Joseph Aguilar · Psalm 1 · October 22, 2025

Transcript:
Let's go ahead and pray. Heavenly Father, thank you Lord for the opportunity to be together, to be in your Word, in your house. Lord, we pray that you would give us something from you that you would open your people's eyes to your scripture. Lord, nothing that I have to say but that your Word would not come back void. So Lord, we pray that you would be with those that hear and be with your Word as it goes forth. We pray also for Pastor who's away preaching your Word. Lord, we thank you for him. We pray for the many prayer requests and those who wish they could be here but aren't able to. So Lord, we thank you just for your blessing us, blessing us with your Word because the opening of your Word giveth life and light. And so Lord, we thank you for just being with us and being so good to us and we pray that you would guide and direct everything that happens tonight. In Jesus' name, amen. So if you would turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm chapter one, Psalm one, blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly nor standeth in the way of sinners nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water who bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous but the way of the ungodly shall perish. So for the sake of alliteration I've used a couple of Tencent words, they're biblical words, but I wanted to point out first of all blessed is the man blessed in his eschewing. So eschewing is a wonderful word that the Lord used with Satan and Job when he said, you know, one that feareth God and escheweth evil just means to put it away. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly nor standeth in the way of sinners nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. So again blessed in his eschewing. So first of all blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. He talks about the walk here and I've subtitled this the path of convenience. Walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. It's easy to do wrong. It's often harder at least in the short run to do right. And so when you have the the world's way is the path of convenience, the easy way, the way the accepted way, the way in which you are not weird or strange or ridiculed. It's what is comfortable. So it feels right. It's conflict avoidance. It amazes me every day. There are so many people who go so far and work so hard not to have a conflict. They'll go around and I look at them. I say, you've done all this work not to just say no. Sometimes that's true. But it amazes me the propensity towards conflict avoidance which ends is just delayed conflict. You know the conflicts don't show up but they're just delaying it. The worldly wisdom I used to have I was being explained in I believe it was one of my ethics courses in school that a pension for police department is determined on the last it's an average of the last years that you would have and what people would do is they would get their others to call out so that they could work overtime so that their last few years would be the highest grossing years which their pension would be figured out. Of course that's dishonest but that's worldly wisdom right. Jesus said the children of this generation are in their the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light and sometimes that's what people do. It's the easy way. It's the way of convenience. Satan always comes along with a flashy convenient alternative for a genuine human need usually right before the Lord has something for you. And so if you're walking not in the Council of the ungodly you're not going to be susceptible to that. You're not going to accept what Satan brings to you as an alternative for God's will. And you're a judge things by the Bible. What does the Lord say about the situation not what do I feel and what do my peers say. What is easy. So walking not in the Council of the ungodly. The Lord has has a plan. He brings bring forth his fruit in his season in Ecclesiastes 311. He says he's made all things beautiful in his time and then he is the one that brings the good gifts. Turn with me quickly first to Matthew 6 31. I thought I had my Bible in the car and turns out I didn't. So I'm using Robert's Bible. So bear with me as I find it here. The Lord says take the note therefore take no thought saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewith all shall we be clothed for after all these things to the Gentiles see. Here's the key for your heavenly father knoweth that you have need of all these things. God's not surprised that you need something to eat today. God's not surprised that you need something to wear. God's not indifferent to our human frailties and needs. Remember he was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin. And so every good gift and every perfect gift James Chapter 1 16 17 do not air my beloved brethren every good gift and every perfect gift cometh down from above from the father of lights with whom is no variable and neither shadow of turning. And so the option that is presented to you that is easier that seems like it's the more convenient that seems like it's the conflict free option yet requires you to compromise that's walking in the council of the ungodly. So blessed in his eschewing is blessed that he doesn't walk in the council of the ungodly the path of convenience nor standeth in the way of sinners sinners. And I'm calling this the point of curiosity standing the way of sinners lingering loitering loitering lusting falling. So if we were to say that the path of convenience walketh not in the council of the ungodly were the lust of the flesh you need these things your father knoweth that you have need of them. Point of curiosity is less the eyes. What's going on here. Hey that's interesting. I've never seen that before. The original temptation I want to know right has to know I have to know the Lord would have a simple concerning evil. I would get up but what would I have you wise into that which is good but simple concerning evil. Romans 6.19 I like to say when somebody asked me a question that I'm pop cultural illiterate I don't know the mutant the movies the music the current theme of the world. I just don't know it. I also tell them I'm full of useless information which is also usually true. But I am pop culture illiterate because I don't need to know what the world has to know. I'm not going to stand in the way of sinners. So when you're standing in the way of sinners I mean there's even more peer pressure as soon as you stop and stand as soon as you allow for the possibility that you are going to engage in what they want you to do. That's where the pressure is going to be brought to bear. If you're just if you're stopping and standing then they think that they can get you to fall. It says wherein they think that it is strange that you run not with them to the same excessive riot speaking evil of you. First Peter 4.4. We used to have my brother and I when we used to work as regular officers we used to have they would do things they would stuff our lockers full of bad material so that we'd open them so they could make fun of us and all sorts of things which was very fun then when I became promoted because it all stopped. But they used to do these things and they would they would ridicule hey your brother said he was coming to the club with me if you would. You know that's not happening. But they would do those things there's all that peer pressure. I remember somebody stopped and said to ...