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Well, good morning, St. 
City. 

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For those of you who are here 
often, you're like, Oh my gosh, 

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Brandon is in a shirt that's not
black. 

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Yeah, I was like, hey, it's 
summertime. 

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It's finally here. 
That old ballpark man is back in

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gear and I'm in blue and pink 
because my 4 year old really 

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like this shirt. 
And she's like, daddy, can you 

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wear that shirt? 
I said, you know what, baby 

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girl, if you want it, I can do 
it. 

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We're going to be in Psalm 
chapter 1. 

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If you don't have a Bible, 
there's one in the seat nearby 

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in front of you. 
You can have that Bible. 

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If you don't have one for 
yourself, Psalms is in the 

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middle of your Bible. 
We're starting a new series 

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today looking at this book of 
songs and praises to God. 

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So we're going to spend the 
better half of our summer 

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talking through and thinking 
about and considering what God 

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has to say to you and I through 
this incredibly long but 

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incredibly great book called the
Book of Psalms. 

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We're in the very first one 
called Psalm 1. 

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You know, years years ago, Tom 
Brady, the Hall of Fame, 

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incredible quarterback after he 
won his third Super Bowl, He's 

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being interviewed on 60 minutes.
He's won three Super Bowls, 

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which is the pinnacle at that 
point of success in the NFL. 

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He redefines it later on in his 
career, but he's got 3 Super 

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Bowls to his name. 
He is as accomplished as it 

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gets. 
He is already going to be a Hall

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of Fame quarterback at this 
point in his career. 

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He's recounting that moment when
they win the third Super Bowl 

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with the interviewer and he's 
like, man, I did it again. 

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The confetti's following. 
The fans are cheering. 

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He's getting an MVP trophy, He 
said. 

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He had this sinking, empty 
feeling in his gut. 

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There's got to be more than 
this. 

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How could someone who's supposed
to be so happy, who's supposed 

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to be so thrilled and 
exhilarated? 

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I mean, he did it. 
He the goal that he and his 

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teammates set out to do was 
achieved. 

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But why was he so disappointed 
in that moment? 

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Why was it that happiness wasn't
actually the finish line? 

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I think we asked a similar 
question. 

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We're not at the we're not, you 
know, on the 50 yard line 

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getting a Super Bowl MVP trophy.
But I think many of us here 

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today ask it like this. 
We, we've got the family that 

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we've always wanted or we got 
the grades that we always prayed

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for. 
We got to the place that we 

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always wanted to live in, the 
home that we always wanted to 

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establish, that we've had 
moments in this in our life 

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where we've reached the apex 
mountain of happiness and yet we

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get to the top of it and we're 
just like, what now? 

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What now? 
I got to the thing that I 

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thought would fulfill me. 
But why doesn't it? 

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Why does the bank account number
not feel as good as I thought it

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would feel? 
Why does this relationship not 

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give me the joy I thought it 
would? 

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Why is it that I'm not actually 
ultimately happy? 

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Now we're in this message today 
called happiness according to 

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God. 
And what I want to start on the 

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outset is say that happiness 
isn't a bad thing. 

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Not at all. 
Like it's good to be happy with 

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a great cup of coffee to go and 
get some delicious tacos or go 

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to a concert or watch your team 
win the Super Bowl, have family 

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moments and vacations. 
Like God is about your 

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happiness. 
He's actually excited for you to

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be happy. 
It's an idea he came up with. 

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But here's the problem is 
happiness, more often than not, 

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gets overvalued. 
Overvalued. 

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Now we live in a world that says
clear eyes, full hearts are 

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happy hearts. 
They can't lose, right? 

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But behind every picture, behind
the smiles and the laughter, 

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there's tantrums, there's 
stress, there's tension. 

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If I were to look at my life and
see the pictures of my family, I

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would be happy in that moment. 
But I know behind that picture 

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are the people that make my life
feel so full but also the most 

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frustrating. 
Maybe you're like me that at 

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times you over value happiness 
because my mood is often it not 

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only adjusts, but it's enslaved 
to the thing I'm putting my 

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happiness in that my family. 
If my family is going good, my 

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happiness is going good. 
If my work is going good, my 

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happiness is going good. 
If my relationships are going 

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good, so is my happiness. 
It rises and falls. 

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It's enslaved to what I'm 
putting my happiness in. 

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And here's the sobering reality 
for all of us here today is that

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happiness is too small of a 
thing to live for. 

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But what's God's role in 
happiness if he invented it, if 

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he wants us to have it, but he 
doesn't want us to live for it. 

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Ultimately, how do we actually 
experience happiness? 

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How do we experience what's even
in our founding documents as a 

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country? 
Like, hey, life, liberty and the

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pursuit of happiness. 
Like it's there, it's in our 

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culture, it's in the water here.
God wants you to experience 

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happiness. 
He wants you to have it. 

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He wants you to know it. 
He wants you to be a happy 

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person. 
We're going to learn in this 

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Psalm, but that does not mean 
you are entitled to it. 

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GK Chesterton, the famous 
philosopher, he said, hey, 

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modern people think this, that 
happiness is a right. 

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That is why he is so miserable. 
Happiness is not something we're

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owed. 
It is something we are given. 

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It's a grace. 
It's a gift, not a paycheck. 

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And yet most of us here today 
are chasing happiness down like 

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it's a the one thing in life 
that we are owed, will pursue it

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in every arena of our life. 
And deep down we think to 

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ourselves, if happiness, if 
being happy is right, then 

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anything that makes me unhappy 
is wrong. 

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There's a problem with that. 
That's just because there's pain

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doesn't mean something is wrong.
And so you're like, wait a 

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second, if being happy is wrong,
do I even want to be right? 

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Like Pharrell wrote that song 
and I feel like he's on to 

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something, you know, second, I'm
just happy. 

