Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Psalms, chapter 119. Psalms 119. I'd like to look at the first
verse of Psalm 119. I've entitled this message, are
the blessed. Who are the blessed? Psalm 119 says, blessed are the
undefiled in the way who walk in the law of the Lord. Now,
for just a few minutes, I'd like for us to put aside all opinions
as to what it is to be blessed of God. I want to put aside all
our thoughts, what we've heard, what others have said concerning
what it is to be blessed of God. Actually, what I want to ask
is this, who are those that are truly called Christians? Now I hear claim all over the
place about being a Christian. I'm a Christian. But in light
of eternity, I know this, there's coming a time, and it could be
today, where in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, before
you can even twitch your eye, we'll all stand before God. Not
only all that are alive, all that have ever lived on this
earth are going to stand before God. Now that's a sobering thought. We're really going to stand before
God. There's really going to be a
day of judgment. And there's only one authority
to the truth. And that's this book right here.
This book. Now, I want to bypass all false
conceptions and I'm going to go immediately to this scripture
And it's there that we're going to hear from the Lord, from the
Spirit of God, what is it, what's the attitude, what's the path,
what's the character of a believer, truly a believer. I heard Brother Scott say one
time, he said, What we do is we lay down a straight stick.
You lay down a straight stick and that's going to expose all
crooked sticks. I can, sometime I'll be looking
somewhere and I'm looking at something that's supposed to
be vertical, a post that holds up a porch or something like
that and I'll just kind of line it up with something past it. And I know one of them straight. And as soon as I look, I can
tell just a second if the other's not. You set down the truth. Who are these people chosen from
all eternity? Now that's what the scripture
says. God Almighty has chosen a people. That's in Ephesians
chapter 1. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. God has chosen a people from
all eternity unto salvation. And these that the Lord has set
his affection on. John chapter 10 verse 15, the
Lord himself declares, I lay down my life for them. That's what he said. I lay down
my life for the sheep. John 10, 15. Who are these redeemed by the
blood of Christ and called out by the Spirit of God? These everlastingly
loved vessels of God's mercy. What is the attitude of these
people? What's the attitude of their
heart? What is that character and that path? Well, from this
verse, I'm just going to look at this verse. I'll look at a
couple of other verses clarify what I'm saying, but this verse,
this is what the scripture says concerning these people. Blessed. Blessed. Hold your place right
there and turn to Matthew 25. Matthew 25. Matthew 25 and verse
31, 34. The Lord said, verse 31, Matthew
25, When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the
holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His
glory. Now just stop for just a minute.
Now, the Lord is telling us something. He's saying what we just said
a minute ago. He said, I'm coming back. I'm coming back. Verse
32, And before Him shall be gathered all nations, And he shall separate
them one from another, as a shepherd divided his sheep from the goats.
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats
on the left. Then shall the king say unto
them on his right hand, come ye blessed of my father. Inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world. Come ye blessed of my Father.
Come that you who have been blessed by my Father. Blessed in Ephesians
1 verses 3 to 7. You can read that. We've read
it so many times. Blessed with all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places in Christ. Chosen. Adopted. Predestinated. In Matthew chapter 5, there's
an evidence that's given of these blessed. Matthew chapter 5, it
says in verse 3, blessed are the poor in spirit. Theirs is
the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn.
They shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek. They shall
inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger
and thirst after righteousness. they shall be filled. Blessed
are the merciful, they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the
pure in heart, they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers,
they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which
are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall
revile you and persecute you, say all manner of evil against
you falsely for my sake. Blessed, blessed, blessed. And with that glorious blessing
of God from heaven, being blessed in Christ Jesus, that word blessed
is actually a word that sets forth the attitude. They are
blessed of the Lord. God has done something for them
that they couldn't do for themselves. He's had mercy upon them. and
they have an attitude that is consistent with God's mercy to
them. What is that attitude? What is that attitude? Well,
here it is. I'm back in Psalm 119 verse 1. Blessed, that word means happy. They're happy. That's what blessed
means. Happy, happy. They're truly happy
when they are made to remember their standing before God. Now,
let me have you turn to Psalm 32 for just a minute. Here is
absolutely the most blessed revelation of
Almighty God to a people to whom he's had mercy. Psalm 32 verses
1 and 2, blessed. Now that word, Psalm 32, blessed,
it still means happy. Blessed, happy is he whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed, happy is the man unto
whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. and in whose spirit there is
no guile. Now if you want to know the foundation
of happiness, true happiness, there it is right there. Psalm
32 verse 1 and 2. Happy is the man that realizes
God has been pleased to not charge me with my sin. Am I guilty? Yes, sir, I'm guilty. Do I have
sin in me right now? Yes, I do. Paul says, I see in
me, that is in my flesh. There dwelleth no good thing.
