Title: Who is Blessed?
Contents
Psalm 1:1-6 Who is the Blessed One?
As you know, our church's prayer topic this year is 'Relaxing'. I want to have free time not only personally, but also at home, at work and in business, at church, in immigration and studying abroad. And I want to live with leisure in mind, time, material space, and environment in every place I live. Furthermore, I want to use this leisure of life for the Lord.
When we pray for God to give us time, God answers our prayers. In other words, the answer is, ‘If you do this, you will receive abundant and leisurely blessings.’ And the answer is given through the word of complete revelation. Today's text, Psalm 1, tells us how God can give us abundant and leisurely blessings.
Verse 1 of the text says: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful.” It's easy to be a thug when you hang out with a thug, easy to be a gambler when you hang out with a gambler, and easy to become a cheater when you hang out with a cheater.
So even the parents of the world want their children to make good friends. Only then can their children be influenced by good things and live a happy life as good children. God also says that we must get along well with people in order to live a blessed life as God's children by believing in Jesus Christ. Then, what kind of person can you meet in order to receive God's abundant blessings?
First of all, today's text tells us to stay away from the wicked, sinners, and the arrogant. In other words, it means to approach good people, righteous people, and humble people. Then who is the good, who is the righteous, and who is the humble? The Bible says, “There is none righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10). In other words, even if a person appears to be good, righteous, and humble in their own way to humans, in God's eyes, they are all sinners.
Then, as the saying goes, “Don’t go where the crows play, egrets”, are we blessed to leave this world, cut ties with everyone, and go up the mountain alone to live a good, righteous and humble life? Of course, God doesn't tell us to do that. Rather, to live among the wicked, sinners, and arrogant people of this world is to live without imitating their wrongdoings. More specifically, do not walk in the counsel of the wicked, do not stand in the way of sinners, do not sit in the seat of scorners, and live.
The English Bible NIV describes the counsel of the wicked as 'the counsel of the wicked'. In other words, it is a blessed person who does not follow the advice of the wicked and the counsel of the wicked. However, in the Bible, it is prophesied that in the last days, people will not receive sound teaching, but have itchy ears and have many teachers to satisfy their lusts, and will turn away from the truth and follow myths (2 Timothy 4:3). 4) In other words, it is prophesied that many people will be tainted by worldly thoughts and worldly tricks that are not God's thoughts, thoughts of God, and wisdom of God, and they will go down a path that is not blessed. In a word, they do not listen to God's word well and listen to the wrong words.
When I was in middle school, something like this happened to me. Among my close friends, I had a friend who was not very interested in studying and had a great gift for playing. It was fun at first because I didn't go to the boring school for a few days with that friend and played hard. But later the money ran out. When I was hungry, I suggested to my friends that we should each go home. And I was afraid that if I didn't go to school anymore, I might be expelled from school.
But this friend has no intention of going into the house. Needless to say, the friend's family at that time was not in a home where his parents would welcome him warmly. In other words, the friend was a broken-down family who did not get a single warm meal prepared by his parents even when he entered the family. So the friend tried to play outside anyway rather than go into the house. But I keep asking to go into the house, so he looks at me and says. "child! I have a lot of fear!”
And furthermore, they drive me to be a coward and say that I have no loyalty. Ah- I'm annoyed. If you choose a family, your friends cry, if you choose a friend, your family cries. And on the radio of the bus, advertisements of this kind of advice appeared every day. “Young people, it is late at night. Now is the time to go home and rest for tomorrow.” I had to go home after hearing this advice at the time, but I ended up listening to a friend's trick.
The friend suggested a way to live without entering the house. How is that? This is what our children in Korea are going through these days. In other words, we extort money from students who are weaker than us. And furthermore, using methods such as stealing. The friend bravely did it with a very natural laugh. Of course, there was also the heroism of trying to measure the form of being a gangster in front of my friend, who I am.
Everyone, everyone has their own way of living life. It is no fun if you choose and follow the wrong methodology of life. Blessings run away and punishments are given later. So today's text warns.
“The wicked are not like that; they are like chaff that the wind blows. Therefore the wicked will not stand judgment, nor will the sinner be in the congregation of the righteous. ...the way of the wicked shall perish” (Psalm 1:4-6).
