Walking with the Wicked, Standing with Sinners, Sitting with Mockers

Don’t walk with the wicked, stand with sinners, or sit with mockers.
Rather, walk with God, stand up for what is right, and sit at the feet of Jesus.

Psalm 1:1-2
“Blessed is the one who does not WALK in step with the WICKED or STAND in the way that SINNERS take or SIT in the company of MOCKERS, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.” 

You will not be blessed if you walk the journey of life with wicked people and do what is evil in God’s sight. 

You will not experience God’s blessing if you hang around or stand around with people who deliberately walk in sin.

You are not going to live the blessed life if you regularly sit with people who mock others, bully others, and rip others to shreds.

“Blessed is the one who does not WALK in step with the WICKED or STAND in the way that SINNERS take or SIT in the company of MOCKERS, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.” 

You will be blessed when you…

• Delight in God
• Put Him first
• Live to please Him
• Live focused on making God your primary concern 
• Get to know God and His Word (the Bible)
• Spend time in God’s presence

In fact, Psalm 1 continues…

Psalm 1:3
“That person is like a tree PLANTED by streams of water, which yields its FRUIT in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do PROSPERS.”

When you live with Jesus at the center. 

Seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, you will be like a tree planted on the riverbank.
Fruitful.
Green. 
Full of life. 
Not bothered by the heat or drought.
Fresh. 
Vibrant.
Flourishing
Prosperous. 
Successful. 

However, this is not the case for those who…

• Reject God
• Live wicked lives
• Are mockers 
• Deliberately live in sin

Psalm 1:1-2
“Blessed is the one who does not WALK in step with the WICKED or STAND in the way that SINNERS take or SIT in the company of MOCKERS, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.” 

Psalm 1:3
“That person is like a tree PLANTED by streams of water, which yields its FRUIT in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do PROSPERS.”

Psalm 1:4-5
“Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.”

Be careful how you live. 
Watch out.
Wake up.
Get right with God.

Don’t set yourself on a collision course with God.

God is the creator. 
He is the inventor.
Don’t set yourself up for disaster. 

When you go against God and His ways, you will lose out. 

If you choose to WALK in step with the WICKED or STAND in the way that SINNERS take or SIT in the company of MOCKERS, you will be…

• Blown away
• Left in fear and dread
• Anxious and overwhelmed by trouble
• You will be placed under the judgment of the living God
• Ruined
• Fruitless
• Hopeless
• Cut off from God’s best 
• Left cursed

Don’t be cut off.

Stay connected to Jesus.

John 15…
Jesus said, “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. ³ You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. ⁴ Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

⁵ “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. ⁷ But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! ⁸ When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

⁹ “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. ¹⁰ When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! ¹² This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. ¹³ There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵ I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. ¹⁶ You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. ¹⁷ This is my command: Love each other.

In the Old Testament, God’s people believed that if they followed closely after God, God would bless them.

God-fearing parents taught this principle to their children. They trained their children in the ways of God and implored them to…

• Honor God
• Live to please God
• Put God first

Psalm 1:6
”For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.”

God watches over those who live right and who put Him first. 

No wonder Jesus said…

Matthew 6:33
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry…”

Seek first the King and His Kingdom.
Make God your #1 priority.
Live right. 

And then…

All the rest will be added unto you. 

God bless you.