Choosing Your Associations: The Path of the Blessed

Choosing Your Associations: The Path of the Blessed

The episode highlights that being blessed isn’t just about avoiding certain people but about upholding one's character and holiness. I identify three types of individuals that a blessed person should watch out for: the ungodly, the sinners, and the scoffers. Each of these groups represents influences that can lead someone astray, and recognizing their traits is vital for anyone striving to live a life that honours God.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to the Concept of Blessing
• 2:15 Understanding the Blessed Person
• 4:40 The Ungodly: Who They Are and Why to Avoid Them
• 10:30 The Sinner: Who They Are and Why to Avoid Them
• 15:50 The Scoffer: Who They Are and Why to Avoid Them
• 22:00 The Call to Sanctification
• 27:10 Conclusion and Prayer

Chapters

• 0:00 What Blessed Really Means
• 0:47 Psalm 1 As The Blueprint
• 1:24 Boundaries Define The Blessed
• 4:03 Rejecting Ungodly Counsel
• 6:12 Avoiding The Path Of Sinners
• 8:46 Steering Clear Of Mockers
• 11:19 Sanctification And Daily Choices
• 13:04 Closing Prayer And Invitation

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Blessed is the man who does not associate. Many believers are familiar with the word blessing and is often used in the Christian jargon. The book of Psalm begins with the word blessed. Blessed is the man or woman. The word man is generic, referring to both male and female. This account is similar to the beatitudes found on the Sermon of the Mount by Jesus in Matthew 5, 3 to 11. So we live in a world where we measure blessing by material possessions or positive outcomes in life. In the Bible, we assess or measure blessing by a person's character and relationship with God. Let's take a look at our scriptural reference coming from Psalm chapter 1, from verse 1 and 2. That's gonna be our focus. It says, I read, Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, not stands in the path of sinners, not seats in the seats of the sconfort. Before we look at the three types of people that a blessed man or woman should not associate with based on their actions, not your personhood. Let's define the blessed man or woman or the blessed person. Hebraic sense, the word blessing is Asha, and you can find that in strong camcorders HA35, because I like to define words before I explain them, so it's good for you to know. Blessed is characterized by happiness, the declaration or acknowledgement of good fortune, a joyful state, and a privilege or favorable condition. According to this verse, a blessed person is defined by the kind of person they choose not to associate with, specifically, at least the type of persons that you and I, if we're gonna consider ourselves as blessed individuals, we should not associate with the ungodly, the sinners, and the scoffers. I believe is based on your actions, not based on your person. So a blessed person has boundaries, a blessed person sets standards, a blessed person protects his character. So this is what makes him a blessed person. He is blessed as a result of their character by not associating with certain people based on their sinful life so they don't become contaminated. The reason why a blessed person will not associate with the ungodly, the sinners, and the scuffers is because they don't want to be led astray. They don't want their actions to lead the blessed man astray. So the blessing that comes from this separation, again, it's not about isolation, it's about separation based on the deeds of the ungodly, the deeds of the scuffer, the deeds of the sinners that will lead the blessed man astray. So it's not based on discrimination or isolation, this is strictly based on being set apart, sanctification as a blessed man is a sanctified man, is a man that is set apart to live a life that pleases God, to live a life that honors God. So it is not based on discrimination or isolation, it is strictly based on certain actions that could eventually lead this blessed man astray, and as a result, this blessed man choose not to associate with the ungodly, associate with the sinners, associate with the scoffers. Let's try now to explain in details the three types of individuals or associations that the blessed man should avoid based on your actions that will lead them astray. Number one, the ungodly. Look what it says in Psalm chapter 1, verse 1. The blessed blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly. The first disassociation of the blessed man is the ungodly. Ungodly is referred to as a wicked person. First is someone who is morally wrong, actively wicked, and unjust. So the ungodly are marked by wickedness and lack of the fear of God. They do not have God in their hearts, they do not have God in their minds, and generally oppose God's word, they oppose God's will, they oppose God's ways, they oppose God's wisdom. So a blessed man will not walk in the counsel of the ungodly because the ungodly opposes the things of God. The ungodly does not walk in the fear of God, the ungodly does not have the wisdom of God to be able to guide you to give you advice in whatever it is that you want to embark on. So the blessed man does not associate with the ungodly, nor imitate your actions by following your advice or counsel. As children of God, it is very vital to carefully choose whom you and I should seek advice from. Definitely not from the ungodly, because the ungodly will not give us counsel that we consider God, that we have God in mind. That is why to be a blessed man from a biblical point of view, we need not to walk in the counsel of the ungodly because the ungodly cannot give us a godly advice, they cannot give us advice or counsel that is in line with the word of God, that is in line with the nature of God, that is in line with goodness. So if you notice someone giving you ungodly or negative advice, what you need to do as a believer, this is an instruction. Stop listening to them. If you're listening to the advice, don't implement it, don't put it in practice, don't take action because the advice does not consider God in mind. Now let's go to the second person that the blessed man disassociate from. Blessed man disassociate from the sinner. Look what it says in Psalm chapter 1, verse 1. