The Blessed and The Cursed - Psalm 1

[Book of Jeremiah]

As I have been reading Psalm 1 lately and thinking about how Psalm 1 is the essence of the genuine Christian life - I found this teaching by Michael Boldea Jr.. It breaks down the teaching of Psalm 1 into three parts and is one of the best studies I have ever found on the subject.

Here is part 1. Under construction here......

.Homeward Bound: The Blessed and the Cursed Part 1

Psalm 1:1-3, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in is season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”

The entire theme of the first psalm is the blessing and joy of the righteous and godly, juxtaposed with the curse and judgment of the ungodly. The purpose and desire of the psalmist is to show us and teach us the way to joy, the way to blessing, and the way to peace everlasting, which is not found in the things of this earth or the practices of the ungodly.

In our modern age and our modern culture we have a tendency to blur the lines when it comes to the godly and the ungodly. We find excuses for certain practices, certain vices, certain dare-we-say sins – yes, I know it’s not popular to call sin, sin anymore but here we are – not taking into account that for every act of rebellion, for every act of disobedience, there is a consequence.

As we begin to go beyond the surface layer of this first Psalm and dig a little deeper, we come to realize that this first Psalm, and as consequence the entire book of Psalms begins with a benediction.

Although most benedictions are spoken at the end of a religious service, we see the book of Psalms beginning with one.

‘Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.’

God’s first intent, God’s first desire was to bless man. When God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the garden, it was to bless them, and give them all that they would ever need. God does not judge, nor does He punish because it brings Him pleasure, but because His justice demands it.

As we read this benediction, we can’t help but notice that it doesn’t say those who do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful, will be blessed at a later date, but that they are presently blessed.

If you are not walking in the counsel of the ungodly, and are instead walking in the counsel of the godly, you are already blessed for the counsel in which you are walking is righteous and true.

If you are not standing in the path of sinners and are instead standing in the path of the righteous you are already blessed for the path of righteousness leads to an eternity with Jesus.

If you are not sitting in the seat of the scornful and are instead sitting in the seat of the gracious you are already blessed because the love of God is shining through you.

When we know the godly from the ungodly, when we know the sinner from the saint, when we know the scornful from the humble and the meek, it means we possess discernment, and one cannot have a blessed life without discernment.

When we can rightly discern good from evil, and choose the way of good despising the way of evil, we are delighting in the Lord and are under the shadow of His wing.

We choose the company we keep. We choose the path we walk, we choose the things we say, we choose the actions we undertake, we choose the things we watch, we choose the things we listen to, and when our choices are in harmony with the word of God, when they are in harmony with the will of God, we are already blessed.

‘Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly!’

The man is not ignorant of the counsel of the ungodly, he doesn’t pretend as though said counsel does not exist, he knows it is there, he has heard it, and he chooses not to walk in it. We make conscious choices whether to follow after Christ, or after the words of men, whether to follow after the word of God, or the things men interpret the word of God to be.

We like to play games with the Bible; we like to play games with God, as though our eternity didn’t hang in the balance. I am often befuddled by the laisser-faire attitude so many professing Christians have toward sin, toward the counsel of the ungodly, or the things they talk themselves into doing because even though it presses right up against the line, it isn’t really crossing the line.

We want to know how close we can get to the fire before it burns us, but we will only know this when it starts to burn.

We must be wise enough to be content with knowing that fire burns, and not stick our hand in it to see if it’s true. Likewise, sin kills. The Bible says sin kills. Stay away from it and don’t try to disprove the Bible because you’re going to be on the losing side of this particular equation.

The Bible clearly tells us we are to flee the appearance of evil. You might not know its evil for sure, but if it even appears to be evil, it’s your duty to flee from it, to distance yourself, back away swiftly, and have nothing to do with it.

When we’ve started to dialogue with the devil, when we’ve decided to stand in the path of sinners and get their side of the story, we’ve already lost. There are certain things we as believers cannot make concessions with, and sin is one of those things.

We start out by walking, then standing, then getting comfortable enough to sit in the presence of sin, and when we get comfortable with sin, when our conscience no longer calls out for us to repent and to return to God, we have become the ungodly, those who no longer serve God, or submit to His authority.
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[Book of Jeremiah]

So in reviewing Part 1 of the teaching there are some great lessons to be learned in Psalm 1. We choose the company we keep. We choose the path we go down. We choose whether we are going to obey God or obey man. We choose. Then! We reap the results of those decisions as seen in Psalm 1! If we sit with the scornful, if we listen to those who mock God and enjoy their company because they are entertaining, they are witty or somehow interesting to be around - we eventually begin to believe them instead of God! We eventually begin to doubt Gods word and believe a lie instead! It leads to disaster, people.

This morning I was doing a bible study with my husband on 2 Timothy 3 as that was what the LORD gave him! I was astonished because last night after reading a thread I had put up the other night - the LORD reminded me of the scripture those who have a form of godliness but denying the power there of from such turn away. Another Word He was speaking to my heart was - Have nothing to do with them! I knew exactly what He was speaking about and I had forgotten about it until this morning when my husband said, the LORD was giving these scriptures this morning!

