“Walk This Way! (Are You On The Right Path?) pt. 2”

Pastor Jim Lowe III

Sunday Morning, 9:30am Stream 05/25/25 (4th Sunday Message)

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{All scriptures are NIV84 unless stated}

Message title:

“Walk This Way! (Are You On The Right Path?) pt. 2”

Last week we talked about what it means to be blessed.

Examples of what blessings look like.

Being blessed can mean having:

Joy

Strength and Peace Healing

Satisfaction and Contentment Provision

Prosperity

After we talked about what it means to be blessed…

we talked about HOW to be blessed.

We ended with this.

Psalm 1:1

1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers.

Blessed is the man. who does NOT.

This is a conditional statement.

If You Want The Blessing, There Are Some Things You Should NOT Be Doing!

Blessed is the man:

who does not WALK with the WICKED who does not STAND with the SINNERS who does not SIT with the MOCKERS.

Three types of actions.

three descriptions of people.

We’re gonna read how the people around us influence not JUST us, but also what God does for us.

Let’s look at these 3 things.

• Walking In The Counsel Of The Wicked:

Walking in the counsel of the wicked means listening to the wrong people.

In our daily lives…

taking bad advice from the wrong people.

Here’s the tragic thing…

you might not even know you’re going against God at the time.

Who’s our example?

- The Serpent (Genesis 3)

The Serpent represents someone you might be around that causes you to question what God told you.

Genesis 3:1

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The serpent questioned her specifically on something God said do not do.

Verse 2

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”

Eve was too ready to trust a Serpent with the details of a plan that was meant for her and her husband!

We Have To Stop Telling Everyone What God Told Us! Especially Snakes!

When you start talking too much about your business… this is where others opinions come in.

And they force their opinion on you!

Eve didn’t ask the serpent what he thought about it. the serpent threw his opinion in.

Verse 4-5

4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

The Serpent directly caused Eve to question what the Lord told her. Here’s a question:

Question:

Would The Serpent Have Surely Died If IT Ate The Fruit?

It’s giving an opinion about it… We don’t know…

the bible doesn’t say.

but we DO know that Adam and Eve were told THEY would die. we also know they were unique.

they were created different.

They had a different purpose.

God held Adam and Eve to a different standard!

God Holds His People To A Different Standard! Stop Listening To The Wrong People!

The serpent was more crafty.

He presented something that Eve thought she wanted. the desire for gaining wisdom.

She thought the knowledge of good and evil would be good for her. but it got them kicked out of Eden.

and separated from God.

Listening To The Wrong People Can Cause You To Miss Out On God’s Blessings!

What have we lost out on by listening to the wrong people? There are people in this life who will help you.

There are MANY throughout the bible who needed help. and received it from godly people.

As a believer we are supposed to help one another.

But those who don’t know God aren’t held to that standard. They can do whatever they want to try and succeed in life. But YOU are different!

What God Is Doing In Your Life Is Too Precious To Lose So Easily! Stop Listening To The Wrong People!

You are blessed when you DO NOT listen to the wrong people!

• Standing In The Way Of Sinners:

Standing in the way of sinners means being around them. or having THEM around you!

This is why they tell you to be careful who you’re around.

If you’re in a group…and someone does something wrong. all of you get in trouble.

If you don’t want to be associated… don’t be over there with them!

Let’s look at how God will blame you because of who is around you. Who’s the example?

- Achan (Joshua 6)

- When Joshua and the army were marching around Jericho… on the seventh day Joshua gives an order:

Joshua 6:17-19

17 The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. 18 But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not  bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. 19 All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the LORD and must go into his treasury.”

Keep away from the devoted things…

so that you will not bring your own destruction by taking any of them.

OTHERWISE you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble.

Verse 24

24 Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the LORD’s house.

Joshua had done all the Lord had told him.

Verse 27

27 So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.

When You Listen To The Lord, Good Things Follow You!

All is good right?

Joshua 7:1

But the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the LORD’s anger burned against Israel.

It said the Israelites acted unfaithfully about the devoted things. Who did it?

Achan?

HE acted unfaithfully right? One person??

The bible says the Israelites…

and the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.