And in today's text, the unhappy, the perishable, and the person who will be judged are those who stand in the way of sinners. The word ‘sin’ (hamaltia) in the Bible means ‘to miss the mark.’ In other words, it is a sin to live for something other than God. Gentlemen, what is the greatest sin of mankind? In Buddhism, it is called greed. In Confucianism, filial piety is considered the greatest sin. The philosopher Socrates regarded ignorance as a great sin. And in Greek philosophy, pride was considered the greatest sin.
But the greatest sin is living apart from our Creator, God. The right purpose of human life is to live for the glory of God, but living for one's own desires apart from God is the life of a sinner. Everyone, what is the purpose of living here in Canada? Is it the glory of God? Or is it my greed? If you live a life that deviates from God's good purpose, your blessings will run away later. On the other hand, if you live centered on God, you will receive abundant and relaxed blessings. I pray that you will become a blessed person who lives God-centered in the midst of your busy immigration and study abroad life.
Also, ‘arrogant person’ means ‘one who ridicules and ridicules’. If you ridicule your parents, mock your teachers, mock the authorities and leaders, mock the servants of the Lord, and mock and curse at the saints, you are not a prosperous and intelligent person, but a person without good luck. However, there are times in life when it becomes a habit to criticize and ridicule others without realizing it. It's something you have to be very careful with.
Especially among Koreans, it breaks my heart to see the president mocking and swearing so easily. Of course, there are times when the president makes a policy that does not suit his heart, and sometimes the country is difficult because of mistakes. However, in that case, rather than mocking the president, we should pray for the president more and help the leaders more as a citizen of the people. If you sit down with someone who criticizes and ridicules you and commits such a sin yourself, your blessings will run away.
Today's text suggests one more thing, saying that you are blessed when you keep away from the counsel of the wicked, the way of sinners, and the seat of the arrogant. It is said that those who enjoy the word of God and meditate on it are blessed. Revelation 1:3 also says, “Blessed are those who read and hear the words of this prophecy, and those who keep what is written in them, for the time is near.” Furthermore, blessed are those who preach the word.
A person must eat food to get energy and to live and work with that energy. No man can live without food and cannot use his strength. This is the basic principle of maintaining the life and health of the body. This is the ‘second law of thermodynamics’. "There is no infinite power without a supply of energy." In other words, it is the law that all moving things in this world need a supply of energy to move and work.
The Word of God is food for our souls. If we eat those words well, we can get energy and live. If you do not eat the food of the Word properly, you will suffer from malnutrition. You lose your health by eating junk food or eating foods that cause cancer. If you eat poison, you die instantly. In other words, if you eat wrong heresy, you will be in big trouble. If he eats the communist idea that there is no God, the idea of God will not enter him, and his soul will eventually die. happiness disappears.
Therefore, we need trained ears to properly eat the Word of God, and ears to hear. We should rejoice while listening to the word of God. You need to know how to say Amen while listening to the word of God. But
Some people feel cramped when they hear the word of God. While listening to the word of God, I intentionally say ‘nomen’. And I feel 'bondage' in the Word of God. However, some people feel 'free' in the Word of God.
Ladies and gentlemen, just as a train is free when it is on the railroad track and an airplane is safe when it follows the route, people can live the happiest life when they try to live by saying 'Amen' to God's word. God gave us the Word not to bind us, but to give us true freedom and happiness. Obedience to the Word may seem uncomfortable, but in hindsight, it is the way to happiness.
A student who was about to graduate from high school in Charlotte, USA placed this order to his father. “Father, I got accepted to a prestigious university, so please buy me a car as a souvenir.” The father gladly promised his son. However, the father, who appeared at the graduation ceremony, brought a wrapped Bible and gave it to his son instead of the car keys. “Son, you will find good things in this Bible. I want you to read this Bible.”
The son was so disappointed that his father had broken his promise, and he turned away from him. Not long after, my father died suddenly and I attended the funeral. And thinking of my father who passed away, I opened the Bible. But inside the Bible was a letter from my father, along with a check large enough to buy a car. “Son, didn’t I always tell you to read the Bible? All blessings are contained in the Bible.”
After that, the son said that he lived close to the Bible. That's right. The Bible contains all the treasures and blessings. Those who draw near to the Word can always achieve victory and live as the main character of blessings. Today's text also speaks. “He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither, so that all its events prosper” (Psalm 1:3). In the name of the Lord, I pray in the name of the Lord that you may live an abundant and leisurely life in this foreign land while staying away from the schemes of the wicked, the ways of sinners, and the seat of the arrogant, and drawing closer to the Word of God.