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Sometimes pain doesn't mean 
something's wrong. 

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It means that something went 
right, that God's actually doing

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something in the pain, in the 
difficulty, in the trial, that's

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actually for good. 
It's for your ultimate 

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happiness. 
Because if you are chasing 

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happiness as your ultimate 
reality, if you're chasing 

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happiness overvaluing it, if it 
becomes the goal, then suffering

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will feel like failure, waiting 
will feel like punishment, and 

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holiness will feel like a 
burden. 

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And in the end, it leaves us 
miserable, drinking from what 

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the Bible calls a broken 
cistern. 

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It's a well that doesn't 
actually satisfy your quench for

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true happiness. 
And that's why so many people we

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know are deeply unhappy with 
their life. 

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But what if? 
What if Psalm one's about to 

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teach us something incredible, 
That happiness is not a God to 

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live for, but it is something 
rather that the God we live for 

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gives? 
What if God wants to give you 

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happiness, but he's designed 
life in a way that actually 

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gives you true, lasting, 
ultimate happiness? 

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That is what Psalm 1 is going to
teach us today. 

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Welcome to Summer in the Psalms,
where we're going to be hanging 

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out with Moses and with Asaph 
and with King David who wrote a 

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bunch of the book. 
We're going to be talking about 

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all about the happiness dilemma.
We talk about what God wants to 

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talk about week after week. 
And I think here's the first 

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thing we're going to discover 
today. 

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Jot down this big idea if you'd 
like to take notes that God 

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gives us a happy life through a 
righteous life. 

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How do we have a happy life? 
How do we acquire it through a 

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righteous life? 
Every single person this morning

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has a choice. 
The way of blessing or the way 

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of ruin, the way of delight or 
the way of detachment from God. 

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That Psalm one's going to lay 
before us two options, the way 

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of the wicked or the way of the 
righteous. 

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Charles Spurgeon, the famous 
preacher, said this, that Psalm 

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1 is the gate to the temple of 
the entire book of Psalms. 

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If you're going to understand 
this whole book, you got to get 

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Psalm one right. 
You have to understand what it's

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getting at. 
It's like a meta Psalm about the

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entire book of Psalms. 
So if you're ready, we're going 

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to step through that gate 
together and discover how God 

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gives us a happy life. 
So how does God give us a happy 

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life through a righteous life? 
Well, first jot down this that 

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God makes me happiest when I 
discover the pleasure of God's 

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ways. 
When I discover the pleasure of 

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God's ways, that's when I'll be 
happiest. 

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Look at verse one with me. 
Blessed is the man. 

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Now you're like, where is he 
talking about happiness? 

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I don't see that word in my 
Bible anywhere. 

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That word blessed, it could 
actually be translated as happy.

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That that word in the original 
language is talking about the 

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good life, the happy life, the 
blessed life that you enjoy your

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life and the person who is 
blessed is what it talks about. 

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Blessed is the man. 
That word blessed, it's, it's in

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your Bible at the beginning in 
Genesis when it's talking about 

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Adam and Eve. 
It's talking about Mary when she

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finds out that she's pregnant 
with Jesus. 

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It's talking about Revelation at
the marriage supper of the Lamb.

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That word blessed is used all of
there and it's used right here 

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smack dab in the middle of your 
Bible to talk about, hey, here's

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how to have a good life, a life 
where you're satisfied and 

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happy. 
Blessed is the one who does a 

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few things first, who walks down
the counsel of the wicked, nor 

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stands in the way of sinners, 
nor sits in the seat of 

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scoffers. 
Another way to read this verse 

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is to invert it. 
So another way to read this is 

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like this. 
Look at your Bible. 

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It would be like miserable is 
the person who walks with the 

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wicked, who stands with the 
sinners and sits with the 

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scoffers. 
That's a way to read your Bible.

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There. 
It's to go wait a second. 

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If happiness is what God wants 
to give me through this, then 

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misery is the inversion of that.
And he says that we do three 

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things. 
The miserable person walks. 

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This just means walking with the
wicked is the idea that your 

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worldview comes from the wicked.
It doesn't come from God's word.

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It comes from the ways of the 
world, the ways of the wicked. 

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So they don't take advice or 
their purpose from God's people 

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or God's Word, but rather they 
get it from just whatever they 

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grew up believing the second 
word there. 

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They don't just walk in the 
counsel of the wicked. 

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They stand in the way of 
sinners, that this is a 

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progression. 
Not only do they have the 

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worldview, but now they are 
among the world and they are 

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advocating for what the world 
advocates. 

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They stand for the way that 
sinners choose to live, join 

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them going to sinful places for 
sinful reasons. 

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They stand in the way of 
sinners, and then ultimately 

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that path leads to a place of 
ruin where they sit in the seat 

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of scoffers. 
Scoffers are the people who mock

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God. 
They're hecklers of God sitting 

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in the grandstands saying how 
awful God is, how judgmental God

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is, how angry God is, without 
any actual understanding of who 

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God has revealed himself to be. 
All that awaits this person 

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ultimately from ignoring and 
disobeying God's ways is misery.

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God is saying that chasing what 
the world is after isn't where 

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you actually discover happiness,
but actually your heart. 

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You were born to want things, to
chase things, to pursue things 

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that ultimately lead to misery 
and pain and hurts. 

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Ultimately, not immediately. 
We'll get to that later in the 

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Psalm, but if you are marked by 
the world, you are marked 

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ultimately for disappointment, 
for unmet expectations. 

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Here's where God is kind to us 
and loving to us this morning. 

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Here's what he says. 
He says, wait a second. 

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I want to tell you the truth. 
That path leads you to nowhere 

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good. 
Let me show you the path that 

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actually leads you to what you 
want to enjoy your life. 

