1How 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! 2But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His
law he meditates day and night. 3He 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. 4The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 5Therefore the
wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6For the
LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish. Psalms 1:1-6

When we first believe and are young in our lives of faith, we are filled with devotion, but this can dwindle as time passes. We slowly lose our connection with God. It is so easy to fall prey to complacency: serving our own desires, seeking material wealth and worldly possessions. In old age, people also can become lazy, uncaring, and lack energy in their faith. If we are not careful, we can fall into a wasteful life.

Psalm 1 provides a strategy for us to fight complacency and avoid losing our connection with God in six very clear steps. If we remind ourselves of and try to follow these six steps, we can maintain our devotion and build our connection with God.

Step 1: Seek God’s blessing – “How blessed is the man…”

What is God’s blessing? His blessings are that which bring us closer to Him and help build our faith. Blessings enable us to overcome our selfish desires and greed. A curse is something that separates us from God. Without God’s blessings, we die. Therefore, we should seek to be blessed by God in everything we do. To do so, we must rely on our understanding of the Bible which enables us to know what actions will lead to God’s blessing and what will lead to sin. If I say this, do this, treat someone this way, will or will I not receive God’s blessing? We must act and approach everything by first considering if it will lead to blessing or not. In this way, we bring joy to the Lord, and the Lord delights in doing good things for us. Even when we fall prey to sin, the blessing God gives us leads to our repentance. Eliminating thoughts that lead to sin is a blessing. Promoting thoughts that bring us closer to God is a blessing. 

Step 2: We must battle to “not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers.”

We are constantly faced with challenges to our faith, and we must fight against them. Our hearts must be connected with our spirit which is connected to God. In turn, our hearts are connected to our actions. We must fight within our hearts to keep connected to God and his truth. Without this connection, we die. We fight for our blessings through our actions – these are the works of our faith. Living according to God’s truth vs. our own desires and purpose. Moving forward according to our own desires and motives leads to destruction. Sin is betraying God’s word. We must fight against doing this.

Step 3: We must know that “delight is in the law of the LORD.”

When we act for God’s blessing and battle against sin, then God’s law becomes the nourishment we seek. We delight in it. When we read after battling against sin, we delight even more in reading and studying God’s truth. The more we read and study the Bible, the more delicious it becomes to us. 

Step 4: We then become “like a tree firmly planted by streams of water.”

After we seek and receive his blessings, battle against sin, and study God’s Word, we become clean and strong like the tree by the stream. We become clean and strong, deep in faith, confidence, peace, and joy.

Step 5: We are a tree that “yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.”

When we follow the first four steps, we will succeed and prosper in everything we do because God works through us. God blesses our lives. No matter what troubles he faced, Joseph succeeded and prospered. From Potiphar’s household to Pharaoh’s jail, Joseph stayed true in his obedience to God: never giving up and never complaining. To everyone around him, it seemed he had the worst fortune and faced seemingly unfair hardships, but Joseph knew differently. Joseph was focused on following God’s plan for him and never doubted God’s promise to him. As a result, Joseph prospered becoming the governor of Egypt, leading it through the famine, and saving his people.

Step 6: We walk in the “the way of the righteous.”

When we achieve these five things, then we walk in the path of the righteous. 

This is the order of our lives of faith. If we forget this, then everything is for naught. When the church of Ephesus is directed to find its first love in its faith, they must follow these steps. First look to be blessed, then all the other steps fall into place. All begins in blessing. We must grab onto this and commit to this. Whatever we face, persecution, hardship, begin with blessing. What is blessing? It is whatever God does for our benefit. We must begin there.

Click for Korean sermon https://soundcloud.com/yhpaik/1984-5-23-short-1