Sin is present with me. But here is the foundation of
my happiness. God doesn't charge me with it. He charged it to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Made that sin to be His. Took
the guilt of His people, those He chose to show mercy. And Christ was made what they
are. They're happy people. And a believer
is one that is happy to tell people about it. Hold your place.
Turn to Acts 26. Acts 26, verse 1 and 2. Acts 26. They are happy
to tell people about what the Lord has done for them. Acts
26, verse 1. Then Agrippa said unto Paul,
Thou art permitted to speak for thyself, Then Paul stretched
forth his hand and answered for himself, I think myself happy. King Agrippa, because I shall
answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things
whereof. I am accused of the Jews. Look at verse 12, that same chapter. What was Paul happy to tell Agrippa
about? Let me tell you, remember when
that demoniac from Gadara, the Lord cast out that legion of
demons from him and that former demoniac wanted to go with the
Lord and said, no, no, no, no, no. Why don't you go home to
your friends and you tell them what great things the Lord has
done for you. There's a happy man. We talk about things that make
us happy. I think about going on a vacation.
I just get so happy. I can't wait. I can't wait to
go. I'm so anticipating of going
on a vacation. I could go up to the Amish country.
I've been there so many times I couldn't count how many times
I've been up there. I do the same thing every time,
every time, every time. And I get so excited to go up
there. And then when it's all over,
I thought, well, I was ready to go home. I'll turn right around
and be happy. Everything in this life, happiness
in this life, it fades. It just is nothing. But happiness
to a believer concerning eternal things. King Agrippa said, Paul,
I'm going to let you speak for yourself. Why don't you speak
for yourself? And Paul said, I'll be happy
to. Look at verse 12. Whereupon as I went to Damascus
with authority and commission, from the chief priest, said,
Midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven above
the brightness of the sun shining round about me, and them which
journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to
the earth, I heard a voice speaking to me, saying in the Hebrew tongue,
Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It's hard for thee to kick
against the pricks. It's not healthy. That's what
he said. It's not healthy, Paul. It's hard. And I said, who art
thou, Lord? And he said, I'm Jesus whom thou
persecutest. But rise, stand upon thy feet,
for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee
a minister and a witness both of these things. which thou hast
seen, and of those things in which I will appear unto thee,
delivering thee from the people, from the Gentiles, unto whom
now I send thee, to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness
to light, from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive
forgiveness of sins, inheritance among them which are sanctified
by faith that is in me." Paul said, I'll be just happy. to
tell you what the Lord has done for me. God's people, these that
are blessed of God, what is their character? They're happy people,
blessed of the Lord, of God's mercy, the glory that they've
received and that they've beheld by faith. They've been justified
by God's blood. They've been set apart for God's
glory and they've got no reason to be anything other than happy,
happy. You ever heard your dad say,
since I heard the good news, I haven't heard the bad news.
You all hear Scott say that. No reason to fear in the day
of judgment. There is therefore now no condemnation. to them that be in Christ Jesus. That's good news. God's people
are happy. They're blessed as they walk
in this world. This world is the valley of the
shadow of death. This is. Now listen to Psalm
23.4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
though I walk through this world, I don't know when the Lord's
going to be pleased to take me. I may collapse before I finish
this sentence and be gone. I've seen that happen. Just gone. And I don't know but yea, though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil. Why? Thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me." There's a realization of God's providential guidance and
mercy and compassion. And therefore, they're happy. They're happy people. The Lord
who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. Is there any reason to not be
happy? And these back in Psalm 119,
that attitude of being happy. Here is the continuance of their
character. Blessed are the undefiled in
the way. In Adam, all men were defiled
by sin, ruined, polluted from the crown of the head The soul
of the foot. There's no soundness, there's
nothing. Oh, putrefying sores. They've
got no affection. They died spiritually. That means
they have no ability, no desire, no hunger, no thirst after the
things of God. They're just dead. Spiritually,
they're dead. They're dead. They're dead to
Him, dead to His Word, dead to His glory. But for the believer,
something has happened. They've been made to realize
something. That by the grace of God, they
are undefiled in Christ. who is the way. He said, I'm
the way, I'm the truth, I'm the life. They're not undefiled in
themselves. If I was undefiled in myself,
if I had the ability to undefile myself, how can you get a clean
thing out of an unclean thing? It's unclean. How do you make
something clean out of that? How can I undefile myself? I have no ability to do that. What's going to have to happen?
