WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:08.240 So uh we are going to be going through this summer uh three different psalms in the book of Psalms. 00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:11.199 Um, if you know anything about the book of Psalms, there's a lot of them. 00:00:11.359 --> 00:00:13.759 We're not gonna cover the entire book over the summer. 00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:15.519 Um, that would not be possible. 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:18.719 Uh but this summer we are going to go over three of them. 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:22.320 And so uh tonight we're gonna be in Psalm chapter one. 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:27.760 Um, and in a few weeks on July 23rd, we're gonna be in Psalm 23. 00:00:27.839 --> 00:00:29.440 So Psalm 23 on the 23rd. 00:00:29.519 --> 00:00:30.399 Come on, let's go. 00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:36.000 And then uh July 14th, we're going to be in Psalm 34. 00:00:36.159 --> 00:00:38.399 So those are the three Psalms we're gonna be covering. 00:00:38.560 --> 00:00:48.560 Um they are they aren't like tied necessarily in like they're the same kind of psalm or or even they're in the in the same theme, um, but we're going to go over each one of them individually. 00:00:48.640 --> 00:00:52.000 So if you miss one of the weeks, don't feel like, oh my gosh, I don't know where we're at in the series. 00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:53.359 Uh they're different psalms. 00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:57.280 Um, and that's kind of how we're going to go through this summer. 00:00:57.439 --> 00:01:01.439 We're gonna have two other new speakers um other than me. 00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:03.600 So uh this is the last time I'm speaking all summer. 00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:04.959 Um it's all it's great. 00:01:05.040 --> 00:01:05.920 I'm excited. 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:09.040 Um and uh excited for our guest speakers. 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:12.959 Um not excited to not speak to you guys, but um Parker's really excited about it. 00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:18.480 So um but yeah, excited for your uh for those two guys to be able to speak to you this summer. 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:22.879 So uh if you haven't started flipping your Bible to Psalm 1, you can go ahead and start doing that. 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:24.799 Um that's where we're going to be tonight. 00:01:24.879 --> 00:01:27.200 But I want to start with a little bit of a story. 00:01:27.439 --> 00:01:32.000 Um, how many of you have ever been to the Dallas Fort Worth airport? 00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:34.640 One, two, anybody? 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:35.200 That's it. 00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:35.680 Okay. 00:01:35.760 --> 00:01:42.879 Well, Dallas Fort Worth um is a very, in my opinion, poorly designed airport. 00:01:43.040 --> 00:01:45.920 Um I was there, this was about a month ago. 00:01:46.079 --> 00:01:53.680 Um for some reason one of my friends wanted to fly me down to Tulsa where his church is uh to speak to his students uh at an event. 00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:56.640 And so my connecting flight was through Dallas. 00:01:56.879 --> 00:02:10.560 And if you know anything about Dallas, it's really hard to get from one end of the airport to the other end of the airport, okay, without the use of this special thing called the Skylink, I think is what they call it, but most people just call it the tram, okay? 00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:14.719 So you have to take a train to go from one end to the airport to the other end. 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:20.960 And if you don't, you'll find yourself walking literally for miles to get to your gate. 00:02:21.120 --> 00:02:21.360 Okay? 00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:23.199 Yeah, you're nodding your head, you get it. 00:02:23.360 --> 00:02:31.520 Uh and so I had this flight, and I uh I had a 40-minute layover, 4-0, okay, in the Dallas airport. 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:33.840 And the gates were not right next to each other. 00:02:34.080 --> 00:02:39.919 So I have I was sitting on the airplane and I was like, man, I don't know if I'm gonna make my next flight. 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:41.759 I think I'm gonna be stranded in Dallas. 00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:47.599 I'm like texting all my friends that live in the DFW area and like, hey, just in case, like be ready to come pick me up. 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:52.400 And so I'm on the flight, and uh, and everybody's like, ah, you'll be fine, just take the tram. 00:02:52.479 --> 00:02:55.120 Like, you're gonna be okay, like the tram's gonna get you there. 00:02:55.280 --> 00:02:56.560 Everybody takes the tram. 00:02:56.719 --> 00:02:57.599 That's the way. 00:02:57.759 --> 00:02:59.439 Like, it's gonna be smooth. 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:04.240 And on the flight next to me, there was a lady that flies through DFW all the time. 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:12.319 And she leans over to me and she goes, Hey, the tram's actually closed in that section that you're trying to ride it in, like right now. 00:03:12.479 --> 00:03:14.400 It's closed from 10 a.m. 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:15.520 to 1 p.m. 