We are being influenced by more than we notice. The things that we find enjoyment in are indeed the most subtle influencers. As music or a song lyric would entertain our attention, we slowly and subtly become conformed to the ideas contained therein.

The songs of a nation shape that nation’s ideology and values, and the songs of scripture are found in the book of Psalms. Today we will examine the 1st Psalm and uncover our design to be found fueled and influenced by God’s Word for a steadfast and fruitful life.

Observations & Conclusions:

1. There is a progression to rebellion
2. Devotion to God’s Word is a question of desire
3. Love for God’s Word leads to steadfastness and fruitfulness
4. The wicked go where the wind blows
5. The wicked have no hope
6. The righteous are protected, the wicked will perish

Application: 

You are shaped by what you love 

– What are the influences in your life?

– Do you find God’s Word desirous?

Deepen your relationship with the Living Word: Jesus Christ

Andrew Fletcher: 1704

“Let me write the songs of a nation, and I care not who writes its laws.”

David Foster Wallace

“In the day to day trenches of life, there is no such thing as atheism.  There is no such thing as not worshipping.  Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship… The insidious thing about these forms of worship is not that they’re evil or sinful; it is that they are unconscious.  They are default settings.  They’re the kind of worship you just gradually slip into, day after day, getting more and more selective about what you see and how you measure value without ever being fully aware that that’s what you’re doing.” 

James 1:13-15

“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
    and never fails to bear fruit.”

John 5:39-40

“You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”