So let me go ahead and share with you those scriptures and you will see how this ties in with Psalms 1 and the teaching from Boldea Jr. on the Blessed and the Cursed .......

From 2 Timothy 3: 1 - 17

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those who are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God:

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, from such turn away.

For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts. Ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be made manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.
2 Timothy 1 - 17

Now this is astonishing because the LORD had already been speaking to me in recent days about hecklers - in biblical words - scorners - mockers - yet in this teaching we see that these very same ones are claiming a "form of godliness" while denying the power thereof. And what does it tell us we must do with such? Turn away from them. Have nothing to do with them. Why? Because their foolishness will be revealed to everyone eventually just as Jannes and Jambres was.

Light and darkness do not keep fellowship one with another. The light exposes the darkness. That is the purpose of light. To bring forth truth and examine it closely in order to follow Truth and not a lie. The truth is Jesus is God! Jesus is the Creator of the universe, the earth we dwell here upon, the heavens declare His glory. The Lord Jesus has created all these things for us!

John 1: 1, 2 : In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.

Anyone who does not believe that Jesus Christ is God does not know God and remains in darkness. Why? Because Jesus is the Word of God that came in the flesh to dwell among me! John 1: 14 declares it: it is written: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us ( and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father.) full of grace and truth. Amen. Jesus is God.

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

Homeward Bound: The Blessed and the Cursed Part 2

As we continue to search out this benediction, we see the three stages of a man’s downward descent. First the man walks, then the man stands, and finally the man sits. One who begins to walk in the counsel of the ungodly will likely stand in the path of sinners, and finally sit in the seat of the scornful.

We are obliged by the word of God to flee from the counsel of the ungodly and thus end the cycle before it begins.

As the Psalm continues, we also come to see that it’s not enough to keep from evil, but our heart must be given over to good.

There are men in this world who are not necessarily evil. These are men who don’t murder, who don’t cheat, who don’t do any of the things we associate with evil men, but their delight is not in the law of the Lord, and they do not meditate in His law day and night.

It is not enough for us to consider ourselves good people, moral people, spiritual people; we must delight in the Lord, and desire more of Him in our lives, and perpetually so.

If we delight in the selfsame things after coming to Christ than we did before coming to Him, we must diligently search our hearts because something just isn’t right.

When we come to the saving knowledge of truth, when we come to the saving knowledge of Christ, we begin to delight in Him rather than the things we once delighted in.

The Word of the Lord and the law of the Lord become our delight, and we meditate upon them because we know they are the only path to true joy, true fulfillment, and true peace.

What do you delight in? That is a question only you can answer. If you delight in the word of the Lord, then you delight in righteousness and truth. If you delight in the fleeting, passing pleasures of the world, then you delight in the temporal.

We cannot belong to God and delight in the things of the world, just as those of the world do not delight in the law of the Lord.

What you delight in today will set the course for your tomorrow.

What are the benefits of one who is blessed? What are the benefits of one who not only keeps himself from evil but delights in the law of the Lord?

The first benefit is that he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season.

So what’s so great about being like a tree planted by the rivers of water?

The number one reason a tree becomes fruitless, withers, and dies is lack of water. When the roots of a tree have no water source, when the roots of a tree go deep into the ground but find no water there, the tree itself begins to wither and eventually, inevitably die.

Even though the root of a tree is invisible, it is the most important aspect of the tree itself. It is the root of a tree that allows nutrients to flow to the branches, and if the roots are deep and planted by the rivers of water, the fruit the tree produces will be plentiful indeed.

The roots determine the strength of a tree. If a branch withers there is still a chance that the tree itself will survive. If the root withers there is no chance of survival for the tree is essentially dead.

When we flee the appearance of evil and delight in the Lord, we never run the risk of withering and dying. God promises to plant us by the rivers of water wherein we will always have an abundance of the living waters of life which cause us to grow and be fruitful.

Not only does God promise that we will be like trees planted by the water, we will also bring forth fruit in due season. Being fruitful is a necessity for every child of God. Because our roots are deeply tethered in truth, because the living waters nourish us, we are fruitful in the things of God, and our fruit is readily visible by all who would look upon us.

Even though some refuse to acknowledge it, there is an underlying reciprocity throughout the word of God, and we see God Himself using the word ‘if’ often. Since we know God to be meticulous in the wording He chooses, since we know that nothing superfluous with God, since we know that He means what He says and He says what He means, when God says He will plant us by rivers of water if we do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, we realize we have a role to play in this. It is incumbent upon us to choose light over darkness, truth over deception, the God of heaven over the god of this world, and in so doing we will be blessed of Him, and kept by Him, and victorious through Him.

One last blessing for those who guard their hearts, flee from evil, and delight in the law of the Lord is that they will prosper in whatever they do.

So many things we attribute to our own ingenuity, our own abilities and our own intellect really have nothing to do with us. Sure, we might endeavor and try and strive, but if God is not in it and if God doesn’t bless it, we are essentially tilting at windmills and trying to push a boulder up a hill all at the same time.