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:19.520 And I literally landed at 10 01 a.m. 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:23.520 So there's no access to the tram, but nobody else knows it on the plane. 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:24.400 It's just this lady. 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:29.360 She's like this, like, it's like she just kind of appeared out of nowhere, leaned into my ear, like, hey, the tram's not working. 00:03:29.599 --> 00:03:32.080 And so I was faced with a choice. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:58.240 I could either try to assume that the tram is working and go with the rest of the thousands of people that are probably gonna try to take the tram to their destination, or I could listen to this lady who has flown a bunch of times through this airport, who knows the airport like the back of her hand, and seems to know this like insider information that makes that decision to walk seem a little bit less, you know, um stinky, right? 00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:06.560 So I'm uh uh I am faced with a choice, and so what I end up deciding to do was I took the advice of the veteran. 00:04:06.719 --> 00:04:10.080 Okay, I didn't listen to other people saying I could take the tram. 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:22.560 I get off the plane, I've got 40 minutes to make it to my next gate, and I literally put it in on my on my Apple Maps, and it said 1.5 miles to my gate, like the walking path. 00:04:22.639 --> 00:04:24.720 You know you can turn on walking pathway, yeah. 00:04:24.959 --> 00:04:30.160 And so I just took off not running, jogging, pretty brisk jog. 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:33.759 And I eventually made it to my destination, right? 00:04:33.920 --> 00:04:37.759 But on the way, I saw like almost no one else taking the same path as me. 00:04:37.920 --> 00:04:42.639 I mean, it was like two or three other people that maybe met that lady on the plane too. 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:43.199 I don't know. 00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:46.959 They're they're the only ones that are walking around the whole Dallas airport. 00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:50.240 And what happened was I eventually got there with five minutes to spare. 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:52.319 Okay, I had enough time to go to the restroom. 00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:58.720 I had enough time to go to the old Hudson News uh kiosk and get some snacks, and I made it onto my plane. 00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:10.079 But what I realized was as we were boarding, is that not a lot of the people that were on the plane with me that said that they were going to Tulsa, which was a decent amount, were there. 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:13.120 It was just me and like one other person, this lady. 00:05:13.279 --> 00:05:22.319 And so I realized that I took the road less traveled, but all the people who took the most popular road didn't seem to make it to their flight on time. 00:05:22.639 --> 00:05:22.959 Okay? 00:05:23.360 --> 00:05:38.000 So I took this least popular path and I ended up getting where I was going, but I had to trust in this person who knew more than me to try to arrive at my destination in the way that I was supposed to. 00:05:38.639 --> 00:05:41.360 Now, why am I sharing this story with you? 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:45.519 So the point of sharing this story isn't actually about navigating this airport, right? 00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:47.920 None of you really care about the DFW airport. 00:05:48.079 --> 00:05:53.120 But it is about two pathways that were available to everyone on my flight. 00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:59.439 Okay, pathway one, the majority, was this promised easy way on the tram, right? 00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:01.279 Riding from one terminal to another. 00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:07.600 People talked about how great the tram was, how easy it was to take, how smoothly it got you to your destination, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:08.000 Okay. 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:14.639 But the truth about pathway one is that it actually never even got them to their destination like they thought it was going to. 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:15.120 Right? 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:18.319 They walked up to that tram and the doors were shut. 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:22.399 They didn't go to where they thought they were going to go on this pathway. 00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:29.600 They were just stuck and they ended up missing their flight, probably, and fell into the trap of believing that the easiest way was the best way. 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:37.680 Pathway two, which is the pathway that I took, the minority pathway, was to take the road less traveled. 00:06:37.839 --> 00:06:41.120 But not just less traveled, but also proven. 00:06:41.439 --> 00:06:48.639 Okay, and using your God-given legs and beasting out that one and a half miles inside the Dallas Fort Worth airport. 00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:50.800 This way was not the easiest way, all right? 00:06:50.879 --> 00:06:53.680 I was very sweaty by the time I got there, shamefully so. 00:06:53.839 --> 00:06:58.000 I thought at times that I had a little bit of FOMO for not hopping on the tram at a certain certain point. 