How Do You Hear?

Today’s text is from the Psalms. The first one. The first of many prayer poems and songs that ask questions and talk honestly about life. When it’s going well and when it’s not. When God seems interested and involved and when it feels more like – where are you?

So in the Psalms we can find words to help us sort life out. The first sets the tone. So, here it is.

Psalm 1

¹     Blessed is the man

who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked

or stand in the way of sinners

or sit in the seat of mockers.

²     But (instead) his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

³     He is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers.

⁴     Not so the wicked!

They are like chaff

that the wind blows away.

⁵     Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

⁶     For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

Psalm one is short, sweet and to the point. In a colourful way – using trees and streams - it asks a simple question. What kind of people do we want to be?

Righteous or wicked? And if that sounds too harsh then an acceptable way to say it is one who walks with God or one who doesn’t. Neither term ‘righteous’ or wicked’ refer to the kind of person someone is. It’s not about being good or bad. It’s about life direction. Wicked people may well be pretty nice, generous and kind; it’s just they don’t acknowledge God or want honor God. Ironically, righteous people can be pretty bad-tempered, drink too much or work too much; it’s just for them, there is an honest desire to acknowledge God as Lord and to honour God even in their brokenness.

The Psalm tells us, as the entire Bible does, that though God loves all people, some choose to walk with him willingly as a response to love and some reject God and his love. All are loveable; not all receive this life changing grace.

So, that’s what the psalm asks, which path? The righteous one or wicked one? But what else should we take note of? Well, the word blessing is worth talking about. Blessed is the man, woman, person who does not. And then there are three does nots.

The term blessed describes a person who is in a good situation and deserves to be congratulated. The Hebrew word does not exactly mean that God blesses, or rewards, such a person; it actually means that such a person is happy, or fortunate, deserving congratulations. This is an important point. Some people think that so long as a believer does the right thing, say honour their father and mother then God will and must give them something in return. A give to get if you will. Like working for wages. It’s about motives. Instead of ‘doing the right thing’ from a sincere desire to honour God; ‘Doing the right thing’ is sometimes an outward show - a way to get stuff. Keeping this straight is very important. Not every so called good deed will be rewarded in the way we may want. Sometimes doing the right thing is the reward in itself. After all Jesus said when we give stuff away don’t let the left hand know what the right is doing. That is – at times giving anonymously is the right thing to do. The secret reward is usually having that deep sense that God loves you.

That’s what blessed means here and most often means in the rest of the Bible. The “do nots” of verse one follow. Each builds on the next so that those who walk in the counsel of the wicked will eventually behave as wicked people do.

Step 1: They don’t listen to the life shaping word of God. Instead they listen to other advice. Advice that suggests there is no harm in greed, lust or abuse.

Step 2: Those who stand in the way of sinners: “Here, sinner means the same as wicked;  people who refuse to acknowledge God. A step beyond listening, these people follow the advice given by non-believers.

Step 3: Those who sit in the seat of scoffers: Scoffers are those who say God and his ways are stupid, foolish, limiting.

The Psalm says that taking life advice and direction from people who reject God is risky. So don’t; don’t join or, associate with people who make fun of faith or, of God. So, be aware, listening leads to doing and at some point left unchecked, it leads to life far apart from God and meaningful blessing. Life becomes futile – a dusty field of broken dreams.

On the other hand, the Psalm makes bold claims about what kind of life is available for those who meditate on the “law of the Lord.” Those who learn to combine faith in God with every activity and moment of life. Those who look for what God is saying about life in every way God’s revealed it. The Bible, Creation, human creativity and so on. Those who do this drink living water, grow and mature spiritually, become fruitful and a blessing to those they spend time with.

The comparison is drastic and it’s meant to be so. Life matters, choices matter. Psalm 1 reminds us that there are two very different ways of life.

Choose to walk with God and know blessing.

Choose to walk away from God and suffer.

Beyond being baptized or doing profession of faith, which way are you walking?

Where is life taking you? Where are your choices taking you? Where is the Lord taking you?

And are you sure about that?

Here’s a question I struggle with personally. How can anyone know which path they are on? We live in the world that is. Customs, opinions, the ways of farming, doing business and even doing church are all affected by our society. How can we know, really know which way we’re traveling?

For instance Jesus says, Matthew 6.19-21, 24: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Those words seem so clear and simple. But aren’t we challenged by the idea that putting money away from retirement is a good idea? Or that providing a good living for our families is also right and good? And what exactly does it mean to serve money? And does that always look the same one person to the next? Does the amount of wealth a person has matter or is it just the rich who might have this problem? How about the honest and very real difficulty of figuring out how much is enough?

Sometimes preachers make it all the more complicated because the solution is made overly simple or guilt is thrown in or worse. Sometimes people are just encouraged to give more money to the church as a way of paying off a guilty conscience. It’s like saying don’t think about whether work and money plays to large a role in life, just make sure the contributions come in.

Is that what Jesus meant? Is that why he gave this and so many other teachings?

It seems far more likely that the point of a passage like this is to open the eyes. To not miss the point of life: to think about choices because loving God above all is the foundation to finding satisfaction and purpose. And loving one another is more rewarding than any amount of money could ever be.

You see, Jesus’ message is just like the message of Psalm 1. Choose well so that life is successful in the ways that matter most. And the only way to choose well is by listening to the Spirit as much as possible. So that the other messages, values and opinions can be evaluated and either used or discarded.

Psalm 1, the Bible, God the Father, Son and Spirit are asking each one of us, are we learning to integrate life and faith so that the life we have will matter?

It’s not enough to say I believe in Jesus and then do as I please. That may still result in going to heaven someday, but it certainly will mean missing the blessing available each day between now and then. The Bible teaches us that only God judges the heart. Outward appearances are deceiving. I’m curious how this congregation is doing and I refuse to judge that on Sunday morning attendance. In the same way, I’m also committed to helping people have opportunities to engage God and scripture as often as possible.

So, in your bulletin there is an insert. It’s a devotional life survey that I invite you to read and fill out right now. It’s meant to remind all of us that there are many ways to hear the Spirit and many places where life priorities can be talked about and truth known.

The survey is not about guilt, but by filling it out you may fell some conviction that though God speaks constantly, there are life paths that make His voice harder to hear.

The survey also provides ideas for how to gain back or expand opportunities to hear God’s voice.