Psalm 1

1. 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.

2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.

3. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

4. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

5. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

How do we become overcomers? We have a choice about which path we take. We can either choose the path of sin and ungodliness, or we can walk with God. I have heard many Christians say that they are defeated by a habitual sin that controls their life. They try and try, but somehow a life of godliness seems out of their grasp. They also feel like God is far away and they feel guilt and feel hopeless about living the godly life. We read the Word of God, but how hard it is to implement what we read into our lives. I believe that every believer has the opportunity to live a godly life and walk victoriously with a close relationship with Christ. I hope to identify five steps that will help you to not only hear, but also implement the Word of God into your life. I believe this Psalm can give us some insight.

1. The first step is to repent. Repentance does not mean to lower your self worth and be hard on yourself because of your failures. Repentance means to make a commitment to change in your life and your lifestyle. Repentance is turning from the way that you running the show and giving in to the lordship of Jesus. Our way does not work. We keep trying and failing. Then we try even harder and become frustrated because of repeated failures. Don’t become defeated in frustration, make changes. Verse 1 says a man is blessed if he does not walk in the ways of sin. At times we all get on the path of sinners by wandering off the path of righteousness. In Matthew 7:13, the bible tells us that the path of sin is wide and many will find it. They find it because it is easy. The whole world is taking this path so there are plenty of ways to find this path and plenty of people pointing the way to it. The bible then says that the path of righteousness is narrow and few will find it. Few find it because it takes effort and there are no crowds pointing the way. If anything, there are many people you will find telling you to go back to the wide path. It is easy to take the worldly path. Just do nothing and go with the flow. No one ever falls into righteousness, that takes effort. Falling into sin only takes letting go and letting the wind drive you. To find the righteous path, you have to seek it.

2. Second is to commit to the Lordship of Jesus. Our way does not work. Will we continue to follow that endless loop of falling and trying in our own power? Our power does not come from ourselves. Our righteousness does not come from ourselves. Isaiah 64:6 says, "But we are all like an unclean thing. And all our righteousness’ are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquity, like the wind, takes us away." We can’t be good enough. Our best can never measure up. Our righteousness has to come from Jesus. He is our source of righteousness. Look at James 2:21-24:

21. Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?

22. Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?

23. And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God.

24. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

So what was the works? If you are not familiar with the story, Abraham did not have any children and God promised Abraham a son in his old age. God gave him Isaac but then tested his faith by asking him to give up his son. Abraham was known for his faith and willingly offered up his son even though he did not know how God would fulfill His promise. God allowed Abraham to go through with preparing for the sacrifice and to get beyond the point of decision before stopping him. God only wanted to prove Abraham’s faith, not to take his son. The works that justified Abraham was not the sacrifice of his son; God did not allow him to go that far. His work was proving his faith. Saying you have faith means nothing. It is easy to have faith when we are not stretched and does not require sacrifice. Faith is proven when we yield to God even though we can’t see the end result. We must trust God and give ourselves to him regardless of the cost; knowing and trusting that He will work all things to our good – even hardship. It takes little faith to trust God to meet our wants and needs. Real faith is when we trust God as we go into the fire. We do this by submitting to the lordship of Jesus Christ. Proverbs 24:10 says, if you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. If your strength is small it is because your strength is coming from your own power. If we look to the Cross of Jesus Christ and depend on Jesus for our source of strength, we will have the power to stand. This is not a buffet table where we pick and choose what we want and when we want it but leave what we don’t enjoy. If we are to live empowered lives, we choose to abide in Christ and allow Him to abide in us and instill his Word in us.

3. Third, input the Word in our lives. John 15:4 and 7 says:

4. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me.

7. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

To abide is to enter and stay there. We can’t expect to just visit God when we have a problem or a need and expect him to respond. God is not a genie in a bottle that we rub with a few scriptures and he has to respond. God is never subject to our desires; we are subject to Him. If we want to experience God and receive the life and blessings He desires of us, we must live life His way. The problem is that we try to limit God to our ways and our way of thinking. We must be the ones who change. That change comes by applying His word to our lives. Verse 7 says if you abide in Me and my words abide in you…we need the complete package. If we try to align our lives with Him but we don’t put His word into our hearts and minds, we will not live a consistent life in Christ. "My words abide in you" is critical. Lets look back to Psalm 1 again. This passage tells us that a man is blessed if he does not walk in the ungodly ways, but it does not stop there. Verse 2 says "but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night". Our struggles with sin are amplified because we only view half the picture. We try to resist, but neglect to focus on the Word of God. In other words, we are pushing away from temptation, but not turning away. To turn away, we have to face something else. We either a focusing on the world, or on Jesus Christ. There is not a neutral ground. This idea is supported even further by Psalm 119:9-11:

9. How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.

10. With my whole heart I have sought You; oh, let me not wander from your commandments!

11. Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.