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I want to show you that God 
saying it's wildly loving of 

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God. 
He's saying pursuing happiness 

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in anything contrary to his ways
will hurt you because that's not

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what you were made for. 
You were not made for chasing 

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things that God didn't make. 
It's discovered by delighting in

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God's ways because you were made
for God. 

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Now, if you were to go over the 
Grand Canyon later this 

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afternoon, just take a nice 
little 3 hour drive up north and

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over on those on the trails that
you'd be hiking, you'd see signs

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that say, hey, be careful, do 
not cross this because it's 

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dangerous to you. 
Would you interpret those signs 

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as judgmental of people who like
walking on the other side of the

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trail? 
Would you interpret that sign as

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man, that sign, that sign, they 
don't know me, I could handle 

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it. 
That signs doesn't like people 

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like me. 
They don't like the people who 

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live life on the edge. 
Would you really give the sign 

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that kind of like motive? 
No, you'd be like, hey, that 

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signs there because it's saying,
hey, don't hurt yourself. 

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Some of us read the Bible. 
We're like, whatever God says, 

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don't do something. 
We're like, hey, he's coming 

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across judgmental here. 
He's coming across angry here. 

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He's coming across in a way that
says, hey, I don't want you to 

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00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:41,360
have any fun. 
But what if every command God 

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gives isn't for your misery, 
it's for your protection? 

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What if every command God gives 
isn't so that you would be 

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disappointed in this life, but 
so that you'd be happy in this 

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life? 
That every command in this book 

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is ultimately so that you could 
experience life as God intended 

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it to be lived? 
God's commands are a loving, 

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kind, and good thing for us. 
And happy is the person who 

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walks not in the counsel of the 
wicked, nor stands in the way of

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sinners, nor sits in the seat of
scoffers. 

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Because we believe in the 
pleasure of God's ways, we've 

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discovered it together. 
God wants us to be happy and to 

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flourish, but we have to 
discover the pleasure of God's 

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ways 1st, and then we'll get to 
what He says next. 

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Verse 2, God makes me happy. 
He's not just when I discover 

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the pleasure of His ways, but 
verse 2, His delight. 

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00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:43,000
Where's His happiness found? 
See that word in? 

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00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:44,520
I want you to circle it in your 
Bible. 

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00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:48,320
Where is the person who's happy?
Where is their delight found in 

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the law of the Lord? 
And on His law He meditates day 

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and night. 
So I want you to jot down this 

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00:15:56,800 --> 00:16:01,040
second point, that God makes me 
happiest when I fill my brain 

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with God's thoughts. 
Your life will be better, your 

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00:16:10,370 --> 00:16:14,720
life will be happier when it is 
filled with God's thoughts, not 

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the world's thoughts. 
Now that word law there, his 

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00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:19,600
delight is in the law of the 
Lord. 

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00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:23,120
You see that there in verse 2. 
It's not saying law like a law 

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00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:28,440
book or a book of regulations. 
It's not your, your company's HR

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00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:29,840
policy. 
That's not what it's talking 

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about here. 
It's talking about the Bible. 

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It's talking about Scripture. 
It's talking about God breathed 

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00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:44,480
very inspired words of God. 
And like I said, it's a meta 

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00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:46,080
verse. 
It's a meta chapter talking 

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00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:49,720
about all of the Bible here. 
It's saying, hey, the person who

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is happy is their delight is 
found not in what they think, 

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00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:58,440
not what others think, but 
rather what does God say that 

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00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:02,520
when the word and the world 
disagree, they bend to the word,

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they fill their brain with God's
thoughts. 

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00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:10,720
You will never delight in God's 
ways unless you delight in God's

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00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:14,079
Book. 
You just won't. 

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00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:19,560
If this isn't a delight to you, 
if is, this isn't pleasurable to

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00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:25,040
you. 
If this isn't sweet to you, you 

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00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:27,599
won't ultimately appreciate 
God's ways. 

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00:17:27,599 --> 00:17:31,880
That's what we're called to live
as is people who delight in 

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00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:36,800
God's ways and the person who 
delights in God, God's ways. 

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00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:40,680
Here's what they do with the 
Word on the Bible, on his law. 

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00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:42,480
What do they do? 
What's the verb there in the 

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00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:44,960
sentence? 
That person does something. 

290
00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:50,320
They meditate on the law day and
night, meaning all the time. 

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00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:54,920
It's saying God's word is 
filling your mind, not just on 

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00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:58,680
Sunday mornings from 10:30 to 
11:10 when a guy in a bright 

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00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:00,520
blue and pink shirt is talking 
to you. 

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00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:03,400
That's not when. 
That's not just when you're 

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00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:06,440
thinking about God's words. 
God's words are on your mind and

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00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:08,280
on your heart. 
When you rise, when you go to 

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00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:12,120
lunch, when you commute, when 
you're parenting all the time. 

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00:18:12,120 --> 00:18:15,640
Your brain is filled with what 
does God say about that? 

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00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:19,760
Your brain is filled with God's 
words. 

300
00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:22,720
We're no stranger to filling our
minds with things. 

301
00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:24,680
A doom scrolling is a term for a
reason. 

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00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:26,800
It's 'cause we're filling our 
brains with things. 

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00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:32,080
The algorithm is actually a 
great feeder of thoughts for us.

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00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:34,720
That it's holding up a mirror to
you. 

305
00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:38,520
Anytime you go on any social 
media profile, it's reading you 

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00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:41,880
as you're engaging with it. 
It's showing you the things that

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00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:45,840
you care about, whether it's 
landscaping or golf, whether 

308
00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:51,320
it's like Marie Kondo organizing
your house, whether it's 

309
00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:56,480
parenting tips or study hacks, 
whatever the thing you are 

310
00:18:56,480 --> 00:18:58,960
caring about, whether the thing 
that you delight and guess what,

311
00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:00,360
the algorithm's going to show it
to you. 