00:06:58.079 --> 00:06:59.680 I didn't know how long it was under construction. 00:06:59.759 --> 00:07:07.279 I I maybe could have got back on, but I was listening to the words of this lady stuck in my head saying, take this way, it will be better. 00:07:07.519 --> 00:07:10.879 Okay, that was what was living rent-free in my head. 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:24.800 And the truth about pathway two, the path that I took, is that even though it seemed harder, more difficult, caused a little bit more sweat, and honestly, on the surface, a worse option, it actually ended up me getting me there with plenty of time to spare. 00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:27.120 And I made it to my destination. 00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:30.879 I had almost nobody in front of me crossing from terminal to terminal. 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:33.279 I got to use all of those things that I wanted to do. 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:38.319 I loosened my legs up and it ended up being way better and way more worth it. 00:07:38.560 --> 00:07:43.199 I chose pathway two, not knowing fully sure what it would be like in front of me. 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:48.399 Nobody really knows until you're there and you're running through the airport like Kevin McAllister's family and home alone. 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:48.879 Okay? 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:56.879 I chose that pathway because there was someone, a seasoned veteran, who knew what the pathway would look like and who told me this is the best way. 00:07:57.120 --> 00:08:01.360 And I looked at that someone who knew more than me and said, I'll trust you. 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:02.160 Right? 00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:07.120 And like the DFW airport guru telling me which way to go is best. 00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:22.319 Our passage tonight in Psalm 1, where we're going to be camped out, the psalmist is going to portray two pathways that are available to all of us, not just for how we navigate an airport, but two ways that are available for how we are to live our entire lives. 00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:23.519 Sound good? 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:25.199 Okay, let's get into it. 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:27.839 Uh if you haven't turned there yet, get there in your Bibles. 00:08:28.079 --> 00:08:32.159 I just mind flopped with my hand for some reason, so I'm not even there. 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:34.639 Psalm one, I'll read it for us. 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:36.000 Verse one. 00:08:36.720 --> 00:08:38.080 The two ways. 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:46.639 How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners, or sit in the company of mockers. 00:08:46.799 --> 00:08:52.720 Instead, his delight is in the Lord's instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. 00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:59.440 He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. 00:08:59.679 --> 00:09:02.000 Whatever he does prospers. 00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:04.799 The wicked are not like this. 00:09:04.960 --> 00:09:08.639 Instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away. 00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:14.960 Therefore, the wicked will not stand up in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:20.559 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin. 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:29.919 Okay, so in our passage tonight, it just laid out two sort of contrasting ways that people can live. 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:36.159 Okay, he paints this picture of two ways that living that we will determine as God's way. 00:09:36.399 --> 00:09:40.879 Okay, the first one, none of this is going to be up on the screen, by the way, so if you're waiting for it to flash, it's not gonna be there. 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:44.320 God's way and the world's way. 00:09:44.879 --> 00:09:47.039 Okay, God's way and the world's way. 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:58.879 God's way is drawn from verses one through three, and it's the way of living in which the Lord and his word are valued above all other relationships and wisdom. 00:09:59.600 --> 00:10:02.720 Okay, God first over everything. 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:04.720 That is God's way. 00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:12.480 The second way that we talked about, or we we saw through here, is the world's way. 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:23.840 This is drawn from verses four and five, and it's the way in living in which one's own selfish desires, relationships, and thoughts are valued above all else. 00:10:24.960 --> 00:10:25.279 Okay? 00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:28.000 Your way is another way to say that. 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:31.120 God's way and the world's way. 00:10:32.159 --> 00:10:37.840 And what's interesting about our passage is that the psalmist only gives these two ways that we can live in this little section. 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:38.159 Right? 00:10:38.320 --> 00:10:40.720 He can't say everything, but this is what he is saying. 00:10:40.960 --> 00:10:44.000 He's saying that there is no gray area. 00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:52.639 He doesn't talk about people who are halfway on God's way, who are halfway following God, or halfway on the world's way. 