A Tree Planted by Streams of Water
Psalm 1:1-6
Key Verse 1:3 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.
Happy New Year! What does “Happy New Year” mean? It means “Have a Blessed Year”. God’s blessings are different and much more than mere success in this world. They include complete joy, peace, and righteousness as well as all our needs on this earth. We are very thankful to study Psalm 1 because it provides a road map of how to not only have a blessed year but to be a blessed man or woman.
Part I. Blessed is the man
Let us read verse 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.”
This verse shows that we can be easily influenced or deceived by the wicked, sinners, and mockers. Let us look at verse 1 again. See the word “Walk”, “Stand”, and “Sit”. There seems to be a progression here. It sounds like “Initiating”, “developing”, and finally “settling down”. First, people somehow seek the counsel of the wicked. Soon they position themselves among sinners instead of God’s people. In the worst case, they mock God and God’s people. Sinful desire develops like this.
One day during my business trip I had much work to do for many things including our ministry work. But, at the same time, I was curious about what was going on TV. As I turned on the TV, I wanted to watch just a little bit, only for 30 minutes. But that night I ended up watching T.V. for several hours surfing around here and there losing all my precious time, energy, and more importantly -- spiritual strength. After several failures like this, finally I figured out my weakness and learned that I should not even turn on the TV at all if I have things to do especially for spiritual work. But, this is not always easy. This example is applicable to many other areas such as playing video games, sensual websites, useless chatting, and many other wasteful activities. Keeping ourselves from this kind of temptation from the beginning can make a huge difference at the end of each day. See the blessed man in verse 1. He determined to keep himself from any possible influences of wickedness from the very beginning. He determines not to waste time or energy for unnecessary activities so that he can use all resources to be efficient and productive before God. This is what we are going to do in 2008. May God help us to be wise like the blessed in verse 1.
Part II. On his law he meditates day and night
Verse 2 describes what activities the blessed are actively engaged in. Read verse 2.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
Here the word “delight” can be translated as “desire.” It comes from our hearts.
When we have delight in the law of the Lord, we love to come to the Bible studies spending a lot of time whenever necessary. 1Peter 2:2 reads “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.” Also, when we have delight in the law of the Lord, we are willing to practice the law of the Lord overcoming difficulties and hardships. Psalm 40:8 reads “I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” Daily bread, fishing, and 1:1s are basic resources for him to obtain great pleasure.
It is easy to say this, but in our practical lives, it is not what is happening all the time.
Sheep have their own difficulties and shepherds also have their difficulties.
First of all, campus students like fancy, attractive, fast moving, pleasurable, sexy things in this world. The Bible is not always easy to understand and has many old names, places and cultural practices. It is like sleeping pills to many young students. But when we calm down, be humble, and get involved in sincere Bible study, we can find that the word of God penetrates soul and spirit and becomes delicious spiritual food for us.
Second, shepherds often lose desire in practicing the law of the Lord because sheep usually run away. Out of despair, their strong desire to feed sheep becomes diluted and they change a daily life direction and give priority to something else such as building up careers. But, this is what the devil designed and expected. The devil’s work is to make God’s servants despair so that they may not be able to produce fruit powerfully.
Shepherds are also human beings and they often suffer from their own sins and weaknesses. King David confessed in Psalm 40:12 “For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me.” This indicates that the devil works hard to inflame numerous sins within us so that our hearts may fail.
Indeed, when we observe our daily lives very carefully, Satan tries to knock us down every day and every moment so that we cannot bear fruit. It is like a one to one boxing match between Satan and each of us. (Photo 1 & 2, Boxing). To win or to lose is a problem. There is no between. We are engaged in a war like this everyday. 1Peter 5:8 reads Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (Photo 3 & 4: Roaring Lions). Actually the devil works more formidably than a roaring lion. It comes out of nowhere and drops a small seed of pride in our hearts or causes us to make a small mistake so that we can despair out of condemnation. When we feel condemned, we lose joy and become spiritually paralyzed. The devil attacks us with simple little things, such as laziness, compromise, complacency, despair, lust, anxiety, and worries. Nuclear bombs or natural disasters can not harm God’s kingdom, but these small things destroy our spiritual lives and God’s kingdom in our daily lives.
Let us read verse 2 again. The blessed meditates on the word of God day and night. This is how to keep our delight and practice the law of the Lord overcoming the devil’s work. How can we hold to Jesus’ teaching? How can we meditate on the word of God day and night? Today we can learn two important things from our Lord Jesus in meditating on the word of God.
First, Early Morning Prayer and Daily Bread. There is a time for everything. Early morning time can not be substituted by any other time in a day. It is a time for us to sacrifice our fleshly desires and have God’s words and spirit. It is to surrender ourselves to the will of God. Although we can eat daily bread during afternoon or night, somehow it is not efficient like doing it in the early morning.
Second, we can learn to memorize Bible verses from Jesus. In human history, the biggest boxing match took place between Jesus and the devil. (Photo 1, Boxing). After 40 days of fasting, Jesus had no strength of his own left. The devil threw his first punch to knock Jesus down, but Jesus overcame the temptation of food with his Scripture memorization
Matthew 4:4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” By the way, when this verse remains in our hearts always, it will help us to overcome discouragement or pressure from work, etc.
In the same way, Jesus defeated the devil all of four times merely with Scripture memorization. There was another big boxing match between the devil and Eve. Eve did not exercise Scripture memorization. When the serpent came to tempt her, she did not quote what God said correctly, added her own ideas and left a little bit out. Then she became the easy prey of Satan and disobeyed God.