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00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:04,320
It wants to fill your brain with
thoughts and capture your 

313
00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:09,320
attention. 
John Piper, the famous preacher 

314
00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:14,800
from Minnesota, says that when 
we get to the end of the line, 

315
00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:18,760
when glory happens, when Jesus 
comes back, that social media 

316
00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:21,760
will be proved positive that we 
weren't in our Bible. 

317
00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:26,800
Not because we didn't have time,
but because we lacked love for 

318
00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:32,440
it. 
It'll be evidence that the 

319
00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:35,480
amount of time we spend in our 
Bible isn't because we didn't 

320
00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:38,320
have the time, it's because we 
didn't make the time to fill our

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00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:42,680
brain with God's thoughts. 
The happy person let's God shape

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00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:44,880
their mind rather than the 
world. 

323
00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:47,600
But the world will also tell you
another thing. 

324
00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:51,280
It'll also tell you to empty 
your mind. 

325
00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:56,160
That meditation in 2026 is more 
often not correlated with 

326
00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:58,520
filling your mind, but emptying 
it. 

327
00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:02,720
To just go to a space and to 
meditate. 

328
00:20:03,120 --> 00:20:05,240
That's not what this word means 
here. 

329
00:20:06,120 --> 00:20:13,840
It means to fill it. 
God is not asking you to 

330
00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:15,880
completely empty your mind all 
the time. 

331
00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:19,320
That's not what meditation is. 
Because if you look deeper 

332
00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:21,720
inside of yourself, you're going
to be disappointed. 

333
00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:26,760
So the deeper you go inside the 
human heart, the more anxiety 

334
00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:29,720
you find. 
The deeper you go into the human

335
00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:31,760
heart, the more anger you 
discover. 

336
00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:35,440
The deeper you go, the more 
selfishness, the more sin you 

337
00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:40,960
will find. 
So that's why therapy in in and 

338
00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:44,880
of itself is not a gospel. 
It is not good news to just go 

339
00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:46,720
and empty your mind because 
guess what? 

340
00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:49,920
You will just keep discovering 
you're a bottomless well of 

341
00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:52,920
sinfulness. 
You need another antidote. 

342
00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:55,560
You need another solution. 
You need something better. 

343
00:20:56,160 --> 00:21:01,160
You need Psalm one, verse 2, 
that the person who's happiest, 

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00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:04,920
who's living a righteous life, 
is meditating on God's words. 

345
00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:10,080
They are filling their brain 
because ultimate happiness can't

346
00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:14,640
be located inside of us. 
The hope isn't in us, it's in 

347
00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:21,760
him and what he's done for us. 
God says the person who's happy 

348
00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:25,080
fills their mind with his words,
which never return empty or 

349
00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:28,160
void. 
They always deliver on what they

350
00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:30,800
say they're going to do. 
And that is how your life can be

351
00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:35,240
filled with delight and pleasure
and flourishing and happiness. 

352
00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:37,920
So what do you do? 
How do you fill your mind? 

353
00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:40,320
Let's get real practical here. 
First, you fill your mind daily,

354
00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:44,160
daily filling your mind with 
this book daily. 

355
00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:47,880
Go after God's word and just 
fill your mind with it. 

356
00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:50,200
Sometimes it starts with just 
having a verse a day. 

357
00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:54,000
Take that verse and just think 
about it all day. 

358
00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:56,360
Perhaps some of you this week 
are just going to you know what 

359
00:21:56,800 --> 00:21:59,440
I'm going to think about Psalm 
one, one and two for the whole 

360
00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:01,760
week. 
Great, That's great meditation. 

361
00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:05,560
Do that fill your mind daily. 
I was talking to somebody this 

362
00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:08,120
week and we were, we were just 
chatting about our whole life 

363
00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:11,520
and I was like, hey, live, live 
life one week at a time. 7 like 

364
00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:15,600
A7 game series in sports. 
If you're winning four out of 

365
00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:20,600
seven, you're in a good spot 
that like don't hold yourself to

366
00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:22,360
the perfection standard. 
Just grow. 

367
00:22:22,360 --> 00:22:27,360
Take one step at a time, but 
strive for daily meditation in 

368
00:22:27,360 --> 00:22:30,200
God's Word, but also weekly. 
Congratulations, you're doing 

369
00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:31,440
that today. 
You're here at church. 

370
00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:33,000
That's one of the reasons we 
need church. 

371
00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:35,400
It's 'cause we need God's Word 
to be preached over us. 

372
00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:38,120
We need God's Word to be remind 
us of the things in this life 

373
00:22:38,120 --> 00:22:41,160
that matter most. 
That's why church exists on a 

374
00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:43,440
weekly basis. 
It's because we believe that 

375
00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:45,240
God's words are the most 
important words. 

376
00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:49,000
So we come up underneath them 
and we say, God, speak to me 

377
00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:50,800
again. 
Because this week I've wandered 

378
00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:52,160
a bit. 
This week I've strayed a bit. 

379
00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:54,040
This week I've been discouraged 
a bit or disappointed. 

380
00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:56,280
I need to be reminded of who you
are and what you've done. 

381
00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:04,440
So not just daily and weekly, 
but also deeply, deeply meditate

382
00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:10,400
on God's words in, in an 
attention culture that we're in,

383
00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:15,640
I think we sometimes just skirt 
past the scriptures too fast. 

384
00:23:16,360 --> 00:23:19,440
We just stay on the surface. 
Like we bring a rake to God's 

385
00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:23,240
words and we're on the surface. 
We're we're actually being with 

386
00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:24,680
God's word. 
We're actually meditating on 

387
00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:26,720
them. 
But God, today he's handing you 

388
00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:30,080
a shovel and he's saying, Hey, 
go deeper in my word. 

