Who famously said: “My precious?” That’s Smeagol or Gollum from Lord of the Rings. If you’re unfamiliar with the story, Gollum is a creature who was formerly a like a human being whose name was Smeagol. Smeagol was a sweet guy who enjoyed fishing but then something happened that transformed from Smeagol into Gollum. He discovered a magical ring that became, you guessed it, his precious. This ring is evil and it has a powerful hold over Gollum – he hurts others to keep the ring, he isolates himself to keep the ring, and he loses the fundamental reality of who he is to keep the ring. Smeagol never thought he’d do those things but he did. Why?

He delighted in that ring and it dictated his life. And it got me thinking, you and I can do the same thing. We can end up delighting in the wrong things. And when we delight in the wrong things, we begin to make compromises that we never would have made in the past.

When I first came to faith in Christ, I was working at a digital marketing agency. We helped all sorts of companies advertise and market their products but with my newfound faith, I faced a dilemma. I loved working at that company; it was my delight. But we started working with companies that as a Christian, I had issues with because their values severely conflicted with my new world-view. At first, I thought to myself: what’s the big deal? I kept dutifully working and training others to improve the way we sell those services for our clients. But the more I thought about it and dwelled in the Word, it just didn’t sit right with me so I resigned. And it wasn’t easy – I missed the cool company I worked for, the free snacks and coffee they offered, and unlimited PTO. But as a new believer, I believe it was the right choice because I was beginning to delight myself in the Word and not just in my career.

So,  what if we delight in the right thing? Where does that take us? It takes us to blessing and flourishing for the good of others but it takes honesty and vulnerability which is a huge theme in all the Psalms. And this summer, we’ll be spending our preaching time in the books of the Psalms. The Psalms are the kind of books that every human being needs to read: they’re full of joy, doubts, anger, and hope just like our real lives. If you have the pre-conceived notion that the bible is stuffy, super pious, or out of touch, you’ve never read the Psalms.

But, the Psalms are also more than a collection of books. They’re prayers and songs written for God’s people. Wait, Anthony, aren’t we supposed to pray from the heart? Yes, you are – but sometimes, you don’t know how to pray and just telling you to shoot from the hip - leads to paralysis or shallow prayers. And if I can tell you a secret, Jesus himself prayed the Psalms so if they’re good enough for Jesus, they are good enough for me! God wants real prayers and the Psalms help us in that area. So it’s my hope that as we spend time in the Psalms, we will learn to pray and sing for all of life’s seasons.  

So, to start our series, we’re starting with Psalm 1 which is intentionally placed at the start to guide us through the 150 Psalms spread out across 5 books. By the end of today, we’ll see that your delight dictates your life. If you’re able, will you please stand with me as we read Psalm 1?

What do you delight in? Path #1

This Psalm highlights that there are really two paths that human beings can go down: the righteous path and the wicked path. As messy humans, we likely walk these paths multiple times each day but let’s talk about the wicked path first.

First, the wicked just sounds harsh and is somewhat of a loaded term. When the bible uses the term ‘wicked’, don’t think of criminals or that sort of thing. Instead, think of ‘ungodly’ which ultimately means people who have given their allegiance to the ways of the world instead of God. The scary thing about Psalm 1 is not that there are wicked people somewhere else — it’s that all of us naturally drift toward this path apart from God’s grace.

In verse 1, there’s this interesting progression that takes place: “walk -> stand -> sit.” It’s a downward spiral that gradually goes from bad to worse.

At first, you’re walking in step with the wicked/ungodly which means you’re absorbing their thinking and advice more than you’re absorbing God’s thinking and advice. Soon enough, you’ll be standing in the way that sinners take which means you behave similarly to the world. And after you behave enough like the world, you’ll sit in the company of mockers where cynicism and apathy towards God and all that’s good, true, and beautiful in the world is mocked.  

And what do you get for walking in this way? You get to become like chaff. What is chaff? Well, if you’re not a farmer, you may not know what chaff is. Chaff is usually the outer shell from grain that falls off during processing. It has no roots and is easily blown away. It’s unable to endure the harsh realities of the world.

Now, this sort of thinking can take you down to a path of “okay, I don’t want that. I’m going to keep away from anyone who may be ungodly so they don’t pollute me.” That’s not what you should get from this Psalm. Jesus spent the vast majority of his time with the ungodly, right? Instead, you should see how this downward spiral towards ungodliness begins: it starts with your mind which then transforms your behavior and who you belong to.

