Pastor Derek Berry "Summer in the Psalms" - Sermon 3 (6/21/2026)

Psalm 128 describes a blessed life that begins not with wealth or success, but with a genuine fear of God. To fear God means to revere Him, honor Him, and walk with Him daily in every area of life. That daily walk shapes a man's character, influences his family, and produces a legacy that outlasts him. Like Enoch, who walked faithfully with God for 300 years, or Joseph, who quietly shaped the Son of God through obedience and example, the greatest thing a man can leave behind is not possessions but faith. The world celebrates fame, but God celebrates faithfulness. A blessed man is not a perfect man. He is a faithful one who points everyone around him toward God.

Transcript

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We're going to continue our thought as we've been looking in the book of Psalms this summer, summer in the Psalms. And last week we saw chapter 46. And uh this week I want to look in uh chapter 128. And what I love about this one is it shows you and I on this Father's Day how to be basically it's blessed is the man. It shows us how to be, how to be blessed. And really, my mindset, if you find your place there in Psalms 128, I'll read the verses in a moment. But what I love and what I want to sort of get across to you all today and us is a man who fears God leaves a blessing on everyone around him. What I like about this mindset is it shows me how best to do it. A man who fears God leaves a blessing on everyone around him. And I want to be a blessing to others, and the only way I can do that is to walk with the Lord and to fear him. And I want to sort of take those verses apart as we read them in a moment and dig deeper. But I found this story that I want to share with you as I was preparing and studying, getting everything ready. I was reading a story about a financial advisor. And this financial advisor was meeting with his clients and asking them different questions and had a group in front of him and asked specific questions in regards to helping set up their future so they wouldn't have to worry. And at one point, he asked a question that changed the entire conversation. It changed the trajectory of what was going on and where they were going. And he asked this he said to the people that were there, What do you want your grandchildren to remember you for? What do you want your grandchildren to remember you for? And of course, they're like anywhere else, you ask questions and you're going to get a variance of answers. And there were many answers that were given, and here's some of them talked about they wanted their grandchildren to remember their success. Some mentioned that they wanted their grandchildren to remember the business that they built or the accomplishments that they accomplished throughout their days. Some even hoped about leaving some things behind for them in the future. And then an older gentleman who was in the group spoke up and said this. The room stopped talking. It was silence. There was people taking it in and soaking it in. And really, when you think about that, uh because deep down, I think we all know this, we all know that there's a difference between leaving something to the next generation rather than leaving something in the next generation. And that man basically said that I'd rather leave something in them than to them. There's a difference there. One day I firmly believe that the house that I live in will belong to somebody else. One day the vehicle that I drive will belong to somebody else. And listen, I know it's going to run because it's a Ford, you understand? So it's going to be still driving, all right? Um, it's still going to be going. Somebody else may own it. The money that I have will be somebody else's to spend. But what I've learned is that influence remains. I've learned that character remains. I've learned that faith remains. I've learned that legacy remains. And that's exactly what is spoken about in this particular psalm that we're going to study this morning. Psalms 128. Let me let me read it and then we'll dig in. And starts off in verse number one, blessed. Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways. When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, your children like olive plants, all around your table. And the the verse four is the is what brought me to this verse. Verse 4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. The Lord bless you out of Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life. Yes. May you see your children's children, peace be upon Israel. This particular psalm, if you look at who writes the Psalms, this Psalm is a song of the ascents. And what we've learned in the text and studying them that they wrote 15 different ones from one uh Psalms 120 all the way through Psalms 134. And the important thing to get and understanding why they're writing it and who they're writing it to, sometimes when we study Psalms and see that David wrote it, I can go to Samuel and realize what he was going through in the moments that led him to praise the Lord. But in this particular psalm, the Psalms of the Ascents, they were writing this particular psalm. They were heading somewhere. And they would journey together as a family and head to Jerusalem to do various things. Sometimes it would be a time of worship where they're just going to worship the Lord. Sometimes they would journey back home for a festival of some sort, a time to be together. And what is cool