Introduction: How to be happy! The Bible tells us how
I. Blessed or Happy is the person who obeys this Psalm. Psalms 1 and The Sermon on the Mount have many similarities. The person who is blessed of God is definitely
and truly saved. Psalm 32:1,2
A. Matthew 5: 3-11 Sermon on the Mount. Blessings are pronounced on the
children of God.
Verse 6 ties into Psalms 1:2 When we walk totally
surrendered to the will of Christ, we are
truly blessed.
1. The fruit of the Spirit. Galations 5:22,23 Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. When
we have joy we
are happy (blessed).
B. The Happy person avoids certain things.
1. He doesn’t take counsel or advice from the ungodly. For example Freud.
“He takes wiser
counsel, and walks in the commandments of the Lord his
God.” C.H. Spurgeon
2. He doesn’t stand in the way of sinners. He does not run with the crowd and
become
conformed to this world. Romans 12:2 , Romans 8:29. We are to
be conformed to the image
of Jesus Christ. The Christian serves God and
not the things of this world. Matthew 6:24 You
either serve God or you
don’t, there is no middle ground.
3. He doesn’t sit in the seat of the scornful. When others are mocking, the
believer does
not join in. The world mocks creation for example, and then
some join in by saying God used
evolution to make the world. This mocks
God and the Bible. A true believer that is in the will
of God will avoid joining
in with this world’s mockings.
4. Spurgeon notes an interesting progression in Verse 1. The man starts off
walking, and then
standing, and finally sitting. So is the progression if
backsliding. Sin and continuance therein
results in pew stuck Christians.
Ever wonder why there are so many pew stuck Christians?
Because they
are not yielding their entirety to Christ and forsaking sin.
B. The happy person does certain things. Matthew 5:6 Psalms 1:2
1. “ ’The Law of the Lord’ is the daily bread of the true believer.” C.H. Spurgeon
The happy
believer spends time in the Bible. He reads it and studies it.
John 5:39, Acts 17:11. He
searches the scriptures day and night. He
continually is reading and meditating upon the
Scriptures. This more than
just 5 minutes in the morning. He hungers and thirst after
righteousness.
II. He that does these things is like a tree planted by rivers of water. Notice the word
planted. The tree is not a wild one, but one which was planted for the purpose of
bearing fruit. The spreading of God’s Word is referred to as planting seed. I.E..
Matthew 13:9-23, Matthew 9:37,38. The tree is a specially planted one.
A. Note: In ancient times trees had the significance of renewal. The four seasons
summer, fall,
winter, and spring. The tree was used as a symbol of life--Eternal
life. Every winter the tree
would appear to die, but then in the Spring it returned
to life. So is the Christian, when we die
we are not dead. I Thessalonians
4:15,17. The Christian will be resurrected even as the tree
that appears to be
dead in the Winter is only asleep for a season.
1. The tree as a symbol of renewal is also significant in our daily walk with
Christ.
Romans 12:1,2 -- The renewing spoken of here is a continual
renewal.
B. Planted by rivers of water. The Hebrew word for river is peleg, which means “a
division,
artificial water course” The river of water is an irrigation canal specially
designed to water the tree. Notice that is it a river of water in other words it
flows and is not stagnant. Jesus is referred to as the Living Waters. John
4:12,14 & 6:35 & 7:37. When we drink of Jesus we will never thirst again.
Revelations 22:1
C. The water is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Word. John 1:1, 2, 14. Thus the Word of
God is watering us when we read it. I John 1:1-3. As we read the Word our souls
are irrigated.
D. An illustration. The Holy Spirit is referred to as wind, John 3:8. This is a
hypothetical picture. The Christian is a tree planted by rivers of water. He is
absorbing the nutrients of God’s Word and producing fruit through the Holy
Spirit. The Holy Spirit blows upon the branches of the tree causing the fruit to
fall off the tree to the ground planting new seedlings. Thus a Christian yielded to
Christ will bring forth fruit in his season.
E. The fruit is not constantly produced, but in its season. An orange tree only
produces fruit at a certain time of the year. But growth of the tree continues year
round. The same is true of the Christian. We have times of sowing and times of
reaping. Some people would love to reap year round. Constantly see souls
saved, but their has to be sowing and growing as well.
F. His leaf also shall not wither. Since God is the source of our strength we will not
wither away. Phillipians 4:13, Psalm 46:1, Ephesians 1:13. We are sealed by
the Holy Spirit. God ensures that we do not wither. Mark 10:27
G. Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Psalm 37:4, Hebrews 11:6, Matthew 6:33.
God rewards those who diligently seek Him.
V. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
A. They are like the tumbleweed in the road runner and Wiley Coyote cartoon.
They have not root, they are blown about by every wind of doctrine. Ephesians
4:14. They do not have the River of Life, they are not firmly rooted in the Word
of God and they do not produce any fruit. Some of the pew stuck so-called
Christians fall into this category.
1. By their fruits ye shall know them. Matthew 7:16-20. The fruits of the
unsaved is sin. They have no fruit that pleases God. Thus they are fruitless
n God’s eyes.
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