I want you to just ask the question: what am I being discipled by? What am I absorbing? Your phone, your politics, your entertainment, and your work are all shaping you. So, are you being intentional with what you’re letting in or just letting whatever comes your way come your way?

If you’ve ever heard of people who have committed fraud at their workplace, they’ll often admit it started out small – maybe lying on their timesheet, requesting more on reimbursement then is needed. But they start to get bolder: they steal  $200 here and then that $200 became $1,000. And so it can be with what we consume, it starts off small but grows and grows – until the thing that we know isn’t good for us actually becomes something we delight in.

So it’s my goal for this to be a wake-up call for you: what are you absorbing? Have you given it thought? Do you have enough godly wisdom to discern what’s helpful and from the Lord vs. what sounds nice but actually isn’t godly? If you took a look at your screen time, watch history, or music listened to from the past week, what could be summarized about you? Do you look different from the world or do you look like the ungodly that Psalm 1 warns us about? All those other things will fail you too – a YouTube influencer or a politician or your boss at work can’t care for you the way Jesus does. So, what does your time suggest about you? Which path are you walking right now?

That question may sting a little bit and that’s okay, it’s supposed to. And if you’re feeling convicted – great but hear me too: there’s good news coming for you too.

There is life found but it’s not found on the path of the wicked, it’s found on the path to the good life or the blessed life which is the complete opposite of the ungodly life. Here’s how.

What do you delight in? Path #2

Contrasted to the ungodly, what does blessed truly mean? In the context of Psalm 1, blessed has to do more-so with a deep inner wellbeing or higher quality of life because you are directly oriented to God. Your life compass is pointing at him. It doesn’t mean you’re going to live a pain-free existence, it just means that you’re connected and intimately know the one who is guiding you through this life.

Psalm 1 tells us that we delight in the Law of the Lord. When you hear Law, just think of the whole biblical teaching. You delight in what God’s word says and you aim to obey it! When you’re faithful in reading the Scriptures, something amazing happens: God meets you in his word. Sometimes we want this visceral experience where we hear God’s voice, that happens. But the Bible is one of the primary ways God speaks to us. It reminds me of a Marty (CHH rapper) verse where he says: “Don’t tell me God is silent when you’re bible is closed.”

As you spend time in the Word, your thoughts begin to shape and look like God’s thoughts. Remember that walk -> stand -> sit downward spiral I mentioned that the ungodly do? And in a similar way, instead, you’re on an upward spiral where you walk with the Lord and allow him and his word to shape your thoughts. You stand in his presence which slowly transforms you. You sit and receive the offer of love, redemption, and forgiveness that Christ bought for you on the cross.

And what do you get as a blessed person? You’re compared to a tree planted by streams of water – you’re strong, reliable, and life-giving to others.

You’re strong because the thing that you’re building your life on isn’t weak or fragile like your career, approval rating, or bank account. What did Jesus say at the end of the sermon on the mount? Will you build your house on sand or a solid rock? That solid rock is God’s Word and life in the Kingdom.

You’re reliable because God’s commands and vision for life isn’t a buzzkill, it leads to the good life. That’s what being blessed means. Your yes means yes and your no means no.

You’re life-giving to others because God’s word reminds you that we live in a world full of imperfect people. But you are to follow Christ’s example and love them and sacrifice for them. Trees provide life to others and relief with their shade, you can do the same if God is your delight.

I know the Bible can be so weird sometimes and hard to read. But, I believe, we live in a time where the bible is so accessible to us and widely available. Y’all know that the Bible used to be just kept at the church or place of worship? Some folks knew entire books in their heads. And yet for us, biblical literacy appears to be down. If that’s you, my friends, there are such good resources available like The Bible Project, the Bible App, or the Streetlights Audio Bible if you like hip-hop. If you’re not a reader, you can listen to the bible. If you don’t have time, listen to it in your car on the way to work. If you’re confused, see if The Bible Project has a video or blog post covering that topic.

And I know some of you may be thinking: “Anthony, I do read the Word but it just feels like it’s taking forever to change.” I hear you. Take heart, my friend – Psalm 1 says you’re going to be like a tree planted by streams of water and it will yield its fruit in season.

There are two common trees in Israel: the Mediterranean Cyprus and Olive Tree. Do you know how long that growth takes? The Cyprus matures in about 30 years and the Olive Tree takes 15 years. That’s a long time! For many years, it’s unlikely that you will notice much growth in those trees but sure enough, they are growing as long as they have a continuous water source. And as they mature, they become more resilient through droughts and wildlife.  