about the understanding is they would journey together as a family. It would just be, it wouldn't just be the mom and the dad and the couple kids. It would be the mom, the dad, his parents, and his brothers and sisters and their kids. So they would be cousins and grannies and aunts and uncles and moms and dads and all sorts would be together, and they would be journeying down the road together. And you got to remember, they were walking step by step. So visualize this really large family walking, heading, making a journey, and they would sing these songs of praise as they walk together. So they would be a kid and their parents, kids and their cousins, moms and dads, children beside their parents, fathers leading their families towards God, worshiping together, and they would sing out verse number one: Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord. The six verses that you and I read would essentially be something that they're praising God and singing together as a whole group of family, taking a journey together. I get it nowadays. You and I don't take a walk together, per se, we just drive the car or catch an Uber or something like that. Imagine with all of us in the car together, singing at the top of our lungs. Blessed, blessed, blessed. Imagine that taking place. I can see this journey taking place, having to go worship the Lord together and singing this particular praise blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways. What I love about this psalm, and I want to give you this as a set-in-the-stable before we dig in any deeper, I think this psalm gives you and I a picture of a blessed man. His family is all together, singing praises unto God, taking a journey together. What I love about it is it shows a picture of a blessed man, not a perfect man. Because the only perfect man that ever walked was Jesus. But it shows the picture of a blessed man, not a perfect man, not a wealthy man, but a blessed man. And I want to show you that this morning. Let's dig in a little deeper and look at a blessed man. Verse number one shows you and I this: a blessed man walks with God. Verse number one, right off the bat, shows you and I that a blessed man walks with God. And what I like is in first, the first verse and the first word is the word blessed. And it's capitalized there, it's emphasizing there's something bold here. And what I love about that word blessed right there in this particular text is that the word blessed means happy. Now, if you look at the Hebrew word of the word blessed there, and you can see where it's used all through the Old Testament, it's used 45 times, and out of the 45 times, there is 27 times where it means blessed, like you would think blessed, and then there's times where they'll use the word happy to describe the same word. Essentially, he is saying, think about it like this, it means happy or happiness. So it's like, happy is everyone who fears the Lord. Happy. Happiness comes from somebody that fears the Lord. Now notice it doesn't say that success causes that. It doesn't say that money causes that. It doesn't say that position causes that. No, it says that we're blessed because of our relationship with God. Now, relationship is key. Listen to me, the world can teach you all kinds of stuff about having relationships, but the greatest thing that I could ever sort of teach you as a follower of Christ is how to have a relationship with Jesus. Listen, it's not a certain things, it's not religion, it's a relationship. What's a relationship? Well, successful ones, they communicate and they listen. Now that's tough for some of us, ain't it, men? To listen. I sometimes I just can't hear when she asks me to do something. I don't know why. I can hear the television, but I just can't hear her. And guess what? She reminds me, and I want to be a better husband, so I got to listen better. I want to be a better follower of Christ, I got to listen. The relationship from me and the Lord is not only me telling him everything that I won't need, it's just sometimes listening. I can pray, I can praise, I can read the word, I can meditate upon the scripture and let the Lord just soak it within me, and I'm telling you, it does something. It's almost as if I know what he's gonna say before he says it. And he, and it's one of those situations that comes only with a relationship. That's what he's saying in verse number one. Blessed. How does that come? It comes with a relationship. Now notice in verse number one, it uses the word fear. See, the fear of God is reverence, not terror. Anybody's scared of anything? I'm sure you are. Some of y'all probably still scared of the dark, I'm gonna be honest with you, you know. Scared of little stuff, bugs, of course. Scared of snakes. Anybody scared of snakes? Oh god. I ain't one of them kind of church if you're a visitor. I'm just asking, okay? Scared of snakes, sometimes. Maverick will go catch him a snake every once in a while. And listen to me, you know, those things can frighten you, but listen, the the fear that's mentioned in verse number one is the fear of God as reverence, not terror. Okay? Let me tell you a little funny other day, Megan was gone for a couple days with the girls, and Maverick wanted to play a joke on her. And he'd been trying to kill these killer hornets that have been swarming around the house. And let me tell you something. A couple years ago, we had these killer hornets everywhere. And me and Maverick had the bright idea that, man, I had about a hundred