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:57.360 And you want to know how I know that that is true, that there is no gray area? 00:10:57.840 --> 00:11:01.440 Because I have tried to live both. 00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:05.679 Personally, I have tried to live both. 00:11:05.919 --> 00:11:12.639 Okay, when I was in college, I was trying my absolute hardest to toe the line on both of these pathways. 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:15.840 Okay, I was living a double life, right? 00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:17.200 Is another way to say that. 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:27.120 I wanted to value the Lord and his word because at my core I knew that that was true, but I also wanted to value my selfish desires. 00:11:27.440 --> 00:11:31.279 Okay, I tried to get crunk and get to church too. 00:11:31.440 --> 00:11:37.120 Okay, that probably made me date me quite a bit, but I know Jared liked it, so it's fine. 00:11:37.440 --> 00:11:49.519 But it was truly an absolute disaster trying to tow the line of like showing up on church after partying the night before, rinse, repeat, weekend after weekend. 00:11:50.480 --> 00:11:55.200 So these two pathways are incompatible with each other. 00:11:55.440 --> 00:12:06.159 And what is maybe more true to me now than ever before is that you can't be halfway in or halfway out when it comes to God's way and walking in the world's way. 00:12:06.799 --> 00:12:10.000 There is no halfway pathway. 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:13.679 Okay, so what exactly does it look like to walk these two paths? 00:12:13.840 --> 00:12:15.840 Okay, first let's look at God's way. 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:18.559 Let's read verses one through three again. 00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:27.039 How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners, or sit in the company of mockers. 00:12:27.360 --> 00:12:33.840 Instead, his delight is in the Lord's instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. 00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:44.799 He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither, whatever he does prospers. 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:46.799 Okay. 00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:51.200 What do we notice about the person who walks in God's way in these first three verses? 00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:59.440 I want to give us three characteristics, again, not going to be up on the screen, sorry for you note takers, uh, of one person who walks in God's way. 00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:01.120 Okay, so three characteristics. 00:13:01.360 --> 00:13:05.200 First one is this it's fleeing evil. 00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:07.360 Okay, fleeing evil. 00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:08.960 This comes from verse one. 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:23.120 It says this How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked, or stand in the pathway with sinners, or sit in the company of mockers. 00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:32.799 Verse one shows us that the one who walks in God's way is someone who is fleeing from evil, not running towards it. 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:35.759 Okay, we see them fleeing from evil in three ways. 00:13:35.919 --> 00:13:39.360 One, not seeking advice from wicked people. 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:48.399 Okay, they don't act like wicked people don't exist, but they just don't seek out advice from people who they know don't know the Lord when they need counsel. 00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:50.799 Okay, they don't seek advice from wicked people. 00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:56.000 Two, they're not living in the same way as sinners. 00:13:56.480 --> 00:14:08.639 People that are walking in God's way are not pretending to be perfect because they're not, and they are also not pretending to forget that they were once walking in the same lifestyle as everyone else. 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:13.360 The same direction, the same pathway of those who don't know God. 00:14:14.879 --> 00:14:20.559 But they are choosing to live set apart through the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:27.360 Third, they're not spending a bunch of time with mockers. 00:14:27.919 --> 00:14:28.080 Okay? 00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:29.200 What does this mean? 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:33.200 Well, they're not exclusively hanging around with people who don't believe in Jesus. 00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:34.240 Okay? 00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:37.360 Now, most people aren't gonna be in danger of this if you grew up in church. 00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:39.759 You're probably actually gonna swing on the other side of the pendulum. 00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:45.039 You're gonna be more in danger of being around Christians exclusively than a sea of non-Christians. 00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:45.519 Okay. 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:54.879 But if you didn't grow up in church, or you maybe became a Christian more recently, you might be in danger of exclusively hanging out with non-Christians. 00:14:56.080 --> 00:15:09.600 And the truth is that the people who are walking in God's way, they're spending time with both Christians and non-Christians, and they're balancing fellowship with believers and mission to non-believers. 