This is why Jesus calls himself the Living Water – Jesus, the very Word himself, says he’s what you need to grow and to be blessed. He’s who you need to delight in so that you will grow into a person that others will say: “That is a blessed person.”

In the same way, friends, you’re like those trees. Choose to drink the living water and trust that in God’s season, you and others will benefit from the fruit that God has grown. Because when we live by God’s instructions, it does lead to the good life. That’s why we can delight in it.

Why is this so hard though? We’re constantly in a war for our worship (and yes, you are too). For the ungodly, they worship (by their actions, behaviors, and beliefs) all sorts of false gods like their careers, their perfect relationships, their money, or their social status. This means putting all your hope, trust, and faith in those things – that they will satisfy you and give you everything you need to fulfill purpose. But those things are really bad gods – they’re going to disappoint you.

Towards the end of Lord of the Rings, Gollum is betrayed by the ring and it leads to his own death. His delight led to his death. And if your delight isn’t God, that’s what it leads to as well.

That’s why my invitation to you today is to: delight in the word of God. Growth will take time but in its proper season, you will see the fruit and it will be very good.

Application & Inspiration

So, as interesting as all this is, what should you do differently today? I would invite you to do a simple practice this week:

Before you go to bed, take 2 minutes to read Psalm 1 and ask yourself: which path did I walk on today? There are going to be days where you probably don’t feel like doing this but that’s why Jesus tells us to take up our cross and follow him.

Some of you are discouraged because you don’t see fruit yet or you don’t see as much fruit as you’d like. But, my friends, there could be roots or growth you’re not even aware of yet…let me share with you a story about one of my favorite writers: C.S. Lewis.

It took a is LONG time for C.S. Lewis to come to faith in Christ. For years, he was a staunch atheist while a professor at Oxford University. Eventually, he struck up a friendship with another professor who was a Catholic named J.R.R. Tolkien. They would often talk about faith and J.R.R. slowly, but surely (or more likely, God) answered objection after objection that C.S. Lewis had.  C.S. Lewis delighted in truth, ideas, and story which led him to appreciate Tolkien so much. Their friendship caused these roots to grow.  And a few years after their friendship, C.S. Lewis became a theist which just meant he believed in God but not the God of the Bible. And then eventually, after that, he converted to Christianity and believed in Jesus Christ, the son of God.

As he prolifically wrote, you’d get the assumption that his transformation was instantaneous but that’s not the case. And it was the same way for him when he came to faith as well, it was a day-by-day change. That’s why he wrote this in Mere Christianity: “Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.” I know this is hard but through the daily choices and interactions C.S. Lewis had, he eventually became a tree planted by streams of water. All of us in here are still enjoying the good fruit from his life – whether through Narnia, his Christian books, or when you enjoy a quote I share from him.

As we close, I want to remind you that the world is going to try to convince you to delight in things that aren’t God. IT’s going to try to have you delight in good things and bad things but those things will disappoint you. Left unchecked, they will control your life. That’s why my main point for today is: your delight dictates your life.

When somebody is a dictator, that means they have total control over you. The Ring had total control over Smeagol. What has total control over you? Is it the world or is it God? Which will you choose?

My invitation is for you to delight in God. Here’s why: Psalm 1 points us to Jesus. He has proven that his path leads to life. Jesus resisted walking the path of the wicked even when Satan promised him the world. Jesus’ delight was to obey his Father’s will no matter what happened. What was his Father’s will? His will was to redeem – set free – his people from their sin. All the times where we’ve missed the mark of God’s standards, all the times where we hurt others in our sin, and all the times where we betray God – Jesus absorbs the penalty on the cross for that. What does Psalm 1? It says the Wicked will not stand in Judgement. And yet, Jesus stood in that judgement instead of us. And to show that death and sin have no hold on him, Jesus arose on the third day. When you place your faith in Jesus, death and sin no longer have a hold on you anymore either but it’s a steady, long journey (you’re a tree, remember?) You become united with Christ and that is very good news.

So this week, take the 2 minutes to read Psalm 1 before you go to bed. Ask yourself: which path did I walk today? If you walked the blessed path, thank God for his grace and his Spirit that empowered you to do so. If you walked the ungodly path, ask God for forgiveness and trust in his mercy that was lovingly displayed on the Cross.

I’m going to pray then we’ll transition to our time of communion.