rounds of fireworks from last uh 4th of July. Man, I could light them and throw them in the hole and run and see what happens. And we did. And it was a good, it was fun. And we blew them hornets to smithereens, okay? And I thought we'd saw the rest of the killer hornets. Them things are about this long. I'm just gonna be honest with you. All right. And look, nah, they made a nest right by the driveway. And Megan, before she left, said, Man, you got to get rid of these. And we couldn't find any extra fireworks. I didn't know how we was gonna blow them up. So Maverick and I had a great idea. He said, Dad, let's use the tennis racket. And so, sounds good. And we started smacking them things, and I'm surprised one or two of them didn't land over here. We hit them so hard, you know? But most of them were decapitated. Most of them had pieces missing. But just one, just one was intact but dead. So Maverick had the bright idea that we just bring it inside and set it right there by Megan's keys and where she placed all her things when she came in. And it worked out perfect. We lied it, we laid it there, and three days later she gets home and she sees it, and you could hear her scream from a mile away. She thought that that hornet was asleep right there. She was scared to death. Now listen to me. The fear that he's talking about in verse number one is not that kind of fear. It's not terror. It's not being frightened. The fear he's talking about is reverence, meaning I respect God. I have reverence for who he is, I have honor, I have submission for him and him alone. That's what he's speaking about. It's recognizing God for who God is. That's what he says in verse number one: blessed, happy, right, is everyone who fears, who gives respect, who gives honor, who submits to the Lord, who walks in his ways. And all through Scripture I can have supporting texts that show this. I love the way Solomon wrote in Proverbs chapter 9, verse 10, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Meaning, if I want wisdom of the Lord, I've got to have fear of him, respect, reverence, honor, and submission to him. See, I think that fearing God affects my everyday decisions. When I honor, respect, submit, it'll affect everything that I do or don't do in life. A man who fears God doesn't leave God at church when church is over. What I mean by that is sometimes if we're not careful, we'll leave him in the seat. Now I know that God's everywhere. He's big enough to create everything that you see, but yet small enough to live in my heart. But if I'm not careful, I'll leave him right where he's at. I'll leave, I'll worship the Lord, I'll leave him there, and I'll hopefully he'll be sitting in my seat when I show back up next Sunday. Listen to me. That is not how God is designed. He is a relationship, remember that. A man who fears God doesn't leave him here at church Monday through Saturday. He walks with him. And when I walk with the Lord and have a relationship with him, it affects everything. It'll affect how I speak. It'll affect my integrity. It'll affect my decisions, and it'll even affect my priorities in life if I have a relationship with him each and every day, not just on Sundays. Well, what else does verse number one teach us about a best man walks with God? It shows us that walking with God is direction and not an event. Walking with God is a direction, not an event. I noticed that in verse number one, the latter part, it says, who walks in his ways. That word walks has an S on the end. That word walks is a verb. It's an action word. It's a continuation, it's ongoing, it doesn't stop. And he is saying that it's not an event. It's not saying, I walked with the Lord when I got saved at such and such years old. No, it is a walk, it's a verb, it's a continuation, it's ongoing, it happens daily, hourly, moment by moment. The word walks is a verb. It means daily, it means constant, it means ongoing. It's a direction of life, not perfection, but direction. Sometimes, as men, if we can't be perfect at something, we still don't do nothing at all. Listen to me. You'll never be perfect, but you've got to walk with the Lord. And one day when I meet him, I'll ultimately be just like him, and that's when I am ultimately perfect. It's not perfection, it's direction. Let me give you an illustration to help you sort of grab a hold of this. I was reading in the Old Testament, and I don't know about you. I hope everybody reads the Bible. But sometimes when you get in the Old Testament, you get in those so-and-so, begot so-and-so, begot so-and-so, but got so-and-so. And I don't know about you. I sometimes I skip those. I'm just gonna be honest with you. I mean, I y'all know me. I barely, these words are long. I don't know how to hardly say the name. I butcher it at times, right? And I'm thinking, Lord, really, man, these names are rough. And how about Steve and Bob or whatever, you know? Derek and Sue. Nah. These are big names. And I've got to, I'm going through the genealogy of a person. And if you're not careful, you may skip over some treasures. In Genesis 5, there's a lot of Abigail, Abigail, Abigail's. And you may have skipped over it like I have many times before. Over and over again, you read, so-and-so begot so-and-so. And then suddenly the direction of Genesis 5 changes because when you get into the 20s in chapter 5 in the 20s, you read about a man named Enoch. And Enoch walked with the Lord. It talks about that in the text. Suddenly, Enoch appears, and the pattern