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly. We've already looked at that, nor stands in the path of sinners. So the second type of individual that the blessed man should not associate with, the blessed man should completely avoid based on your actions, not based on your personhood, because this is not about discrimination or isolation, this is about sanctification. That's why the separation exists. In Hebrew, the word sinners is chata, it means a criminal or someone who misses the mark or breaks the law. The blessed man does not associate with somebody who's a criminal, somebody who breaks the law, somebody who misses the mark. A sinner is defined by people or persons who miss the mark. They disobey divine commands and commit sins. The blessed man does not associate with sinners by avoiding following their actions, by not standing in the path of the sinners. They don't stand in the ways of the sinner, they don't stand in the same direction of the sinners, they don't remain or abide with someone who is a criminal. Because if someone is a criminal, is a sinner, they're committing sin, they're breaking the law, they are breaking God's command. Why would you, as a blessed man, associate with such a person based on your actions? You can love them with boundaries. You don't follow their actions, you can still love them with boundaries. A blessed person does not linger in spaces or on the path of sinners. It is vital to avoid revisiting places that may influence sinful behaviors, especially for young people. Try to avoid going to places, try to avoid standing in places, try to avoid standing in companies or a group of people who you know for sure they are no good, who you know for sure they're gonna commit sins, who you know for sure they're gonna rob the bank, who you know for sure they're gonna rob the stores, as we see on social media. You don't want to associate with sinners, people who commit sin, people who break the laws, people who are criminals. This is just the reality. It's not gonna make your life a blessed life, it's not gonna produce favorable outcome for you. It's gonna lead you in destruction and death. Crime pays. Finally, let's look at the third person that the blessed man should not associate with. That is the scuffer. Look what it says in Psalm chapter 1, verse 1. Blessed is the man who works not in the counsel of the ungodly. We tackled that already. No stands in the path of sinners, that's done as well. No seats in the seat of the scornful. This is gonna be our focus. The blessed man does not sit in the seat of the scornful. This is the third type of individual that the blessed man disassociates from. Somebody who mocks, somebody who laughs, somebody who teases, somebody who makes fun, somebody who doesn't take life seriously, somebody who sees life as a joke, somebody who sees people as a joke. The scornful are known for their mockery. They treat serious matters with contempt and disrespect, often laughing at issues of importance, especially at God, his people, and sacred things. So, such people, you don't want to seat, you don't want to make yourself comfortable in their seat, making fun of God, using God's name in vain, in their cursed words. You don't want to associate with such person if you see yourself or consider yourself as a blessed person according to the Bible. To them, divine matters are jokes, they misuse God's name and they ridicule sacred things. They make fun of church people. You don't want to associate with these type of people who make fun of your God, who make fun of your concentration in God, who make fun of your commitment in God, who make fun of your seriousness in God, who make fun of your service in God, who make fun of you trying your best to live a life that pleases God. Instead, they laugh at you, they see it as a joke. Do not associate with these type of people because they're scunners, they are scuffers, they are they are markers. The blessed man does not associate with a scumful and avoids following their actions by not sitting in their company or becoming comfortable with them, laughing along with them, making jokes along with them. The blessed man does not conduct this type of behaviors. So, in conclusion, to provide you with insight and inspiration, instructions to take away, what we have read here, the theme here is sanctification, being set apart, meaning that you distance yourself from association with the ungodly, the sinner, and scornful individuals based on your actions. That is why you're distancing yourself from them. It is not based on discrimination or isolation, it is strictly based on your own consecration, your own sanctification being set apart for God's use so that you're not corrupted, you're not contaminated by their actions influencing your life. Do not let the ungodly advice influence your life. Do not give in to the ungodly advice. Do not head in the wrong direction of the sinners. Do not follow the same course of actions of the sinners. Do not stand in the ways of the sinners. Do not remain chill among mockers. Don't spend time to laugh at life. Don't spend time to laugh with those who make fun of life, those who make fun of people, those who make fun of God, those who make fun of everything in life. Don't take life seriously. You as a blessed person, you can use your time wisely to invest in important matters. Disassociate with people who ridicule, despise, and disrespect important matters in life. So be very careful where you are walking to. Be very careful where you are standing. Be very careful where you are sitting because these are actions that you and I will perform daily. Do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. Do not stand in the path of sinners. Do not sit in the seat of the sconfort. Based on your actions, they can lead the blessed man astray. God bless you. Let's pray. Father, thank you for this wonderful message. I just pray that God you help us as we have heard your word to be considered a blessed man according to your scripture. You have given us instructions based on our associations, that we should not associate with people who are ungodly, that so that they will not give us ungodly advice, that we should not um stand in the path of sinners, people who miss the mark, who commit sin, people who are criminals. That's just a fact. And he also instructs us that we should not sit, make ourselves comfortable with people who mock at you, mock our faith, and then mock at life. Help us to avoid such people based on your actions, not because we want to discriminate them, but because we don't want our manners to be corrupted. We don't want our minds to be contaminated, we want to be sanctified, meaning we want to be set apart. Only you can sanctify our hearts, can sanctify our minds. Finally, I ask that may you help us to avoid wrong associations. This I ask in Jesus' precious, powerful name we have prayed. Amen. If you have never given your life to Jesus Christ, Jesus is coming very soon. Jesus is King, Jesus is Lord, Jesus is your personal savior. He wants you to have a relationship with him. There is no way you can go to heaven, there's no way you can have a relationship with God without Jesus, because Jesus is the only way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through him. He went on the cross to die for you. So I want you to give your life to Jesus. He is coming very soon. And I want to see your name written in the Lamb's book of life. God bless you. Shalom.