When we memorize the word of God, we understand it deeply and also can overcome Satan’s deception. Through my whole life, memorizing something was not easy for me. I used to get the worst grades in memorizing subjects such as Chinese characters or English classes. In elementary school, my teachers wrote on my report cards one common thing year after year. “Philip’s problem is being easily distracted.” Sometimes it took one hour for me to memorize even one Bible verse because I got distracted by many other things and thoughts. But, when I finally memorized one Bible verse overcoming all distracting thoughts, my soul became very stable, peaceful, and satisfied. I felt like being rooted in the word of God and God’s kingdom welling up in my heart. We can do this while driving or walking on the street or before going to bed at any place at any time. The more we know Jesus, the more we see our weaknesses and become humble to rely on him and on his word every minute.
Part III. A Tree Planted by Streams of Water
Read Verse 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. (Photo 7-10: Trees)
When we meditate on the word of God day and night, we become like a tree planted by streams of water. This tree is strong and immovable because it has laid its root deeply in the word of God. Being planted by streams of water also refers to our commitment to Jesus, to his mission given to us. When we persevere and continue to follow him, Jesus will enable us to grow in his image and to lead others to him. After we study about all these verses 1, 2, and 3, now we can see the blessed are uncompromising and committed disciples of Jesus. I have an interesting comparison for you.
Matthew 28:19-20 read, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[ HYPERLINK "http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2028;&version=31;" \l "fen-NIV-24212a#fen-NIV-24212a" \o "See footnote a" a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
See the comparison of Psalm 1 to Mt 28:19-20.
“Blessed is the man” to “go and make disciples of all nations”,
“on his law he meditates day and night” to “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”,
“a tree planted by streams of water” to “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”,
“the Lord watches over the way of the righteous” to “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Psalm 1 is a beautiful poetic version of Mt 28:19-20.
Our Downey UBF center has a special new year prayer topic which is to raise up 70 disciples of Jesus. This prayer topic makes everyone here very excited. This is a good opportunity for all of us to show thankfulness to Jesus. Forgetting about the past, we can express our thanks to Jesus in this way this time. If we really pray hard and work hard for this, Jesus will help us. He will do it. I also have determined to show my commitment for this prayer topic.
Let me show some pictures. (Photos 11-18: USC women soccer Photos).
USC won NCAA (national Collegiate Athletic Association) women’s Soccer Championship last year. It was the first time in USC history and it was like a miracle. The USC Trojans had never advanced past the second round of NCAA tournament before this season. But, they defeated all powerful teams including Florida State at the final match. Behind this victory, there was a new coach who drove players harder than they had ever been pushed before. Let us see what Kristin Olsen, a goalkeeper and very committed player, said about this coach. (Photos 12-13) “He really pushed us hard and basically ran us to death. A lot of players rebelled and we didn’t like it, but at the end of practice we said, ‘This really needs to change and we’ve got to step it up.’ Do you know who the best player and toughest coach in the human history is? (Photos 19-20: Jesus’ photos). It is Jesus. He himself was the toughest player in defeating the devil, and he stands as the best coach for our lives and victories. We have to know that he really pushes us hard, although we may not like it or even refuse it. Just think about whatever he said to us. “Follow me”, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness”, “Love each other”, “Love your enemies”, “Go and make disciples of all nations”. They sound beautiful and cool, but somehow we have had a hard time in following them. Do you know why Jesus pushes us hard? Because he wants to make our lives glorious like a diamond. He does not want us to be satisfied and happy with holding on a trash can. He does not want us to be satisfied with a life like mud, bronze, or silver, but to move up to be glorious like a diamond. He does not want us to give up or live like chaff that the wind blows away. Read verse 4. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Here, chaff is the outer shell of grain. It is light, and therefore, easily blown away. In contrast to the tree, chaff has no root at all. For now, the wicked may seem to be having success in the world and fun. But before God, they are like chaff that the wind blows away. Read verse 5. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. At the final Day of Judgment, the wicked will be shut out from the presence of God and excluded from the joyful fellowship of the righteous forever. We have to understand Jesus’ heart and his love for us. Compared to what Jesus expected us to do, working hard for school or working hard for a job is easy. Everyone does it. See there are many rich people, MBAs, PhDs. Cooking, laundry, taking care of two children, three children, or four children is easy. Everyone can do it. But what Jesus expected from us is not easy. It is difficult. Not everyone wants to do it because it is difficult. We should have known this from the beginning so that we could have thought about what the cost would be like and could have been prepared better.
It is hard, but, friends, let us see Jesus’ love for each of us. He loves you and me. He wants us to live a glorious life like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season. Jesus loves us. Jesus will help us if we have faith and do not give up.
Read verse 6. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. The Lord observes whether we seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and also ensures that those who live on the word of God would be blessed and also make sure that those who do not live on the word of God would excluded from his blessings.
Like the USC women’s soccer team players, when we change and follow the direction of our toughest coach Jesus, we will win great victories. 70 touch downs, 70 goals, No Problem. Surely we will be rejoicing and satisfied, although we may have to persevere and cry a lot on the way. If we have to cry a lot, let us cry. If we have to be stressed out, let us be stressed out fully today, the Lord will resurrect us tomorrow, if we do not give up.
If it did not work out well with 10 hours’ fishing or 1:1s a week, we can try with 15 hours. If this does not work either, we can try with 20 hours or even 30 to 40 hours a week in addition to a lot more prayer. If one or twice campus trips did not work out well in the past, this is a time we can try almost everyday. We may need business cards, fliers, or other forms of invitation cards for our fishing journey. But, most of all, we should meditate on the word of God day and night and be planted by the streams of living water. Otherwise, we will easily burn out. Jesus said in John 15:7, ‘If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” Yes, we can raise up 70 disciples of Jesus this year.
One word: A Tree Planted By Streams of Water
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