of text changes from so-and-so, begot so-and-so, begot so-and-so, begot so-and-so. And the Bible says Enoch walked with God. Verb, action, word. He's walking with the Lord. And what's cool to me is that he doesn't just, God doesn't just mention it once, but he mentions it twice. He says it in 22 and also in verse 24 about Enoch walking with God. Now that's important. We're looking in our text about those that fear the Lord and those who walk in his ways. Why did God, in the middle of all the genealogy of somebody, drop a nugget in there about Enoch walking with the Lord? Interesting. Okay? So in Genesis chapter 5, verse 22, the Bible says, and after he begot Methuselah, Methuselah was the oldest guy to ever live. He lived 969 years old. And it says, after he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with the Lord for 300 years. Can you imagine 300 years? What do you think we might look like when we're 300 years old? A lot of wrinkles? I don't know. Nowadays they'd be full of Botox, I guess. I don't know. No, I'm just kidding. No telling. Oh, y'all didn't like that one. That's all right. That's okay. A lot of wrinkles. We'll go with that. A lot of wrinkles. 300 years he walked with the Lord. They emphasized that for a reason. So now he begot Methuselah, and God said that he walked with him for 300 years. For somebody to walk with God, there was consistency. There was daily, there was a commitment. There was an ongoing relationship day by day for 300 years. And then you drop down just a little bit farther in verse 24, same chapter, and the Bible says, and Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. He was walking with the Lord for 300 years, and then the next step he took, he just happened to show up into heaven. Imagine walking with God with such harmony, with such dedication, with such everything that it takes to now he's walking with the Lord, and God said, I'm just ready for you to come on home. Finish walking on me here. Now listen to me, why is that important? Enoch lived in a wicked generation long before the flood had ever happened. Now we know what the flood took care of. Get rid of sin. And we know what was going on in the world. It was wickedness. You and I think you live in wickedness in 2026. Oh, there's some wickedness that goes on all the time. We have to see it all month long in June. Understand? I'm tired of seeing that stuff. It's wickedness that we live in. And listen to me, Enoch walked with God for 300 years, and yet there was wickedness all around him. How do you do that? The relationship that I spoke about. Blessed, remember, happy is he who fears the Lord. Enoch had a respect, he had an honor, he was submitted to God. Therefore, he was dedicated to walk with God for some 300 years, consistently, not perfectly, not occasionally, daily, faithfully walking with the Lord. You know what I like is that in the New Testament, in Hebrews chapter number 11 and verse number five, God adds a little extra information about Enoch. Remember, he walked with the Lord, he walked with the Lord 300 years, then he walked on to heaven with the Lord. But in Hebrews chapter number 11, in verse number five, the hall of faith, where God lays all the faithful ones out. In verse number five, the Bible says, before he was taken, talking about Enoch, he had this testimony. Here was the testimony that he pleased God. Man, what an awesome testimony. What if God said, Derek, not only did you walk with me for your hundred years you lived on earth, but you pleased me as you did it. Listen to me, put your name in that blank. Oh, how awesome would it be for God to say that I walked with him consistently and day by day, not perfect, not occasionally, but faithfully walked with the Lord. And then for him to add this nugget on top of that. And not only did he walk with the Lord, but he pleased me. Man, how awesome would that be if God could say that about you and about me? Imagine being said that about you. Enoch is probably one of the clearest examples in all of Scripture of a man who just simply walks with God. The greatest thing that your children need is not a perfect father. The greatest thing your family needs is a man who is genuinely walking with God. That's what your family needs. It doesn't matter if your kids are young, old, middle aged, it doesn't matter. Your family needs somebody who genuinely walks. Let me give you this nugget and we'll dig into verse two. The greatest thing a man can do is walk with God. Put that down. It's true. Let's go deeper. Verse 2, verse 2, verse 1 shows us that a blessed man walks with God. Verse 2 shows us that a blessed man influences his home. A blessed man influences his home. Look, verses 2, 3, and 4. Verse 2 says, When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, your children like olive plants, all around your table. Verse 4, the heart of the text to me, Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. Notice the order here. A blessed man influences them. Notice the order. The order here is the Psalm does not begin with the wife and with the children. The psalm begins with the man's walk. He spells it right off the top in verse number one, who walks in his way. He starts with the leader, the whole the head of the household. He begins with a man's walk with God. Because influence always flows from who we are. What I am will always flow out of me eventually. Some form or some fashion. See, I believe according to verse number two, your family is impacted by who you