00:15:11.600 --> 00:15:16.000 Okay, that's characteristic number one of walking in God's way, fleeing evil. 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:20.399 Characteristic number two is this it's faithful study. 00:15:21.519 --> 00:15:22.960 Okay, this comes from verse two. 00:15:23.440 --> 00:15:38.080 Verse two says this instead, instead of, in other words, walking in the advice of the wicked, standing in the path with sinners, or sitting in the company of mockers, instead, his delight is in the Lord's instruction. 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:43.039 And he meditates on it day and night. 00:15:44.399 --> 00:15:51.440 If you're fleeing evil, you have to replace your old habits with some new ones. 00:15:52.639 --> 00:15:58.240 Or in other words, you need to replace your old sinful habits with some holy ones. 00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:10.000 While everyone who is walking in God's way should flee from sin, everyone should also faithfully study God's word to replace your old habits. 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:12.320 Okay, that should be part of it. 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:17.519 God and his word are the key to walking in God's way for the long haul. 00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:30.799 While other people are walking in the world's way are listening to all sorts of voices and opinions and kind of navigating this ever-changing cultural landscape, God and his word remain exactly the same. 00:16:31.120 --> 00:16:33.679 It's the only thing that's constant. 00:16:34.320 --> 00:16:42.960 So when we faithfully study, we eventually develop a delight for God and His Word, and we can't get enough of it. 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:51.039 Okay, you might not feel it right now, you might not feel it every single day, but over time that will develop within you when you faithfully study God's word. 00:16:51.279 --> 00:17:04.880 Because when you realize that God's word is actually the best thing that you can be consuming, it's not TikTok, it's not Instagram, it's not whatever else you're doing, shopping, thrift shopping on your phone, I don't know what you're doing, right? 00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:06.880 It's better than that. 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:16.000 And once you realize that, you can see the delight that we have in reading these eternal truths of the Bible, you won't want to go any other way. 00:17:17.279 --> 00:17:17.599 Okay. 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:30.480 And when we flee evil, when we faithfully study God's Word, when we are really walking in God's way, what it leads to is it leads to a flourishing life. 00:17:30.880 --> 00:17:33.359 Okay, this is the third characteristic here. 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:34.559 Let's read verse three. 00:17:34.799 --> 00:17:35.920 That's where this comes from. 00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:46.319 He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. 00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:50.000 Whatever he does, he prospers. 00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:52.000 Okay. 00:17:52.480 --> 00:18:00.079 So the psalmist uses an image of a tree here to illustrate sort of this idea of what following God's way is like when you're all in. 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:01.039 Okay. 00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:04.079 You ever see a gigantic tree next to like a creek before? 00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:04.720 Right? 00:18:05.039 --> 00:18:07.200 You ever seen one that's like super, super dead? 00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:08.880 It's like a flowing creek? 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:09.839 Not really. 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:10.480 Right? 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:23.119 They have seemingly endless water supply flowing right next to them, available to them, to the point where they're so well nourished, they're so well fed from that stream that they never seem to be able to die. 00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:32.240 Okay, and the creek in this picture that the psalmist gives us is not a literal water source, but instead it's the Lord of the universe. 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:38.240 See, if you're walking in God's way, you're eternally nourished by God Himself. 00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:44.319 Not something that's temporary, not something that will go away, but eternal nourishment through God. 00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:51.680 Like this is not your ordinary way of life, but this is a flourishing life. 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:59.039 Okay, there's a difference between living your life in a normal way and living a flourishing life that God intended for you. 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:07.359 This is a life that God intended for every single person on earth to have before we sinned. 00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:10.079 Before the Garden of Eden. 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:15.839 See, in Genesis 1 and 2, Adam and Eve, the first humans, okay, they were living with God in harmony. 00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:21.440 They were walking in God's way, literally walking with God in the Garden of Eden. 00:19:21.680 --> 00:19:29.039 And we were doing everything exactly like God had intended until Genesis 3. 