We have to shift our focus. When we learn how to delight ourselves in God and His word, we will see real change in our lives. When I resist temptation, I don’t think about the temptation I am turning from, but I remember the goodness of God. It was not always that way in my past. There has to be a new focus when we turn our back to sin. Apply verse 2 to your life: "and in His law he meditates day and night". If the word is not in your heart, you can’t focus on it and think on it. When we obey we have the promise of verse 3: He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bring forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper". John 15:7 confirms this promise by telling us that whatever we ask it shall be done. Do you feel empty and withered? Or do you feel vibrant, refreshed and have a life that is strong in Jesus even when the world seems to be crumbling all around us? Jeremiah 17:5-8 offers a sharper picture of this principle:

1. Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord.
2. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited.
3. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord.
4. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.

When we put our trust totally in the Lord and don’t grab hold of the reigns when we are tested and given the opportunity to prove our faith, then we will see the power of God in our lives and will be strong even when the hard times come. We all have hard times in our lives. Believers and unbelievers alike go through struggles. But only those who put their trust in the Lord have the promise of joy and peace in the midst of our struggles. Integrate the word into your life and thinking. Some areas I have found helpful is to read a book of the bible from beginning to end but only study small sections at a time. Take a notebook and write down what you see in the passage you are reading. If you only read, most people tend to just scan the words without any real comprehension. By writing, you force yourself to focus on what you are reading. It is much better to take a small section of verses and dig in than to read large quantities and loose focus or burn out.

During your studies, pick out a verse or group of verses that you find meaningful and put them on a 3x5 card for memorization. I like to memorize complete thoughts even if it spans more than one verse. Only memorize bite-sized passages until you find your limitations. Some people memorize much easier and can learn long passages. Others get burned out if they overload with long passages. The most important thing is to be consistent. Some days when my mind is tired, I only get frustrated if I try to learn new scripture. Those days I just review what I know. That way I stay in the habit and don’t burn myself out.

4. Fourth, let’s look at prayer and meditation. Prayer is the power behind the Christian life. Without a prayer life, you will not be effective. There are a lot of aspects to prayer, but I only want to focus on three in this message. Thanksgiving and praise, intercession, and conversational prayer. Thanksgiving and praise are self-explanatory. The bible tells us to enter God’s presence with thanksgiving. It is important to learn how to be thankful and grateful to God. Thankfulness is evidence of faith in our lives. If we have no faith or weak faith, we will question God and will not be able to see how God uses struggles to shape our lives for the better and for our good. Look back at the verse we read in Jeremiah 17:3-8. The man who trusts in flesh and puts his hope in people and the world around him will not even see when good comes. But the man who trusts in the Lord and puts his hope in the Lord will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. I love the phrase in verse 8 that says "and will not fear when heat comes". I did a word study and this phrase can be literally translated "will not know when heat comes". So those who trust in the flesh will not know when good comes, those whose hope is in the Lord will not know when trouble comes. Our perspective is drawn based on where our focus lies. Of course we will know when we have problems, but our perspective will be from the point where we know God is working to our good. Faith compels us to follow God even when the waves are fearfully high. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." Praising God and giving thanks also puts us in a spirit of faith and I believe opens the door to a deeper, more intimate time of prayer.

Intercession is the mission of every Christian. We should always pray for each other. James 5:16 says, "confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." I believe that confessing trespasses does not mean to spill the beans before the world and air your dirty laundry. If you have that need, develop close relationships with godly men, or for women find other godly women. Every person should have a group 2 or 3 Christians that you can be open with and share needs and prayers. I do not think it is healthy to share with the opposite sex unless it is your spouse. Becoming emotionally involved with the opposite sex opens the doors to temptation. But we were not designed by God to be lone-Christians. We are designed with a need for each other. That is why the Bible said "do not forsake the gather of yourselves together". God’s design is that we draw from and give strength and encouragement to each other. When we pray for each other, I believe God strengthens us as well. If we are like the Dead Sea, we will not be effective. The Dead Sea is a taker. Many rivers pour into the Dead Sea. Yet even though the lives of many rivers are given to this sea, it is stagnate, lifeless and salty. I believe that we can get caught in the Dead Sea mentality. We can get so caught in our self-misery that we feel the need to have others feeding us with no outlet to give to others. But when we give to others, I believe God gives to us. The first step to giving and reaching out beyond ourselves is praying for others. This is called intercessory prayer. Pray daily for the needs of others. I have a cardholder with each person or ministry I pray for listed on a separate card. I have two categories, those who I pray for every day and others with less critical needs that I still want to pray for on a consistent basis. I pray for my everyday list first and then I pick 3 or 4 cards from my rotating list. I ask for specific needs to pray for and I believe in calling people by name out to God. I don’t believe that praying "God help everyone in the world" is an effective prayer. Pray for specific people and if possible pray for specific needs.