ALL OF THEM

What happens:

The Lord punished them by allowing 36 of them to be killed in a battle they should have easily won.

They lost badly.

embarrassed.

they send thousands…against a few and LOSE!

Joshua is devastated.

It was clear that they should have won this. It was clear that something was wrong.

Joshua tears his clothes and prays in front of the ark for hours.

Joshua 7:10-12

10 The LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face?

11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

The Lord says Israel has sinned!

ALL of Israel

They violated the covenant!

I thought it was one person?

Achan was in the group!

The Lord Will Hold YOU Responsible For The Company You Keep!

This is why Israel couldn't “stand against their enemies…” they were made liable to destruction.

36 people died!! why?

because of ONE man’s sin.

This means because of Achan…

y’all are gonna continue to lose.

The Lord will NOT be with his people until they get it straight. This can STILL happen today!

You might be wondering why some of the prayers you prayed may not be getting answered. You might be wondering why some battles you should be winning you’re losing…

Have you checked those around you?

The People You Have Around You Can Be Setting You Up For Blessings, Or Stealing Them From You!

You can’t be around everyone…

Joshua 7:15

15 He who is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the LORD and has done a disgraceful thing in Israel!’ ”

that person is the sinner that’s messing EVERYTHING up! One person is holding up EVERYONE!

This is why you are blessed if you are NOT associated with them!! So what happens?

So they find out it’s Achan…

Joshua 7:20-21

20 Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21 When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

They go check…and there it all is. So what happens to Achan?

The Lord said he violated the covenant… he gotta go…

They go get him, the stuff…his children. his donkeys/sheep/cattle

his tent

everything he had.

They stoned everything…

and burned what was left.

And THEN the Lord’s anger lifted off Israel.

If God will hold you responsible for something someone else does…

you have to get away from some people!

What about those 36 people?

they died and don’t know why!!

Who You Have Around You Could Be A Matter Of Life Or Death!

• Sitting In The Seat Of Mockers

This is in reference again to who you’re around.

Mockers are those who have no respect for God and His Word. They are the ones who try to make fun of you for being Christian.

They are the ones who argue against the faith and even go against God. What’s the example?

- Job (Job 12)

We use Job because of what happened to him. Job was known for being blameless and upright. He was someone who took the Lord serious.

He was SO good…

the Lord allowed Satan to attack him.

he took all his children, servants and possessions. then secondly he attacked his body.

Yet Job…although devastated. never turned against God.

But what happened?

Job was talking:

Job 12:4

4 “I have become a laughingstock to my friends, though I called upon God and he answered— a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!

Job said he became a laughing stock to his friends. Because after all that he went through.

he continued to call on the Lord.

when others thought he should turn his back on God.

Have You Ever Had People Try To Get You To Question Your Faith?

They even make subtle hints.

“Are you still praying about that?”

“Here you are talking to that imaginary guy in the sky!” “Why do you go to church so much?”

“You STAY reading your bible but STAY going through stuff!”

“You still go to THAT church!?”

You are doing the best you can…

and have people trying to get you to question it.

The bible says that blessed is the man who is NOT around these people. why?

1 Corinthians 5:6-7b

6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are.

another way to say it is:

• Corinthians 15:33

33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.

So you could be missing out on the Lord’s blessing AND being corrupted all at the same time! Double losing!

Be Careful Where You Are Walking!

• Timothy 2:16

Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.

Let’s look at it all together.

Psalm 1:1

• • Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

We’ve now talked about what that means.

Verse 2

• • But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

A person is blessed when they get away from certain people. AND spends more time in their word.

getting it in their hearts.

They spend more time practicing what they read.

they spend more time at church with other believers.

THAT person:

Verse 3

• • He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

A tree planted by streams of water.

Solid Unmovable

Rooted and Established

(yields fruit in season) - Produces at the right time. (leaf does not wither) - Strong and Resilient

“Whatever he does prospers” All the things we see in verse 3.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

can’t happen if you are breaking verse 1.

To Get Some Of The Things We’re Expecting God For This Year, Some Of Us Need To Start Walking Differently!

1 Corinthians 15:33

33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.

If you want to be blessed.

it requires certain things.

Some of us have to stop walking the way we’re going.

And start walking THIS way!