are. See, verse number two says that when you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy and it shall be well with you. Here's this is a picture of. This is a picture as a man who's faithfully serving God and faithfully serving his family. It's a picture of somebody faithfully serving the Lord. You've got to understand the influence that you and I have as leaders. Spiritual leadership is not, is influence, is not perfection. Sometimes we'll get hung up on I can't be perfect or I can't be that. Many men sometimes even hear the word leader and immediately feel deflated. You know why? They feel deflated, they feel defeated, they feel as if they can never reach the magnitude they need to be to be a leader. And here's the truth behind it all, men. Listen to me. Don't let your failures hold you back. Don't. Because the devil will tell you that all the time. Don't let your shortcomings. We all have shortcomings. Don't let that hold you back. Mistakes, oh, we have mistakes. Man, I'm telling you, I make them still to this day, and I'll probably make them until God calls me home. I make mistakes at times and I try to fix it, make, move on, and continue on. So don't look at it like, man, spiritual leadership is influence, it's not perfection. There's gonna be mistakes along the way. Leadership is not perfection, leadership is direction. Leadership is influence. Leadership is an example. The home flows from what the man values. That's the truth. What do you value? Your children may not remember every sermon you preach. You might say, preacher, I ain't no preacher. Yeah, but we preach sermons every day. There's things that we say and do. Your kid may not remember everything that was ever said, but they'll remember what mattered to you. They'll remember what you prioritize, they'll remember what you pursue. Children have a way of seeing the value in things. I'll use this example. I love Joshua. You go in the book of Joshua in the Old Testament, and some cool things about that book altogether, you get towards the end of the book of Joshua, and you get into chapter number 24, and you understand Joshua took over the reins. Talk about a man that influences his home. He had to take over for Moses. And at the end of Joshua's life, after he has taken the reins from Moses, he gathers all the people in the nation around. Now think about what he got to see. Joshua got to see them cross the Jordan River. Imagine the magnitude of the width, a mile-long river at the heat of harvest that they had to cross on the other side, an impassable body of water, then God said, Man, you gotta go, and they parted it and he went through on dry ground. That was a pure miracle from God and God alone. Imagine the walls of Jericho that Joshua got to see. And that's interesting to me. March around here seven times, and the walls will fall. And they did just that, and the walls crumble. He got to see the miraculous miracle of God's hand, drop those walls as God said. Man, imagine what else he saw, the battles that were won, the promised land being conquered. And now at the tail end of his life, he's about to head on home to God and to glory, and he gathers the nation and reminds them of the mighty miracles that God had performed and the great things that God has done through them and with them. And as he's lying there laying it out together, the entire nation, he challenged them and said this to them and reminds them and says, Choose for you yourselves this day who you'll serve. Now he did that instead for them to choose yourself who you'll serve after he told them and reminded them of all the miracles that God had done and told them everything. Imagine how long that sermon was. Man, he was laying it down for them. And he followed up by saying, Choose yourself this day who you will serve. I think Joshua understood influence because he knows every family serves something. Every family serves something. That's why Joshua said to them, choose yourself this day who you will serve. Meaning you have a choice on who you're gonna serve. You're gonna serve somebody or something, so you might as well make the choice now. Joshua's smart. He said, Choose who you'll serve. Every family today serves something. You know what else? Every family, every home serves something, every home follows something. Not only does every home follow something and serve something, every person worships something. Now listen, I know we're in church, I'm worshiping the Lord. Listen, whatever we put in front of God when we're not here or while we're here is what we worship. What's important is me to set the example to always put the Lord first in all that I do. No matter what's going on, no matter what seems to take control of my thoughts, I am showing and influencing others on what I serve. Every family serves something, every home follows something, every home worships something. The question is this. The question is, who will you serve? The question is not, will you serve? Because we know you're gonna serve something. Joshua showed us that. He knows they're gonna serve something. The question, who will you serve? And then after all of that, he conversates that and articulates that to them. Joshua makes one of the strongest declarations in all of Scripture. And what we find in Joshua 24, verse number 15, he says, But as for me and my house, what we will serve the Lord. Famous words you see written all over the place, posted this in that way. But notice in the text when he says, Joshua tells them to choose because