When God blesses the work of our hands, when God blesses what we do, even the most difficult tasks become easy and trouble free. When God’s hand of blessing is not upon our labors, we will work ten times as hard and have half the reward, because when God isn’t in it, we earn our daily bread by the sweat of our brow, and do so the hard way.

The promises of God are as valid today as they were when the psalmist penned this psalm. God has not changed, therefore His promises for His children have not changed either.

The benefits of turning our back on evil and finding our delight in the Lord are incalculable. Not only will we know that God stands with us, protects us, and blesses the works of our hands, we will likewise know that we are fruitful in the things of God because we are planted by the living waters of the gospel.

The Word of God is clear, and there is no room for doubt or interpretation as to whether or not we should break ties with sin and with the things of this world, which do nothing to mature us and grow us in the Lord. Anyone who still questions whether or not God demands repentance, righteousness, and holiness does so either because they haven’t read the Bible, or because they are willfully ignorant and are pretending as though they did not understand or perceive even though the truth was made evident to them.

Whether we are as a tree planted by rivers of living water, or a tree planted in the desert is something dependent upon whether or not we heed the warnings of God, and guard our hearts against evil in its many forms.

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In this teaching we see that the Word of God does not need interpretation as Michael Boldea Jr. points out. The Word of God does not need mans "opinion". The Word of God is to be received as it is written and when we obey it? We are blessed. When we don't? We are cursed. We most definitely need to guard our hearts from receiving anything that goes against what is written in the Word of God. Psalm 1 is the most important Psalm in the bible for instruction on how to live the Christian life. A book need not be long in content to get its message across. Psalm 1 proves the point very clearly.

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

In reading and meditating on Psalm 1 and also on the times we are living in it is quite apparent that these are the days when the apostasy is taking place. People do not want to believe the bible anymore! They would rather believe whatever soothes their conscience and tells them something more to their liking such as there is no hell. Only a heaven. If people would think about that for a moment they would realize that does not even make sense! The bible is very clear that Isaiah went to heaven in the spirit - he was there and he saw the throne room of God Almighty! Isaiah cried out, Woe is me! I am a man of unclean lips....... in the presence of a holy God Isaiah was seeing his true state. Now it is amazing to me that bible scholars, preachers throughout the ages have al all agreed that men have encountered visions of the throne room of God, been caught up to the third heaven - as Paul testified of - and yet tell people today that God is still doing this - that God is giving visions of hell - even as he gave to John Bunyan who recorded his visions of heaven and hell in his book, Visions of heaven and hell, by John Bunyan - also available by video as I had posted on USMB - and people do not want to believe it. Why is that? Because you have to do something with such information. You have to examine yourself under the light of holy scripture and as yourself the question - Am I one of the blessed or one of the cursed?

It is by your actions that you may determine which one you are. Are you living the Psalm 1 life of the blessed or the cursed? Are you in apostasy and just now realizing it? Then turn around! Repent!

Therein, you have your answer!

Did you know the Apostles were confronting Apostasy in their own day? Yes, they were! That is what 2 Timothy chapter 3 is about! The Apostasy of the church! Now continuing on in the Psalms 1 teaching lets look at 2 Timothy 3:10 - 17 now:

But thou has fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me in Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra, what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and has been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them.

And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
- 2 Timothy 3: 10 - 17

So all scripture is given by inspiration of God! All Scripture is given by inspiration of God! Not the inspiration of men. Not the inspiration of some fellow who had a good imagination! No. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. This is why the Word of God says, Let God be true and every man found a liar. Why? Because God is not a man that He should lie nor the son of man that He should repent. God is God! All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and what? What is is profitable for? For doctrine! For reproof! For correction! For instruction in righteousness! We do not go to some guru for our instruction in righteousness! We go to God's Holy Scriptures because they are inspired of God! How wonderfully blessed we are here in America that we can read the Word of God! We can hear the Word of God! We can know the Word of God! We can see the testimonies of the saints via videos on youtube, we can go to a message board and do a bible study! We have been given so much! What have we not been given? America has truly been blessed! Truly we have been blessed by God! Do we realize the extent of that blessing as much as those who have lived in nations without it?

Brother Michael Boldea Jr. was born in Romania where the communists were coming regularly to haul his beloved grandfather to jail to question him and torture him, demanding he give up names of other Christians who were assisting in smuggling bibles! He knows first hand what it is to live in a nation that is not free to worship God! He knows the delivering power of God as he knew of the man who had ordered his grandfathers death dying in the middle of the night of internal bleeding! He had ordered the execution of Dumitru Duduman only to die of internal bleeding after giving that order! Dumitru survived but he did not!

Had the man only known what the scriptures declare, Touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm! Instead that man is now in hell. With others who refused to listen. What shall it be for those who are living and reading this message? Will it be blessing or cursing? Choose life! Choose the Blessed life! Choose Jesus Christ and live according to Psalms 1 and watch how God will bless your life, Beloved!

Amen? Amen!