The last prayer I want to address in conversational prayer. I try to pray every single day. I set quiet time in the morning for study and in the evening I schedule prayer time. I schedule time during the week for a deeper study time and at a minimum I set at least an hour once a week for quiet prayer time with God. I like to go for a walk in a quiet wooded trail. I take time out to pray and spend time with God without a specific agenda. If you will consistently add this quiet prayer time with God, it will change your life. Elijah was questioning his life and God answered him. He sent a mighty wind that shattered the rocks and mountains, then came a mighty earthquake and then came a raging fire. God said he was not in the wind, earthquake or fire. Then Elijah heard a still small voice. He was moved and hid his face in his clothes. That is the way God works in our lives. If you do not take quiet time where there are no distractions, you will not hear his voice. The only way you hear is to listen. I pray and He speaks. I don’t believe that necessarily means to sit in silence, though some people listen better that way. I walk and pray and put my focus on Him. I learn more during those times than all the other times combined. It is during the quiet prayer time that the study comes together and I learn how to apply it to my life. These quiet times are when God shows me how to shape my life, see my faults and see Him. This is a valuable time and if you do not have it in your life, it is critical that you make time for it. If you are consistent, you will see consistent change in your life.

I included meditation with prayer because in my life they run closely together. Meditation in the bible refers to allowing our minds to dwell on God and on His word. Don’t think of meditation as the eastern philosophy of clearing your mind and trying to blank everything out. I do not believe eastern meditation is healthy at all. But biblical meditation is very healthy. Focusing on scriptures and allowing your mind to follow the flow of scriptures is very beneficial. It is not only important to know what you believe, but also why you believe it. Tying it all together in your mind solidifies your beliefs. It also helps to write out what you believe. Once you can explain it, it becomes clearer.

This is all a growth process and will not be implemented over night. Take your walk of faith one step at a time. Put your primary focus on the Cross and trust completely in Christ.

5. The fifth and last step I want to discuss is identifying boundaries and discipline. Only you know your weaknesses. Your weakness is that area in your life where satan always attacks and usually has success. When we identify our boundaries, we must draw lines of self-discipline that we refuse to cross because it leads us to temptation. Temptation is not lost at the point we are tempted. The battle of temptation is lost at the point we where we compromise and set our lives in a direction that is destined for temptation. Sin cannot abide in God’s presence. We have to leave God’s presence in order to sin. As we saw in John 15, we are to abide in Christ. If we pursue temptation, we are not abiding. We can’t expect to live a spirit filled life when we are torn between which nature we will serve. You can’t run back and forth between the two and expect to succeed. You must abide in Christ.

The bible tells us in 1 Peter 5:8 that the devil roams as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Who does a lion devour? He devours those who are weak and vulnerable. Satan will not and cannot drag you away from God’s presence and he cannot devour you in God’s presence. What he will do is lure you away. You can’t sin and remain with God at the same time. You have to walk away from God in order to sin. God doesn’t reject you and leave you, He stays where he has always been. His love for us remains the same. It is we who do the moving. It is you and I that leave and reject God in order to pursue our sinful desires.

I call this the carrot principle. The carrot is anything you find tempting. Satan tosses the temptation where you can see it. The first step is almost never a sin, it is a compromise. James 1:14 says, "but each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed." This verse shows us the key to understanding temptation. We are drawn away from God and enticed to sin. If satan flaunted sin before us while we are following God, most would have little trouble resisting. His tactic is to put a small compromise that you can easily justify. Just wander away one little step. Get a little taste and then he pulls the carrot out of reach. Now you have tasted it and are interested and willing to concede a bigger compromise. Satan is patient and will give you as small or as big of a compromise as you are willing to take. Once you are vulnerable, he moves in to devour you with your own weaknesses. So how do I resist? Don’t compromise. Identify the areas of weakness and draw a line in the sand. Commit to not giving in to the first compromise and you will never fall back into your habitual sins. It only takes one compromise to start that slide toward temptation. If you are not able to resist a small compromise, how will you resist the stronger temptation? Set disciplines based on biblical principles. You may have to make lifestyle changes. You may have to cut out the movie channels to avoid watching those late night ‘soft porn’ movies. TV programming has gone a long way from the value system in the bible. Most sitcoms reprogram our thinking while we laugh ourselves out of intimacy with God. Humor is a great thing. So is entertainment. But if we are being entertained while being devalued, it is very destructive. Sacrificing a little TV hasn’t hurt me at all. During the time I sacrificed my relationship with God, I hurt a lot. I really missed God when I was out in the world, but I have never longed for the world or my old habits while following God. The problem is that we have a tendency of sacrificing what is priceless so that we can hold on to what is worthless.