Psalm 1
Fired Up
No Wishy Washy Theology
No God, no truth. Know God, Know Truth!
We’ve God A Ticket To Ride!
I am really fired up today.
A few weeks ago, I mentioned in my sermon that there are some pastors preaching that there is no hell, and we will all go to heaven because of God’s grace.
I also mentioned, that those preachers are obviously not reading their Bibles.
Here we are, as plain as day, reading Psalm 1 and there is no mistake.
“The wicked”, says verse 5, “will not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”
The wicked aren’t even going to stand in the judgement.
The wicked are done for.
The wicked are over.
It’s lights out for the wicked!
The wicked are HISTORY!
It is undeniably clear.
This is not wishy, washy theology.
This is crystal clear, beyond a doubt, absolutely, unequivocally, certainty!
And we need to be prepared.
And our relatives need to be prepared.
And our friends need to be prepared.
And even our enemies need to be warned to give them a chance to be prepared!!!
But look at the contrast for the those who do not walk in the counsel of the wicked.
Look at the contrast for those who do not stand in the same ways as the sinners.
Look at the contrast for those who do not sit in the seats of scoffers…
It is the righteous who delight in the law of the Lord because we know that the law of the law is our shield and our protection.
We want the law of the Lord written on our hearts because we know it will keep us out of trouble in this life, and bring glory to the Lord, that we might inherit the kingdom of God in the next!
When we meditate on God’s law day and night, we do not go astray because the truth is with us and in us and a part of us.
It is a delight and a joy to live under the freedom of God’s wing…
Where we can soar to higher heights because God is our Pilot!
It is extreme freedom to live our lives with no guilt, with no regrets, with no resentment, with no ill will.
I’ve noticed a lot of extreme sports being broadcast on TV in the last few years…
The “X” games bring us extreme skiing where groups of skiers battle the mountain in a down hill race all at one time instead of individually on a closed course.
There is extreme motorcycle racing, jumping over incredible hurdles in the dirt where riders can barely hang on, and often get run over when they fall.
There’s extreme skateboarding where boarders do outrageous tricks flying through the air, jumping on metal railings next to flights of steps, and soaring down the steep pole while trying not to fall and break their bones and at the same time trying to out-do each other with their daredevil stunts.
They live on the edge of danger and their joy is their adrenaline rush.
The biggest problem for them is that they become adrenaline junkies.
Their sport has to continue to become riskier and riskier once they’ve mastered their “bag of tricks” so to speak.
Living on the edge of danger, brings more danger to their lives.
It is not the same with righteousness.
As we live in God’s will, we become increasingly more comfortable with our lives and have a blessed assurance of what is to happen in the life to come.
We are not fixed on the present, but on the future.
We are not trying to push this life to the limit, but we are resting assured on the life to come.
Getting high on Jesus will bring a joy that outlasts the longest thrill ride.
When John and I went to the theme park, Islands of Adventure in Florida, we went on the “Incredible Hulk” roller coaster.
It was a green steel web of twists and turns.
The "Gamma Force Accelerator" tube, and a specially designed booster thrust--the first of its kind--catapults its pneumatic tires 40 mph uphill.
The launch requires the same thrust as a U.S. Air Force F-16 jet.
Universal built a dedicated power plant to accommodate the ride.
John and I waited in the longer, slower moving line to be able to get a front row seat.
I asked the guy waiting in line behind us if it was worth the wait as I noticed we were barely moving, and the line next to us for rows 2 through 8 were moving quite quickly.
He gave me an assured and certain, “Yes”!
I stood with anticipation as I watched each car full of people load up, 4 across and 8 rows back.
We timed their minute and a half thrill ride as we waited over an hour and a half for our minute and a half turn on this wild roller coaster!
There were warning signs about not getting on the coaster if you had back trouble or neck problems or got motion sickness or were pregnant.
I wondered about my glasses flying off, so once again I asked the guy behind me.
He obviously had experience with this coaster.
He suggested I take off my glasses.
His only hint was that we were going to “jet out” from the beginning of the ride.
There was even a huge net under the coaster to catch loose or falling items.
It was finally our turn.
We got in the front row and sat down.
After raising our arms high into the air, the safety bar came down around our head, neck, shoulders, chest, and stomach.
There was no turning back.
The thrill was about to begin.
The guy behind me was right.
There was no time for a scream as we flew out of the loading area, immediately twisting and turning in the series of cork screws, then flying around the turns, through some loop-d-loops as my smile was pasted across my face from ear to ear.
Emerging from the tube, the train barreled through a complete inversion 110 feet off the ground and accelerated to 67 mph as it roared through rollovers, free-falls, corkscrews, and fog-enshrouded tunnels.
The G-forces were quite intense.
What a ride!
When it was over, there was no time to get in line again before the park closed.
The ride was now a memory and a moment of thrill to be revisited with my husband as we left the park.
But the joy of Jesus takes me higher than that Incredible Hulk coaster.
The joy of Jesus takes me on more twists and turns through life than I could ever imagine possible.
And the safety of his law and his will protects me day and night.
I believe it was at Six Flags a few weeks ago, that a coaster got stuck upside down during a power failure.
The people at the top of the loop were stuck upside down for over an hour.
God doesn’t leave us hanging like that when we meditate on His law day and night.
God gives us a blessed assurance that His Power will never fail.
Sometimes we might have to wait in line for His answer, because His timing is always perfect.
He won’t let us take the ride of life until He has properly prepared us for the turns ahead.
Our ticket to life comes with adventure, strength, courage, power, endurance, love, understanding, trust, comfort, and challenge.
And sometimes there are disappointments.
But our problems make us stronger and more compassionate towards others in the end.
And as we meditate on God’s law day and night, we begin to enter God’s Kingdom where God is always ready to take our hand when we are afraid of what’s to come.
This is what it means to be blessed by God.
May God bring His blessing to us all.
Amen.