he knows they're gonna serve something, he knows they're gonna follow something, he knows they're gonna worship something. And then he comes back around and says this, but as for me in my house, he doesn't say, as for my house in me. He says, as for me in my house. The order is important. He uses himself first and his household second. Why is that? Why is that? Because everything starts with the head. Man, we have to prove and show our families we're gonna serve the Lord. Joshua understood leadership always begins with a leader. Leadership always begins with a leader. The family's direction flows from the personal commitment that I have as a leader or that you have. Spiritual temperature of a home can change. It can rise or it can fall over the leader of it. We have a lot of influence on our home men, we've got to remember that. Your family doesn't need a perfect man, they just need a faithful man. That's what your family needs: a man who's willing to say, As from me and my house, we will serve the Lord, and I'll set that example first. That's what our families need. What you live in front of your family matters more than what you say to them. What you live out in front of them matters way more than what you say, because actions are sometimes remembered more so than words are. All right, let's move to our last thought. Our last thought's gonna be in verse five and six. A blessed man walks with the Lord, a blessed man influences his home, and the last thing that we'll look at in verse five and six is a blessed man leaves a legacy. Verse five, the Lord bless you out of Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem in all the days of your life. Yes, may you see your children's children. Peace be upon Israel. This psalm ends with a generation. I mean, uh, you see when he talks about your children's children. Why is that? I think God thinks a lot in generations. You see that as he laid it out even in Genesis 5 that I referenced earlier. He lays out these different generations. It's important to him, and he mentions it in the text. Every man is leaving behind something. Every father, every grandfather, every man will leave something behind. The question is, what will it be? What will it be? You can only answer that. I think the greatest legacy is spiritual, anyhow. Money's useful. I mean, I can find something to buy, I'll just be honest with you. But let me tell you something that's more important is spiritual things. Possessions are helpful. Everybody likes stuff. But the greatest thing you can pass on is faith that points the next generation to God. That's what is greater than anything else. See, godly influence often outlives earthly success. Godly influence often outlives earthly success. Many things we spend our lives chasing down won't matter in eternity. But every person that I lead to the Lord will. Every time I have a gospel conversation with my child, it will. Listen, I got five kids and four of them are saved. We're still praying for Montgomery. Help me pray for him to come to know the Lord as his Savior. But let me tell you something. People will make it to heaven if we lead them there. Children, grandchildren, influences will. Let me give you this. I was thinking about an illustration I want to give you on this, and the Lord put this on my heart. I almost changed my whole sermon for this illustration, but I'll give it to you Joseph. Now, when I say Joseph, I'm not talking about the Old Testament, Joseph's that we sometimes highlight because of all the great things that happened. I'm talking about Jesus' earthly father. Now, what's interesting to me about Joseph, Jesus' earthly father, is very little scriptures mentioned about him. There's a lot of, not a lot of verses that speak about Joseph. Now, think about Joseph and what we know about him. Joseph was just an ordinary carpenter, and then something dramatically changed. He was an ordinary carpenter, and we read in Matthew chapter number one that Mary has, he was engaged to Mary and she was with child. And if you read the text in Matthew 1, verse number 19, it even says that Joseph was thinking about putting her away for a little while, I think, to sort of hide her, because he didn't want any sort of negativity to come from her being with child before they were married. And we know that as he went to sleep that night, that God appeared to him in a dream and woke him up. And if you remember the text in Matthew chapter 1 and verse number 20, God essentially comes to him and simply says to him, You will take Mary as your wife. Do not be afraid. You will take Mary as your wife. And as Joseph woke up from that night rest, what the scriptures show you and I is that Joseph was obedient. Immediately. Immediately he listened to the Lord. He didn't negotiate. He didn't say, Are you sure that I have a dream? Was that really God or was that not? No, he was awoke by the angel of the Lord, and the angel of the Lord said, Man, you are going to not be afraid. I've got you, and you will have her as your wife. And Joseph immediately, immediately obeyed. Then, a little while later, if you remember, King Haran put out a decree to kill all the babies. And then the scriptures show you and I that as Joseph slept again, God showed up in a dream and said, Man, you're going to have to protect your family and get out of town. And if you remember in the scripture, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph fled. Joseph obeyed the Lord immediately. He didn't negotiate. He didn't try