The Blessed (1)
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January 08, 2017 |
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 Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
"How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!" (Psalm 1:1)
A long-awaited 2017 has come! People often say that blessed are those who are healthy, rich, honored, and well-educated.
No matter how many blessings may be gained in life, they cannot be said to be true blessings if a man cannot enjoy all his blessings eternally. Every one of those blessings could be gone in a day. All wealth returns to vanity if he dies. Moreover, if one does not believe the Lord, he will go to Hell, so he cannot be called a 'blessed man' even though he has great possessions.
Who, then, is a blessed man? What should we do to be prepared before God who wants to give us blessings? I hope you will become a truly blessed person, live a prosperous life, and glorify God.
1. Those Who Do Not Walk in the Counsel of the Wicked
The counsel of the wicked comes from Satan that controls their sinful minds. If you have sinful natures in your heart, you think according to the flesh within you and then get involved in evil thoughts. The advice of the wicked comes out of such sinful mind and is hostile to God's will. A man with this wicked counsel hates, envies or slanders others for his own interest. He plots wicked schemes and does evil things like treating others in evil or even killing them for his own purpose.
Haman in the book of [Esther] is one example of those who followed the wicked counsel. He got so angry when a Jew, Mordecai wouldn't kneel down or pay him honor. He looked for a way to destroy all the Jews throughout the whole kingdom, including Mordecai. But God watched the evil scheme of that wicked man and let him fall into the trap that he made himself. His evil scheme was revealed before the king through the work of God and it aroused the king's great anger. The king made his officers hang Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai.
This case is much the same today. The wicked counsel always brings disasters. Daily newspapers cover many wicked men who plotted evil schemes and did wrong for their own honor and wealth. They prepared for those wicked schemes in secret, but the schemes were opened in public and they lost their positions and fame. But you can be led to prosperity when you walk in the wisdom from heaven.
Sometimes the wisdom of God looks unwise in the sight of worldly people. They think they can earn much money when they work on Sundays. They try to gain benefits even cheating others and think themselves wise. In the wisdom of God, we believers do not labor on Sundays. We give a whole tithe and abundant offerings to God. We are sincere and honest in doing business, so even if we suffer from some loss we won't deceive others or cause them damage.
When we act in the truth like this, we can receive the help of God, and in His blessings we can reap what we have sown.
2. Those Who Do Not Stand in the Path of Sinners
Romans 6:23 says, "The wages of sins is death" Sin was the reason the first man Adam lost eternal life and fell into the way of death. He came to live a painful life of tears and sorrow because he was deceived by the serpent controlled by Satan and to walk the path of sinners. The path of sinners leads to judgment and eternal death. So blessed are those who never stand in the path of sinners.
Usually people consider one who violates the law of the country or society as a sinner. They don't condemn him who has hatred or desire to murder in heart. In the same way, they don't condemn one who has greed or desire to steal but doesn't show them in action.
But you should understand that God says, 'You are a sinner.' when you have evil desires in your heart including hatred, jealousy, envy, theft, adultery, judgment, and slander. When they were agitated in your heart, God says you have already committed such sins and you are a sinner because He sees our hearts.
Moreover, if you commit those sins in action, you will surely be condemned as a serious sinner before God (Galatians 5:19-21). You cannot enter Heaven if you do fleshly works without following the will of God even if you confess, 'Lord, I believe in You.'
But when people are told to keep God's commands and not to commit sins, many of them complain, 'How can I keep so many commands of the Bible? It's so heavily burdensome for me.' But you should understand it is not hard to keep His commands. Rather you must be painful when you hate or envy someone. You are peaceful when you love or serve others.
King Saul was very painful and uncomfortable while he chased David because of his envy and hatred for David. He disobeyed the command of God and continued to commit sin against the will of God not to miss the throne of a king. Because he stood in the path of a sinner, he even suffered from the evil spirit and met with disaster and pains. He eventually lost his life miserably in the war. However, David praised God even while his life was threatened by Saul saying, "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want." He relied on God all the time, professing, "Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23).
He was always filled with joy and peace because he followed the truth of God. If you keep God's commands and do not commit sins, you can have confidence before Him because your heart does not condemn you. Then, you can have peace and happiness all the time. Even if you are met with any hardship, God will give you the way of escape, and He will stop any trials and troubles from happening to you.
3. Those Who Do Not Sit in the Seat of Scoffers
God hates the arrogant. The arrogant often stand against God and thereby lose the value of a man. Eve was tempted to eat the forbidden fruit because she had arrogance in her heart. She was deceived when the serpent said to her, 'You will be like God.'
The arrogant tend to elevate themselves and to boast of their own merits. They are painful when they feel insulted or despised, and they want to be served. However, God lowers down the proud who lift themselves up, but gives grace to the humble. The humble are praised and elevated by others because they lower themselves (Luke 14:11).
Jesus existed in the form of God, but became flesh and came down to this earth in the likeness of a servant. He took the cross to the point of death. In that way, He showed a good example of true service. You will be respected by people on earth and be recognized as a valuable man in heaven when you lower yourselves down and serve others like Jesus.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, to become a truly blessed man, we must not follow the counsel of the wicked, stand in the path of sinners, and sit in the seat of scoffers. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will rely on God, act in goodness, humbly serve others and thereby you will enjoy honor and glory eternally in Heaven as well as on the earth.
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