389
00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:34,000
Come understand me more. 
Come discover the treasure 

390
00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:36,040
that's lying underneath the 
surface. 

391
00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:41,080
Go deep in meditation, which 
just means think about it 

392
00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:44,800
longer. 
Don't just have a 5 or a 10 

393
00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:48,760
minute time with God. 
Spend more time and just grow in

394
00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:52,280
that. 
Not perfectly, but increasingly.

395
00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:54,880
And guess what? 
The more you meditate on the 

396
00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:57,880
Word, the more you fill your 
brain with God's thoughts, the 

397
00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:03,280
happier you will be. 
God makes me happy through a 

398
00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:06,320
righteous life. 
Third thing he does, He makes me

399
00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:08,680
happiest when I thrive inside of
His placement. 

400
00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:11,120
We're just marching through this
Psalm verse by verse, and what 

401
00:24:11,120 --> 00:24:14,560
does it say in verse three that 
we're going to thrive inside of 

402
00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:16,240
God's placement? 
He's going to give a metaphor 

403
00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:18,040
for us. 
The person who meditates on the 

404
00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:20,000
law day and night, what are they
like? 

405
00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:24,400
He's going to use a simile. 
He is like a tree planted by 

406
00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:27,640
streams of water that yields its
fruit in its season and its leaf

407
00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:31,240
does not wither and all that he 
does, he prospers. 

408
00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:38,640
God says the happy person is 
like a tree next to a stream of 

409
00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:41,080
living water. 
Now this is your Bible 

410
00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:44,480
hyperlinking not just to other 
parts of your Bible, but 

411
00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:48,280
specifically the Garden of Eden.
It's like the blue part on 

412
00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:49,920
Wikipedia. 
It's saying, hey, go to this 

413
00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:52,680
link, we're back to a Garden of 
Eden. 

414
00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:55,320
You want to be planted by a 
stream of living water. 

415
00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:00,480
And the person who's like a 
tree, I think it's intentional 

416
00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:03,160
by God because he wants us to 
see four things that a tree is 

417
00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:05,760
like, follow along like this, 
that he, we are like a tree in 

418
00:25:05,760 --> 00:25:07,840
that God is telling us to be 
sturdy. 

419
00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:11,360
Now, middle schoolers in the 
room, He's not telling you to 

420
00:25:11,360 --> 00:25:13,360
get sturdy, He's telling you to 
be sturdy. 

421
00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:18,600
OK, be sturdy. 
Trees don't move, they plant. 

422
00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:22,520
It'd be a bad tree if it was 
moving all the time, unless it's

423
00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:27,120
from Lord of the Rings. 
OK, we need to stay still, be 

424
00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:32,680
still, be sturdy, be strong with
deep roots, be sturdy like a 

425
00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:35,600
tree, but also be fruitful. 
You see that next verb? 

426
00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:39,280
It's not just that we are 
planted, but it the tree yields 

427
00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:41,840
its fruit in its season. 
Trees don't bear fruit from 

428
00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:43,480
themselves, they bear fruit for 
others. 

429
00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:48,880
That we're being fruitful. 
That part of the intention of 

430
00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:52,600
God planting you beside Himself 
isn't just so that you would 

431
00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:54,680
bear fruit for your joy, but for
others. 

432
00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:59,560
Joy that the happiest people in 
this world aren't about 

433
00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:01,320
themselves, they are about 
others. 

434
00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:06,320
We are like a tree, but we're 
also told like a tree, that 

435
00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:09,680
we're to be dependent. 
Do you see that it says that 

436
00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:15,360
it's planted, that it yields its
fruit in its season, in its 

437
00:26:15,360 --> 00:26:18,360
season is telling us that hey, 
trees bear fruit. 

438
00:26:18,360 --> 00:26:22,400
When it's time to bear fruit, 
there's a time for that tree to 

439
00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:24,160
bear fruit. 
The seed is planted. 

440
00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:27,160
It grows in the way that the sun
and the atmosphere work. 

441
00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:29,160
Guess what? 
There's a time where it is 

442
00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:33,640
harvested. 
So be dependent on the living 

443
00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:36,600
water, be dependent on the 
atmosphere of being in God's 

444
00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:37,880
Word. 
And guess what? 

445
00:26:38,040 --> 00:26:42,680
You will see that as you abide 
in Jesus, you will bear fruit. 

446
00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:47,640
You will change, you will grow, 
but you have to be dependent on 

447
00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:51,360
God's process and the cycle of 
transformation. 

448
00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:55,240
We're like a tree in that were 
sturdy, fruitful, dependent, but

449
00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:58,760
also we're like a tree in that 
were to be growing slowly, 

450
00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:04,240
growing slowly. 
Do you see that in your text? 

451
00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:08,120
In all that it's done? 
Its leaf does not wither in all 

452
00:27:08,120 --> 00:27:12,040
that he does, He prospers. 
He prospers. 

453
00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:19,000
Trees change not immediately, 
but incrementally. 

454
00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:26,720
A tree doesn't grow overnight, 
it takes a lot of time. 

455
00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:30,920
Some of you would just be 
encouraged to remember that that

456
00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:34,480
the slow motion miracle of 
sanctification will take time, 

457
00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:42,800
but also your happiness. 
The thing God's calling you to. 

458
00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:47,800
It might not be delivered to you
with Amazon Prime level speed. 

459
00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:53,000
It's going to be like a tree 
where it's going to come slow 

460
00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:57,000
and maybe a bit boring, but it's
going to grow strong. 

461
00:28:00,120 --> 00:28:03,280
What I find fascinating is 
there's no such thing as a tree 

462
00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:06,400
growing show. 
I mean by this, like, hey, if 

463
00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:08,400
there's going to be a huge 
storm, guess what happens? 