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:33.200 If you're familiar with the story, you know what happens here. 00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:50.960 In an instant, through one choice to go against God and his way and go the world's way, sin enters the world, and humans from then on have naturally not been choosing God's way anymore, but have naturally been choosing the world's way. 00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:58.000 They've gone the opposite of what God had intended for them and the way that they live their life. 00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:11.359 And over and over, time after time, over thousands and thousands of years, humans have continuously choose or chosen the world's way. 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:16.880 Because we ultimately are now sinful, selfish people by nature. 00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:17.519 Okay? 00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:22.160 You might not think that you're a sinful, selfish person, but ask your parents. 00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:23.759 You are. 00:20:24.640 --> 00:20:26.720 My three-year-old's a little sinner, okay? 00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:28.240 He's got a sinful nature in there. 00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:31.200 I'm just gonna tell you, you spent a couple hours with us, yeah, you'll see it. 00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:31.759 Right? 00:20:32.160 --> 00:20:34.319 If you think that people don't have it, they do. 00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:39.920 All right, and it's because of this, it's because of the decision in the garden to sin. 00:20:40.079 --> 00:20:41.039 Everyone is affected. 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:44.079 It doesn't matter whether you think you're the best person in the world or worst person in the world. 00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:48.640 Everybody has at least a little dose of that sin nature, including my son. 00:20:49.599 --> 00:20:59.839 And because of that, God's way, not the world's way, God's way is not just something that we can just like work our way back into if we want to. 00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:05.920 Okay, you can't earn something that was taken away from you by somebody who has all the authority. 00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:07.599 You can't earn that back. 00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:09.200 That's not how this works. 00:21:09.359 --> 00:21:12.400 It's not something we can be good enough to get back to choosing. 00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:16.640 So we need a savior. 00:21:17.440 --> 00:21:22.480 We need someone who will pave the way for us to be able to choose God's way again. 00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:26.880 And for thousands and thousands of years, people were waiting for a savior. 00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:33.599 They were waiting for somebody to come so that we can choose God's way again to enter Jesus. 00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:42.400 See, unlike any of all the other people who have ever walked the earth, Jesus did something we could never do. 00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:44.079 He never sinned. 00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:45.039 Okay. 00:21:45.680 --> 00:21:47.359 My kids are one and three. 00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:49.680 They've sinned a lot in one and three years. 00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:50.079 Okay? 00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:52.640 I've sinned an awful lot in my life. 00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:55.039 You have sinned an awful lot in your life. 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:59.200 But you know, the only person who has never sinned has been Jesus. 00:21:59.359 --> 00:21:59.759 That's it. 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:01.599 There's nobody else. 00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:03.359 Mother Teresa, sinner. 00:22:03.519 --> 00:22:04.640 Gandhi, sinner. 00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:07.920 Insert any other good person you can think of, sinner. 00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:09.200 Everyone's a sinner. 00:22:09.279 --> 00:22:09.599 Okay? 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:11.440 But Jesus never did. 00:22:11.759 --> 00:22:13.680 He did what we could never do. 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:17.839 Being fully man and fully God, he actually lived a perfect and sinless life. 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:20.640 Okay, how annoying would that must have been to be Jesus' sibling? 00:22:20.720 --> 00:22:20.880 Okay? 00:22:21.039 --> 00:22:22.079 Jesus had half siblings. 00:22:22.160 --> 00:22:24.240 They probably were super annoyed with Jesus all the time. 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:24.799 Okay? 00:22:25.119 --> 00:22:26.079 He never sinned. 00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:43.599 He bore the wrath of our sin, despite not deserving that punishment upon himself dying on a cross, but not staying dead, rising from the dead after three days later, defeating sin and death. 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:51.839 And because of what Jesus has done, not what we have done, but what Jesus has done, we are now being given a choice. 