right? They're murmuring. And so meditation is more than just personal devotionals. It is a reflection of the Word of God in the course of daily lives. In other words, the one who meditates continually reflects God's Word in life. And so ask yourself, is the Word of God on your lips non-stop? Is the Word of God something you study? Does the Word have a place in your hearts? Do you long for the pure milk of the Word like newborn babies? I think of Santiago, my youngest, six months, When he first wakes up, he is crying for some milk. And so, do we wake up with this hunger to hear from God? Do we wake up with that appetite, I want more of the Word? Maybe you met someone who had a verse for any moment. Some of my closest friends, they often challenge me in this way. They often tell me what passages they've been meditating on, and it's refreshing to hear. They are like walking, talking Bibles, no Bible app needed. And they motivate me to have the Word on my mind more. It's similar to following that command we'd read in Philippians 4. Go to Philippians 4. Look at verse 8 here. Paul, after telling the Philippians to pray, you have the peace that surpasses all understanding. We have here a command. It says, finally, brethren, verse 8, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, what do you do? You dwell on these things. And so we ponder about the Word. We know Mary, the mother of Jesus, she did this very thing. She treasured what she heard and she pondered what she learned in her heart. This is the pattern for those who are wise. They have devotional and prayer lives. It's not just something they do in the mornings, you know, check the box, I did this, continue with my day. No. It's something they are. They are people of the book. If you can give them one item on a stranded island, they would say without hesitation, give me the word, give me the word. And so the wise walk away from wickedness and they walk in the word. This is evidence that they are those that have been blessed by God. But what about their present reality? The next point I want you to remember here is the wise will not wither. And so go back to Psalm 1, look at verse 3. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither, and whatever he does, he prospers. And so we observe the truth of the wise not withering in this illustration, right? So the wise there are firmly planted like trees by streams of water. Because of the mostly dry land of Israel, a lush tree served as a fitting symbol of blessing in the Old Testament. And so you can also picture just someone that is hydrated, right? They're awake, full of life. It's this refreshing picture. I think of my kids when they first wake up. They're just running in the room saying, good morning, good morning. They are alert. They are awake. And so the illustration of the tree by water, it paints the resourcefulness of the wise. They are not lacking anything. They have all they need because they have God's Word. And they will not be carried away by the worries of the world. but rather they're going to remain like these mature trees do in a large storm. I'm sure you've been in some storms before and you've seen some trees fall down. Well, a strong tree doesn't. And that's because they are growing in maturity. They are strong. And that's who this wise man is. The text continues to say that this tree yields its fruit in its season. And so the wise are Fruitful, they are those that help and give to others. They are generous and care for those in need. They obey God and accomplish much good works for Him. The wise person is growing in maturity. They are being sanctified by the truth. And so the illustration continues with the description of the leaves. The leaves of this tree do not wither. They do not decay. This is the lifestyle of the wise. It's a good life, a life that reflects the goodness of God. The wise are not only firmly planted, But if you keep reading, they are fully prosperous. It's not talking about a prosperity gospel here, right? We know from other songs that the trials will come, the enemy will pursue us. But we know that God is with us and he has promised to get us through every trial. And so the main idea of the end of verse three is about spiritual blessings, right? God will give the wise man success as he does all that God commands him to do in his word. And so think of it this way. It doesn't mean you're going to get promoted at your job every other year, but it does mean you will be given strength to keep going and providing for your family. You're going to be given grace to forgive and love your enemies. You're going to be given wisdom and peace in all your trials. The contrast with the wise is that the wicked will not prosper. They will perish. Picture them as a dehydrated tree or burnt grass. They are not only dying, they will die. We read about how they will wither in Psalm 37. So go to Psalm 37. Look at verses one to two. If you got it, say amen. All right. It reads, do not fret because of evildoers. Do not be envious toward wrongdoers, for they will what? Wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb. And so this brings us to our fourth point that I want you to remember. The wicked will wither. This is the present reality of all those who do not trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. So look at Psalm 1 again, we're reading verses 4 to 5 now. Psalm 1 verses 4 to 5, it reads, And so notice the contrast at the beginning of verse 4. It's literally, not so the wicked. They do not prosper like the wise, they wither. And why is that? because they do the opposite of the wise. They walk towards wickedness and they walk away from the Word. And rather than delighting and meditating on the Word, they are disobedient and misuse the Word. They are not like strong trees that are firmly planted. They're not going to be fully prosperous. They are perishing flowers that will be permanently forsaken. They are compared to weak chaff or chopped straw. Chaff is another way of saying rubbish, garbage. Last week we had a ministry team from Wisconsin and they were removing the old ceiling tiles of the basement and they threw them into a dumpster. That's the picture we're presented with chaff. It's a picture any farmer