464
00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:10,120
Like especially in the Midwest, 
there's these huge storms. 

465
00:28:10,120 --> 00:28:11,880
Or even here we get the big 
haboos and the lightning is 

466
00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:13,360
going. 
People will go outside on their 

467
00:28:13,360 --> 00:28:15,480
porch like, oh, let's go look at
the lightning, right? 

468
00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:20,320
It's flashy, it's powerful, it's
loud, and it's instant. 

469
00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:24,560
But nobody goes. 
Outside and goes hey, let me 

470
00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:26,640
watch my tree grow for the 
afternoon. 

471
00:28:35,120 --> 00:28:37,520
You are going to grow. 
But. 

472
00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:39,200
It's going to be much. 
Slower than you think. 

473
00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:44,200
So to be happy. 
In God's work in you, you have 

474
00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:47,360
to have the right expectation of
the speed with which He changes 

475
00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:50,520
you. 
Otherwise. 

476
00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:53,440
Guess what? 
We'll be disappointed. 

477
00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:56,320
Like the wicked, the wicked are 
not so. 

478
00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:58,040
They are not planted by streams 
of water. 

479
00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:00,680
They don't yield fruit in its 
season, but rather they are like

480
00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:03,760
chaff. 
Chaff is like a corn husk. 

481
00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:07,320
It's the part of the vegetation 
that just does not matter. 

482
00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:10,920
RIP to all of us who live here. 
Corn is just not as good here as

483
00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:12,320
it is in the Midwest where I 
grew up. 

484
00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:17,160
OK, on the 4th of July I will be
eating corn, but it won't be the

485
00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:18,640
corn I want, so it'll just be 
corn. 

486
00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:20,560
That is something else. 
The thing about chaff that you 

487
00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:23,040
have to note that the the 
author's getting at is that 

488
00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:26,720
chaff is rootless, useless, and 
weightless. 

489
00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:30,520
The thing about chaff the. 
Corn husk, what is it? 

490
00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:32,640
It is rootless. 
It is not attached to anything. 

491
00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:34,840
You could just RIP it right off.
It is useless. 

492
00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:37,040
It does nothing after you have 
the fruit. 

493
00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:40,400
But it also is weightless. 
It has no density. 

494
00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:43,120
It has nothing to. 
It. 

495
00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:47,400
It's not sturdy, not. 
Productive, not growing, not 

496
00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:50,400
dependent. 
But sometimes we find ourselves 

497
00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:52,600
here on Earth and we get like 
chaff envy. 

498
00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:55,760
We look at the things happening 
us in the world and we look at 

499
00:29:55,760 --> 00:29:58,040
the chaff and we're like, man, 
they just got it so much better 

500
00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:05,160
than we do. 
We're like Dang it, why is it 

501
00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:06,880
their life so much better than 
mine? 

502
00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:11,000
Why can't I be like? 
Her Why can't I be like him? 

503
00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:14,800
Why can't I look like him? 
Why can't I have their life? 

504
00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:22,360
And we want the chaff. 
What if God was inviting? 

505
00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:25,800
You to thrive not inside of 
somebody else's placement, but 

506
00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:29,400
your very own. 
That where God has you. 

507
00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:30,960
Exactly where He intends to use 
you. 

508
00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:35,640
That the life that you have 
right now is the placement of 

509
00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:39,920
God Himself. 
He's picked the. 

510
00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:43,320
Place that you live, he's picked
the job that you have, he's 

511
00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:44,760
picked the relationships that 
you have. 

512
00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:50,520
And he says, hey, thrive here, 
not there, wherever there is, 

513
00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:55,760
but right here, right now with 
these kids, with this family on 

514
00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:59,840
this street, in this apartment, 
thriving inside of God's 

515
00:30:59,920 --> 00:31:02,960
placement. 
A friend of mine, his name is. 

516
00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:06,600
Clem He was a legendary leader 
for me in student ministry back 

517
00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:09,600
in Illinois. 
He was a student ministry 

518
00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:14,920
leader, meaning 6th grade 
through 12th grade for 15 years.

519
00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:18,680
There's a crown awaiting. 
This man in heaven, I promise 

520
00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:21,040
you, because if you've ever done
middle school or high school 

521
00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:24,960
ministry, you know that that is 
one of the most difficult jobs 

522
00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:27,120
in the entire church. 
And he not did. 

523
00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:31,160
He not only did seven years with
one group, he did it again. 

524
00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:34,040
And now he's starting over for 
1/3 lap around the track. 

525
00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:37,120
I mean, this guy is a student 
ministry legend. 

526
00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:40,840
He's a volunteer. 
He wasn't the flashiest. 

527
00:31:40,840 --> 00:31:47,520
He wasn't the loudest. 
But he was faithful and 15 

528
00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:48,560
years. 
Into disciple making. 

529
00:31:48,560 --> 00:31:50,880
I look back at those students 
who are in Klim's group and 

530
00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:52,960
guess what? 
I find disciples. 

531
00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:56,560
I find people with lives change 
because he was faithful. 

532
00:31:56,720 --> 00:32:00,440
Just do the thing right in front
of him again and again and again

533
00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:02,960
every Sunday night. 
Just showing up again and loving

534
00:32:02,960 --> 00:32:04,520
the students in front of him 
again. 

535
00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:08,600
Loving his wife again. 
Loving his two kids again. 

536
00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:14,200
He thrived inside of the. 
Placement of God John 1511 The 

537
00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:16,800
reason God tells us to abide in 
him, to depend on him, like we 

538
00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:20,360
just saying, is this, that your 
joy may be full. 

539
00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:26,400
God wants you to experience full
and lasting joy, but you won't 

540
00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:29,800
have it if you're constantly 
looking at another person's 

541
00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:32,600
life. 
You have to look at where God 

542
00:32:32,600 --> 00:32:36,560
has placed you and cling to Him.
And guess what? 