to, are you sure about that? He fled to Egypt, protected his family, and obeyed God. Later, God tells him, return to Israel. What does Joseph do? Obeys. Three times in Scripture, right off the bat, I can read about Joseph obeying, not arguing with the Lord, not hesitating, not even a negotiation. I could see myself negotiating with the Lord. Are you sure maybe we can do this? We can do that. What do you think about that? No, he just immediately obeyed the Lord and followed him and did exactly what he said. Just obedience. Why is that important? Listen to me. Joseph essentially disappeared from Scripture soon after that. And if you study the Bible or even study some historical scholars that talk about Joseph and Jesus, most of them have agreed that Joseph most likely died before Jesus' earthly ministry ever took off. Now you think about that for just a moment. When did God call him home? Not 100% sure, but we don't read about him. But what did he miss out on? He he if he if he died before Jesus' earthly ministry took off, that means that Joseph did not get to see the miraculous miracles take place. He did not get to see his son Jesus heal the blind man. He didn't get to see Jesus make the lame walk. He didn't get to see Jesus turn the water into wine. He didn't get to see Jesus turn the few fish and the few pieces of bread enough to feed 5,000 men, not counting the women and the children. He didn't get to see some of the greatest miracles ever to be performed. Imagine the lady that just wanted to touch the hem of the garment. He didn't get to see none of that. He didn't get to see Jesus cast the demon out of the person. He didn't get to see the miraculous miracles that you and I get to read about, that we get excited about, that we get, man, Holy Ghost bumps by reading about and knowing, man, what power Christ had. He didn't see all that. He didn't get to see Jesus have a triumphant entry into Jerusalem. He didn't get to see Jesus hang on the cross. He didn't get to see Jesus resurrected from the dead. He didn't get to see all of that. He never saw any of it. But listen to me, the influence was already there, though. He didn't get to see the miracles, but the influence was there. Imagine Jesus growing up in Joseph's workshop. What did he learn? Hanging out with his father. You know what I think he learned? Hard work. I think he learned, man, you stick your mind to something, you can get it done. I think Joseph, we know, according to scripture, that his father taught him how to obey God. And just imagine Jesus hanging on the cross. I know the scripture clearly tells you and I that he obeyed him even unto death. Where do you think Jesus learned that from? His earthly father Joseph. The influence was already set into motion. He obeyed his heavenly father. Listen to me. Many times in scripture I can read about Jesus praying to the Father, getting direction. Where did he learn that from? From his earthly father. So what did he learn in the lessons from the wood shop? He learned how to obey God. He learned how to keep his word. He learned how to work hard. I think he learned how to love Mary. I think he learned how to care for his wife. Those lessons that were taught were taught in the quiet space of a workshop, but they had influence you and me to this day. Don't ever overlook the amount of influence that you can have on somebody. Joseph never preached a public sermon. He never performed, Joseph never performed a miracle. He never actually was famous. Yet God entrusted him to raise his son. That's a quiet legacy, but a legacy that continues to live today. Joseph reminds us that influence only happens quietly. The world that you and I live in, you know what it does? It celebrates fame. God celebrates faithfulness. The world celebrates fame, but God celebrates faithfulness. Joseph may have never stood before crowds, but he faithfully stood before his family. God says, be faithful. Mean the world tells you and I to build a kingdom. God says build a legacy. The greatest thing that you and ever I and I can ever do is have a relationship with the Lord and follow him step by step. Here's, I'll give you this before I close. Your greatest legacy won't be what you leave to your children, but what you leave in your children. Sometimes I start, and if I'm not careful, the world teaches me what I leave to them. No, I want to leave in them. That influence that can carry on from them to the next generation, to the next generation, and so forth. As we began our time this morning, I asked a question, I gave a question that the financial advisor gave his people when he said, What do you want your grandchildren to remember about you? As I close, I want you to answer that question. Do you want them to remember your career or your possessions or even your accomplishments? Or would you like them to remember your faith? Psalms 128 teaches us that a blessed life begins with God. A blessed man walks with the Lord, influences his home, and leaves a legacy that outlives sin. That's what Psalms 128 teaches us. And I want to challenge you with something in this week. Don't focus on becoming a better father first. Focus on becoming a man that fears God first. That'd be a challenge that all of us need. As I become a man that fears God first, walk with him. Spend time in the Word. Pray. Repent, obey, lead. Because when a man walks with God, everyone around him is blessed. Would you pray as I pray? God, I come to you this morning praising you for what you've done in heart.