would understand during harvest time with their grain. The grain would be tossed in the air with this pitchfork at the village threshing floor, and the wind would separate the light chaff and husk and blow them away, while the more substantial grain fell back to the floor. And so chaff is something light and useless. It's part of this crop, but it's a part to be disposed of by a farmer. The wicked are thus portrayed in the simile as lightweights, persons without real substance or worth. And so we observe the same picture in the New Testament. John the Baptist says this of Jesus in Matthew 3.12, his winnowing fork is in his hand. and he would thoroughly clear his threshing floor and he will gather his wheat into the barn but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. And so the metaphor of chaff reveals both the uselessness of the wicked and the ease in which God will deal with them. The Lord will drive away the wicked like the farmer does with the chaff. Also notice, in Matthew 3, that the wicked are separated. God has a place reserved for them. And we're going to discuss this in a bit in verse 6. But for now, remember, the wicked do not have stability. They will not be able to stand in the day of judgment. They will be humbled on that great day. Isaiah 2.11 teaches us that the proud look of man will be abased, and the loftiness of man will be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. And so the wicked may act like they're in control, but we know who will get the last laugh. Psalm 2, verse 4. And so yes, the wicked will wither, and they will not be laughing when they are going to get judged. Psalm 1 also says that they do not stand in the assembly of the righteous. And so we observe this truth throughout scripture. Malachi 4.1, it reads, For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogance and every evildoer will be chaff. And the day that is coming will set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that they will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with its healing in its wings and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. And so, do you spot the difference? Do you see the contrast? The righteous or the wise, they're going to be full of joy. They're going to be restored on that glorious day. However, the wicked or evildoer, they will be destroyed. The wicked will not dwell with the wise. Matthew 25, 32 also pictures this contrast between the wicked and the wise. There we learn that God will separate them from one another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Those on his right are called blessed and righteous and they will go into eternal life. Those on his left, he calls accursed ones, and they will go away into eternal punishment. And so the wicked and the wise do not belong together. One group of people loves God. The other group hates God. One group of people is humble. The other group is proud. One group has a prayer month. Another group has a pride month. Another contrast in scripture we are shown with these two groups is in Revelation 21. I think this one's going to be really important for us. So go to Revelation 21. the new heavens and new earth. This contrast continues until eternity. And we learn about those who overcome and those that have their part in the lake of fire. So look at Revelation 21. We're going to read verses 7 to 8. The end of verse six, I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things and I will be his God and he will be my son. But, there's the contrast, for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. And so there really are only two types of people, the wicked and the wise. The wise, they're adopted into God's family. The wicked are condemned. The wise will no longer thirst. The wicked will always thirst and never be satisfied. The righteous or the wise, they are those that are favored by the Lord. They are people who rejoice in the truth and perform justice. And we read in other Psalms that they are those that are promised to be delivered of all afflictions. They are provided for, sustained, and loved by God. God will dwell with them. No more tears, no more pain. Everything's going to be great. The wicked, on the other hand, they will wither, since they are not sheep of the good shepherd. They cannot say what David says in Psalm 23, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. They cannot celebrate with Paul in Romans 8 when he says, Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And so the wicked walks towards wickedness, they walk away from the word, and the wicked will wither. Now let's consider the conclusions of the wise and the wicked. So go back to Psalm 1, we're reading our last verse. Verse 6 here says, for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. And so here we notice an antithetical parallelism. The thought of the second line is contrasted with the first. And so our conclusions for each group will describe a major contrast as we have seen so far. And so let's discuss the conclusion of the wise with our next point here. The way of the wise is wonderful. There is nothing better than being on this path of righteousness. The text states that the Lord knows this way. He has a personal relationship with all of those on this path. He's deeply involved in their lives as their shepherd. So we belong to God and he cares for us. He has set us apart for his work and to bring him praise. He has put us on this path and he will keep us on this path. Psalm 37 18 tells us that the Lord knows the days of the blameless and their inheritance will be forever. They will not be ashamed in the time of evil. In the days of famine, they will have abundance. Again, we're reminded that God provides for his people. They are the ones that are truly blessed. As believers, we can spend all day talking about all that God has blessed us with. But if we had to narrow it down, we probably would all say that God has blessed us with salvation. that we're not gonna perish, we will have eternal life. And so stop and think about that for a moment. You are on the best possible path. Yes, there are trials, but the finish line has the prize you've been waiting for. And you can't wait to see Jesus face to face. And so the conclusion of