543
00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:41,200
You will thrive inside of God's 
placement and ultimately have a 

544
00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:43,680
happy life forth and finally 
we're. 

545
00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:47,160
Trying to have a happy. 
Life through a righteous life, 

546
00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:51,680
righteous in our expectations, 
righteous in our attitudes, 

547
00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:53,800
righteous in what fills our 
mind. 

548
00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:57,840
But also we need this. 
God makes me happiest when I 

549
00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:03,840
forth hope for his better 
tomorrow, hope for his better 

550
00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:05,560
tomorrow. 
See, if happiness is just here 

551
00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:09,080
on earth, right here, right now,
then we actually can't have it. 

552
00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:10,560
Because what happens after we 
die? 

553
00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:13,040
What happens with our grief? 
What happens with our 

554
00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:15,240
disappointment? 
What happens in the ultimate 

555
00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:18,560
sense? 
And I think that. 

556
00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:22,840
Many of us as we're navigating 
life, examining others, we ask 

557
00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:26,120
ourselves, why do they seem just
as happy as I do, even though 

558
00:33:26,120 --> 00:33:28,320
I'm living the way of the 
righteous and they're living the

559
00:33:28,320 --> 00:33:30,240
way of the wicked? 
Because look at what verse 5 

560
00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:32,000
says. 
It says, therefore the wicked 

561
00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:35,080
aren't going to stand in the 
judgement day, nor the sinners 

562
00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:37,400
are going to be in the 
congregation of the righteous. 

563
00:33:37,560 --> 00:33:40,840
For the Lord knows the way of 
the righteous, but the way of 

564
00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:44,600
the wicked will perish, and. 
What God is telling. 

565
00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:47,240
Us right there in verses 5 and 6
is something critical for us to 

566
00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:53,080
having true ultimate happiness. 
He's saying that this. 

567
00:33:53,080 --> 00:33:57,800
Life ain't it. 
The next life is really what 

568
00:33:57,800 --> 00:34:01,520
matters most. 
That if you live for. 

569
00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:05,600
Today and reject eternity. 
You will regret it forever. 

570
00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:10,040
That if you live for. 
Happiness only in this life and 

571
00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:15,400
not the joy of being in 
relationship with Jesus. 

572
00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:19,400
You won't just regret that for 5
minutes, you will regret that 

573
00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:24,159
forever. 
Because that's a. 

574
00:34:24,159 --> 00:34:29,639
Place spent under his discipline
and God's wrath perpetually. 

575
00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:35,679
The way of the wicked. 
The Way of the Wicked. 

576
00:34:36,320 --> 00:34:39,760
Results in eternity spent apart 
from God's grace that they. 

577
00:34:41,239 --> 00:34:43,880
Are judged for. 
Their sin based off their 

578
00:34:44,080 --> 00:34:47,480
righteousness, not Jesus. 
And you don't want to be judged 

579
00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:50,480
off your righteousness, you want
to be judged off His, because 

580
00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:54,080
the standard for God. 
His entry ticket into. 

581
00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:58,560
Heaven is perfection, perfect 
righteousness. 

582
00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:03,120
And you don't have. 
That So what's your hope? 

583
00:35:04,160 --> 00:35:06,400
Is it to just bring? 
Your life to God and say hey, 

584
00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:09,320
let me in. 
Hey, I had a happy. 

585
00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:11,640
Life. 
But I didn't care about you. 

586
00:35:11,640 --> 00:35:14,320
I didn't care about your ways. 
I didn't live for you. 

587
00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:17,160
I disobeyed you at every turn. 
I rebelled against you. 

588
00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:21,760
So here's my. 
Somewhat righteous life you're. 

589
00:35:25,080 --> 00:35:28,120
Going to be turned away because 
here's what the. 

590
00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:31,160
Lord knows. 
Look, the Lord knows that Lord 

591
00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:33,080
loves. 
The Lord welcomes into 

592
00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:38,680
relationship with him the way of
the righteous, but the way of 

593
00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:43,080
the wicked will perish. 
The Lord knows the righteous. 

594
00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:48,000
He knows you, He sees you, He 
cares about you. 

595
00:35:48,240 --> 00:35:51,400
So believer who is here today 
and struggling like man, if I 

596
00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:54,360
could just do my business like 
that guy runs his business, 

597
00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:55,360
guess what? 
I'd be happy because I might 

598
00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:58,360
have more money. 
I'd have the bigger boat. 

599
00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:00,640
I'd have the bigger house. 
I'd have the better career, the 

600
00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:03,240
better friend circle, the better
looks, the vacations, the 

601
00:36:03,240 --> 00:36:05,640
wardrobe, the influence. 
If you look at your life and 

602
00:36:05,640 --> 00:36:07,640
you're comparing it to other 
people, guess what? 

603
00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:09,520
Your joy will be stolen from 
you. 

604
00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:11,840
But if? 
Rather you get. 

605
00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:13,480
Vertical with and you go wait a 
second. 

606
00:36:14,120 --> 00:36:16,320
I can be happiest. 
I can hope for better tomorrow 

607
00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:19,920
because Jesus Christ knows me. 
He. 

608
00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:23,160
Knows me. 
And he sees everything I'm going

609
00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:26,160
through. 
He sees the difficulty to make 

610
00:36:26,160 --> 00:36:27,960
ends meet. 
He sees the difficulty of 

611
00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:30,440
relationships you have. 
He sees it all. 

612
00:36:30,440 --> 00:36:33,120
He's saying, guess what? 
If you would just endure. 

613
00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:36,600
If you would just wait. 
And remain. 

614
00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:40,880
In me and trust that I see you 
know you care about you. 

615
00:36:42,240 --> 00:36:47,840
And hope for better tomorrow. 
That happiness is accessible. 