00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:52.960 Okay? 00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:59.359 We're being given a choice between two pathways to live our life. 00:23:00.559 --> 00:23:15.200 We're being given a choice between God's way, the way that God actually intended for us to live, the way that things are supposed to be, or the world's way. 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:25.119 The way that gives into our sinful nature and goes against how God desires for us to live. 00:23:26.079 --> 00:23:27.440 That's the choice. 00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:29.839 Okay, Julia, you can come on up. 00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:33.440 And here's the reality for us tonight. 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:40.079 Okay, the world's way to live, it's not the less popular way. 00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:44.799 The world's way to live is by far the most popular way. 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:49.200 Okay, the majority of people are choosing that pathway to live. 00:23:49.440 --> 00:23:54.640 But here's the thing about the world's path it leads to ruin. 00:23:55.279 --> 00:24:03.440 Okay, when I was trying to tow the line between those two ways of living, what was ruining me was not God's way, but it was the world's way. 00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:06.000 That was what was ruining me. 00:24:08.480 --> 00:24:18.240 But on the flip side, God's way to live, the road less traveled, it doesn't lead to ruin. 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:24.160 But it's actually the only thing that leads to life. 00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:34.799 So the question is, what way will you choose to live? 00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:38.160 You've been given a choice. 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:41.440 Not because your own merit, not because your own doing, but through Jesus. 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:49.519 Jesus has given you the choice to choose the world's way or to choose God's way. 00:24:50.480 --> 00:25:00.799 To choose trying to earn it on your own or to choose to rely on what Jesus has already done, the finished work of Jesus versus the work that we'll never measure up. 00:25:01.680 --> 00:25:07.279 You have the choice to make for yourself because Jesus has given you that gift. 00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:10.640 That gift of the choice of choosing him. 00:25:11.039 --> 00:25:18.799 Despite your nature wanting you to go the other direction, despite your nature wanting you to go the way of the world, Jesus has given you that choice. 00:25:19.200 --> 00:25:27.759 Okay, and you are here in this room tonight, and whether you've made that choice or not, you need to rest in the fact that Jesus has freely given that to you. 00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:31.680 And if you've placed your faith in Jesus already, rejoice. 00:25:32.640 --> 00:25:40.880 If you haven't placed your faith in Jesus yet, also rejoice because you've been given the option to choose Jesus. 00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:45.039 You could have never earned it on your own. 00:25:47.200 --> 00:25:52.960 So the question is, what way will you choose? 00:25:54.480 --> 00:26:00.160 What way will you choose to live your life with the one life that you've been given? 00:26:01.359 --> 00:26:10.480 My hope and prayer would be that each and every person in this room, all 20, whatever of you in here, would choose God's way. 00:26:11.119 --> 00:26:29.920 We go 100%, 20 for 20, nobody left behind, that we would choose God's way, that every single person in this room would choose not the common road, not the popular road, but the road less traveled, the narrow path, but also the road that leads to life through Jesus. 00:26:33.039 --> 00:26:55.839 Can you imagine the change that could come from a room of 20-some college students making the decision to not live their life the world's way, not go all the way of the rest of their peers that don't follow Jesus, but to choose to live their life God's way and not like the rest of the world. 00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:30.079 Affected by the gospel. 00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:32.079 God's done it with 12. 00:27:32.319 --> 00:27:34.400 Why won't He do it with 20? 00:27:34.880 --> 00:27:38.079 Let's pray that that would be true of us tonight. 00:27:40.880 --> 00:27:43.680 Heavenly Father, thank you for this room. 00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:51.440 Thank you for everyone that's here tonight, God, that you brought here to gather together. 00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:53.839 They're not here by accident. 00:27:54.000 --> 00:28:03.759 They didn't stumble in here randomly, but you have created each and every one of them that is here, God. 00:28:04.480 --> 00:28:06.559 You brought them here to this place. 00:28:06.799 --> 00:28:14.160 I pray that they would not choose the world's way, but instead they would go against the grain. 00:28:14.240 --> 00:28:19.599 They would take the road less traveled, the narrow path, and choose your way. 00:28:21.359 --> 00:28:31.119 God, I pray that they would see how good your way is and how life-giving following you and your son can be. 00:28:31.680 --> 00:28:48.960 I pray that each one of these people here would place their faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins if they haven't already, and Lord, that they would just rest knowing that they're walking in your way, you have them in your hands, and they're doing what you have created them to do. 00:28:49.440 --> 00:28:50.960 Pray all this in your name. 00:28:51.279 --> 00:28:51.920 Amen.