There are two ways - the way of sinners and the way of the way of the Lord. These two ways should be easy to tell apart. But the culture of this world can make it difficult for people. Take Hollywood cowboys for example. I used to be easy to know who the good cowboy was and who the bad cowboy was. The good cowboy was wore a white hat. He did what was right and won in the end. The bad cowboy wore a black hat. He was sinister and lost at the end of the movie.

Then Hollywood began to idolize the bad cowboy. They were troubled souls who you were supposed to feel sorry for no matter what terrible things they did.

Now Hollywood cowboys have really changed. Today in movie theaters around the country, you can watch two cowboys go up a mountain and fall in love with each other. I think this is incredibly disturbing, because people accept these sinful ways and they become the norm in our society.

The messages that are sent from our sinful world can be really confusing for people. Have people made you feel guilty about speaking up about homosexuality, abortion, racism, or the only to heaven? The world entices people to think differently than the way God wants them to. Even lifelong Christians can be lulled into this. How does "the world" tempt you? Remember that there are only 2 ways for you to go. It is very black and white. You can go the way of sinners or you can go the way of the Lord.

1. The Way of Sinners

We make decisions all day long and God says, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way sinners or sit in the seat of mockers." In other words, don't be like sinful people. So the choices should be easy.

However that is not the way it works all the time. The world works overtime to drag Christians down into the depths of wickedness. God tells us in this Psalm, "Don't walk in the counsel of the wicked." They will give you bad advice. It is no good to you. God continues, "Don't stand in the way of sinners either." Don't get caught up in what the crowd is doing. They will lead you astray. And finally God says, "Don't sit in the seat of mockers." If you sit down with them and make yourself at home, you will be eternally lost.

My parents always told me to be careful about whom my friends were. They knew how easy it is for young people to fall into a bad crowd and to be led down the wrong path. That makes sense and God tells the same thing. Be careful who your friends. Watch out that the wicked don't lead you astray. Be mindful of the movies you watch, the books you read, the people you listen to. If they are not going the Lord's way they are wicked. Flee the way of wicked for they celebrate their sins. They mock the Word of God.

And they will reap what they sow. Verse of the Psalm tells us, "Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor will the sinners in the assembly of the righteous ... The way of the wicked will perish." Not much else needs to be said about it. Wickedness leads to eternal damnation.

Now before we become Pharisees, we must confess and repent of our own sins. We too fall into temptation. We succumb to lure of the lusts and desires of the world. And we deserve death in hell for all eternity because of our sins.

Thankfully though there was a person who never walked in the counsel of the wicked. He never stood in the way of sinners. He never sat in the seat of mockers. Jesus was perfect and never gave into the temptations of the world. Jesus would not give up his mission and when tempted he commanded the devil to get away from him.

Even when he was sacrificing himself for the sins of the world, Jesus never gave into the world. That miserable cross was excruciating both physically and spiritually. Jesus stayed the course and with his suffering and death, he brought us true forgiveness and justification.

With his resurrection, Jesus made it crystal clear that it is not all about this world. He made eternal life in heaven a reality for us. This world can never compare. With thanks to Jesus choose avoid the way of sinners. God will help you. He will direct you in your sanctified life. He will give you the strength to live according to his will.

When you do this, God offers you a wonderful promise. When you follow the way of the Lord, you will have the blessing of peace in your life. And more importantly, you will have peace forever in heaven. It makes sense then that Christians will gladly want to follow the way of the Lord, not because they have to or are obligated to. Christians follow the way of the Lord because they want to. They want to because they are thankful to God.

2. The Way of the Lord

So how do you go the way of the Lord? First of all, resist sin. When you walk down the path of the Lord, you will gladly resist sin. Why? Resist sin because you love God. Resist sin because it only brings heartache and misery. Resist sin with the help of God. You now have the opportunity to live your lives of sanctification.

Now in faith, you can fight off your Old Adam. You can resist the lures of the world. You can stop your gossip. You can get rid of your anger and jealousy. You run away from your petty selfishness. You can beat those worldly demons down. God gives you the strength.

And you know what, when you resist sin, you glorify your God, and God blesses you. When you resist sin, you encourage your fellow Christians, and you let your light shine to those living in this world. Go the way of the Lord and refuse to accept sin in your life.

How can this be possible? "But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night." Those who go the way of the Lord also get to delight in the Word of God. They revel in Bible study and worship. They meditate on it day and night. What does it mean to meditate? It is more than just a passing glimpse at a Bible passage. It means that a person turns the Bible passage over and over in his mind and reflects on it. It means that a person will drink deeply from the well of God's Holy Word.

Does Bible study make you happy? Do you rejoice that you get to come to church and hear God's Word? Do you eagerly anticipate the next time you get to open up the Scriptures? Those who follow the way of the Lord meditate on the Bible day and night. You can practice with this Psalm this week. Keep the sermon notes with you so you can read and reread Psalm 1 every day this week. Meditate on it. Make sure that you sign up of for one of the Bible Basics classes. In these classes you get to sit and meditate on God's Word and God, in turn, will bless you richly for it. You can choose a million excuses not to come to Bible Basics, but ask yourself if you are choosing the way of the Lord.

As you grow in faith and knowledge from meditating on the Word of God, you will continue to produce fruits of faith. Psalm 1 tells us that the one who chooses the way of the Lord "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...For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous."

God plants us by streams of water. Then he makes our faith grow. When our faith grows, just as a plant does when it grows, we will produce fruit. If you are growing in faith, you will go the way of the Lord. What kind of fruit will you bear in life of sanctification? Show your love to God by the choices that you make choices every day. Be the good cowboy and not the bad cowboy. Continue to do the things that please God.

But don't do the things that God wants you to because you have to. You aren't winning points for heaven. You aren't earning your way to heaven. Rather follow the way of the Lord because you get to. You are a redeemed child of God, purchased with the blood of Jesus Christ. You have been set free to love God and love your neighbor. You now get to serve Jesus with your life. Don't resist sin because you have. Resist sin because you get to. Don't love God's Word because you have to. Love God's Word and meditate on it because you get to. Don't produce fruits of faith because you have to. Produce fruits of faith because you get to! God promises he will bless you. Amen.