the wise is deliverance. Deliverance from our sins, and deliverance from this wicked world. But we're not just saved merely to be saved. Yeah, I've been saved. No, we get to be with our master forever. There is nothing more wonderful than that. So we're firmly planted, we're fully prosperous and forever pleased. On Wednesday, we went over the Westminster Shorter Catechism. What is the chief end of man? And many answered, to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. And we will enjoy Him forever. We can sing, I like this hymn here. I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder how he could love me, a sinner condemned unclean. How marvelous, how wonderful, and my song shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. And then the last stanza. When with the ransomed in glory, I at last shall see to be my joy through the ages to sing of his love for me. That is wonderful. But what about the wicked? What is their conclusion? The last point I want you to remember is the way of the wicked is worthless. Look at verse 20 of Psalm 37. Probably be the last verse I tell you to look at. Psalm 37, verse 20. I just shared what was verses 18 to 19. Such good news for the wise or the righteous. But look at verse 20. But the wicked will perish, and the enemies of the Lord will be like the glory of the pastures. They vanish like smoke. They vanish away. The wicked borrows and does not pay back, but the righteous is gracious and gives. For those blessed by him will inherit the land, but those cursed by him will be cut off. And so the wicked have a sad life. They will perish away with all their earthly treasures. They might have a lot of worldly pleasures and be able to go wherever they want, when they want, but all of their fun is temporary. Jesus said it best in Matthew 16, 26, where, what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? You can have so much money, so much success, But what good is that on the day of judgment? In Matthew 7, 13, Jesus says that the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction. And so we know that the way of the wicked is so easy to follow. All you have to do is cave into your flesh. You just got to be lazy. If it makes you feel good, then it must be good. Like the book of Judges says, every man did what was right in their own eyes, and so just do what's right, what you think is right. Adultery, why not? Idolatry, okay, follow my heart, I think so. You read about that in Jude 1, 18 to 19, how you just give in to your ungodly lust. Wicked people do not flee temptation, they run to it. So what's the conclusion of the wicked? Damnation. They will not be delivered. They will get what they deserve, an eternity of wrath. This is the natural outcome for those who choose this way of wickedness. We know that this way is worthless. It's damaged goods. It's a broken bat. It's an old broken down car. And so they're perishing flowers, permanently forsaken, and punished forever. And so which way will you choose? Will we walk in the way of the wicked or the wise? I implore you, walk in the way of the wise. Like Paul told us in Ephesians 4 and 5, walk in a manner worthy of the calling which you have been called. With all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another and love. Walk in love just as Christ has loved you and gave himself up for us. Walk as children of light. He continues there, he says, be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. In Galatians 6, he says, walk by the spirits. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another. John in 1 John 2 says, the one who says he abides in Him, talking about Christ, ought himself to walk in the same manner as Jesus walked. And so walk like Jesus walked. He walked in the way of the wise. But what about those who are walking in the way of the wicked? Is there any hope for them? We know from the book of Ezekiel that God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked. He would prefer it if the wicked turn away from their ways and live. 2 Peter 3.9 tells us that the Lord is not slow about his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient towards you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. And so God calls everyone to repent of their sins and to turn to him. We know His Son died on the cross for our sins to be forgiven, and so turn to Him today if you've been walking the way of sinners and scoffers. Place your faith in Jesus, the Word of God, who took on flesh, He lived a perfect life, died for His enemies, He rose again and conquered death. John 3.16 tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. And so don't be with the people who perish. Be with those who have eternal life. Their delight is Jesus, and He should be your delight too. He never walked in the ways of the wicked, but rather died for wicked people like us. He was judged in our place. It's because of Jesus that we can walk in the ways of the righteous. He is the righteous judge, and so may we humble ourselves today and ask Him for forgiveness for every lie you told, for everything you stole, for every time you looked with lust, for every time you've hated someone, got angry at someone that's committing murder in the heart. And we know He is faithful and just to forgive us if we confess our sins to Him. He alone has the power to change a wicked soul into a wise one. And so praise the Lord if He has done that for you. But if you've been walking the way of the wise, keep going. Don't look back. It won't be easy, but it's worth it. Jesus said, enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is small and the way is narrow. That leads to life and there are few who find it. James said, blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life. But don't just assume you're walking in the way of the wise. Examine your faith. Is the word of God your delight? Do you meditate on it daily? If you are part of the family of the wise, you will walk away from wickedness, you will walk in the word, and you will not wither. So may we continue to walk in this way that is so wonderful. There really is nothing in this world that compares to walking with Jesus. He is the light of the world, and he who follows Jesus will not walk in darkness, but will