616
00:36:49,400 --> 00:36:52,400
It's not just a concept. 
It's your reality. 

617
00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:57,600
You get to live as. 
A person who experiences joy. 

618
00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:00,960
Because you have the joy of 
knowing. 

619
00:37:00,960 --> 00:37:05,000
Him and you can hope for better 
tomorrow and so. 

620
00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:07,360
As we descend. 
As people, we're humble people 

621
00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:10,880
who sink lower and lower on 
earth because we're emulating 

622
00:37:10,880 --> 00:37:14,120
our Savior who came not to be a 
servant, not to serve, but to be

623
00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:17,560
a servant for everybody else. 
That we are consistently and 

624
00:37:17,560 --> 00:37:19,680
continually putting others 
before ourselves, putting the 

625
00:37:19,680 --> 00:37:22,560
Kingdom before ourselves. 
Guess what that is us saying 

626
00:37:23,440 --> 00:37:26,560
with our lives, That we believe 
in the next life more than this 

627
00:37:26,560 --> 00:37:30,120
one. 
That we put others more than 

628
00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:31,680
ourselves. 
That we have what the Bible 

629
00:37:31,680 --> 00:37:35,040
calls a blessed hope. 
I think it's. 

630
00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:36,080
Interesting that that's the 
word. 

631
00:37:36,320 --> 00:37:39,720
That the Bible uses because 
guess what, we have a blessed 

632
00:37:39,720 --> 00:37:41,560
hope because Jesus Christ lived 
the perfect life. 

633
00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:43,040
He died the death we should have
died. 

634
00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:44,960
He rose over death itself. 
Why? 

635
00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:48,200
So that we could experience the 
joy of being in a relationship 

636
00:37:48,200 --> 00:37:50,760
with God just as he always 
intended for us to have. 

637
00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:55,360
That the happy life is through 
the righteous life we too can 

638
00:37:55,720 --> 00:37:59,080
experience the. 
Flourishing of being in 

639
00:37:59,080 --> 00:38:02,240
relationship. 
With God, that happy is the one 

640
00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:05,840
who walks not in the counsel of 
the wicked, nor. 

641
00:38:05,840 --> 00:38:08,120
Stands nor sits. 
But rather, their delight is in 

642
00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:12,640
the law of the Lord, and because
the Lord knows the way of the 

643
00:38:12,640 --> 00:38:14,160
righteous. 
So let me close with this 

644
00:38:14,160 --> 00:38:16,720
question for you. 
What? 

645
00:38:16,720 --> 00:38:19,560
Could you do this summer? 
What choice would you make that 

646
00:38:19,560 --> 00:38:23,000
would make your life 10 times 
more righteous and therefore 

647
00:38:23,120 --> 00:38:28,200
therefore 10 times more happy? 
What choice could you make? 

648
00:38:28,200 --> 00:38:33,400
This week and this summer, that 
with 10X your happiness because 

649
00:38:33,400 --> 00:38:38,960
it's 10X more righteous. 
What choice could you make this?

650
00:38:38,960 --> 00:38:43,480
Summer, I'd venture to guess 
that you would fall on the lines

651
00:38:43,480 --> 00:38:46,880
of what Henry Nowen said. 
I'll close with this quote. 

652
00:38:48,240 --> 00:38:51,560
Henry Nowen says this. 
That I saw more clearly than 

653
00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:56,600
ever that the first great 
primary business to which I 

654
00:38:56,600 --> 00:39:01,200
ought to attend to every day, 
was to have my soul happy in the

655
00:39:01,200 --> 00:39:05,120
Lord. 
Not how much. 

656
00:39:05,120 --> 00:39:08,640
I might serve the Lord, but how 
I might get my soul into a happy

657
00:39:08,640 --> 00:39:11,520
state, How my inner man might be
nourished. 

658
00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:15,280
For I might seek to. 
Set the truth before the 

659
00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:17,160
unconverted. 
I might seek to benefit 

660
00:39:17,160 --> 00:39:19,640
believers. 
And yet, if I'm not happy in the

661
00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:22,760
Lord, not being nourished and 
strengthened in my inner self 

662
00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:26,960
day by day, all this, all the 
good things God invites me to, 

663
00:39:27,160 --> 00:39:29,640
might not be done in a right 
spirit. 

664
00:39:34,040 --> 00:39:35,560
Now I saw. 
That the most important thing 

665
00:39:35,560 --> 00:39:39,280
that I had to do was to give 
myself to the reading of the 

666
00:39:39,280 --> 00:39:42,320
Word of God, and to meditation 
upon it. 

667
00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:46,800
That thus my heart might be 
comforted, encouraged, warned, 

668
00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:51,520
reproved, instructed, and that 
thus, by means of the Word of 

669
00:39:51,520 --> 00:39:56,560
God, while meditating on it, my 
heart might be brought into 

670
00:39:56,560 --> 00:39:58,720
experimental communion with the 
Lord. 

671
00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:03,880
What's he saying? 
That being with God is supposed 

672
00:40:03,880 --> 00:40:05,360
to be the happiest place you 
are. 

673
00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:19,080
Is everywhere. 
The difference isn't not whether

674
00:40:19,080 --> 00:40:21,800
he is drawing near to you, it's 
whether or not you're drawing 

675
00:40:21,800 --> 00:40:24,480
near to him. 
So I'll invite you to just take 

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00:40:24,480 --> 00:40:29,200
a moment to sing, to draw near 
to God. 

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00:40:30,720 --> 00:40:33,160
To worship him. 
That. 

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00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:37,280
As we March this summer. 
Toward a righteous life that St.

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00:40:37,280 --> 00:40:39,440
City will be marked by some of 
the happiest people in these 

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00:40:39,440 --> 00:40:42,240
valley because we live a 
righteous life.