God's going to have to make a new man. He's going to have to make
a brand new man. This old man is defiled with
sin and He evidences that by unbelief. So there's only one
way for a sinner to be undefiled. It's to be undefiled in Christ.
God create from heaven a new creature created in righteousness
and holiness in Him who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners, and made higher than the heavens. Blessed, happy,
or the undefiled. That means the perfect. They're
perfect. And you mean to tell me that
God Almighty, by His choice, not mine, but
His, that God Almighty was pleased to create in a vessel of His
mercy a perfect man? A perfect man is exactly what
I'm saying. That which is born of God sinneth
not. There is in a believer a complete,
a sound, an innocent man, justified. I've told you so many times,
I need to hear it myself. Justified. What does that mean?
No charge. No guilt. No record. No record. No record. No record. No record. Justified by God's
power and God's will and God's mercy. God's people. Born in Adam. Born with a debt. That debt has
been paid in full. Made to be the Lord's. Taken
off, made to be His. And He bore the guilt that we
have. God's just. God Almighty has
paid the debt. There's no guilt. He's given
them righteousness. The righteousness of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Their sin has been borne by Christ. They are holy. in the Lord Jesus
Christ, robed in His righteousness. Happy are the perfect, perfect
in the way. You think a believer's got something
to be happy about? All this is fading. I didn't
used to be this old, but I am now. And I feel it. I know it. Happy are those that
are undefiled in Him, who walk in the law of the Lord. What is the path of a Christian? Well, a Christian are those that
walk in the law of the Lord. Now let me ask you something. How many believers in this room
this morning would be willing to stand up and say, I count
myself to have always walked in God's way, in myself. No, I tell you, I see the heads
hanging down. That's what we all do. Say, I've
never walked that way in me. I've never, I've never seen,
I've never, I've never, I've never been evident. I've never
seen the evidence of one thing that I've ever done in myself
that was worthy of God's recognition or approval. But to say that we walk in the
law of the Lord is to say that we walk in absolute obedience. Who walk in the law of the Lord. That walk in absolute consistency in God's law. How? Here's what Paul said himself.
I'll read this from Romans chapter 7. How is it? Paul said in verse 18, I quoted
this a while ago, I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth
no good thing, for to will is present with me, but how to perform
that which is good I find not in me. Oh, but being found who walk
in the law of the Lord, being found in Him as He is the way,
the truth, and the life. We do walk in the law of the
Lord by faith. Let me read Philippians 3 to
you. Philippians chapter 3 and verse
3. Paul says we are the circumcision
which worship God in the Spirit. And we rejoice in Christ Jesus. That's how we rejoice. We rejoice
in Him and concerning ourselves and have no confidence in the
flesh. There is a blessed truth set forth to a believer that
reveals to him, to her, being found in Christ, being found
in our federal head, being found in the surety. Now remember,
the surety is the one who has covenanted to answer for. Humanly speaking, it's if we're
proven to not be able to pay a debt. then the surety kicks
in. You know, they'll give me at
the bank, they'll give me a little time to see if I can make good
on that. But I can tell you this, if somebody has cosigned for
me, and I prove to the bank that I can't pay the debt, guess who
they're coming after? They're coming after the cosigner.
The surety himself has stood eternally for God's people. I don't know how to speak eternal
as I've said before, but from that time, which is not a good
way to say it, but from eternity, everlastingly, God Almighty,
for those chosen in Christ, has never looked to them. He never
looked to them. Why? He knew they couldn't be. He's always looked to the surety. God's law demands obedience. It demands obedience. If it's
not obeyed, the soul that sinneth. What is it? What is sin? Transgression
of the law. Disobedience to the law. The
soul that sinned is going to die. Christ bore that and died
in the stead of His people. Oh, but being found in Him. Found
in the One. whom the Father said, this is
My beloved Son, whom I am well pleased. You hear Him. Concerning
Him, the One who has covenanted to answer for, the One that has
pleased the Father, the One whose righteousness robes us, the One
who is the Federal Head. What He does, we do in Him. That's it. Therefore, they walk
in the Law of the Lord. In Christ, He alone finished
the work. And as we consider Him in closing
to be our federal head, to be our representative, to be our
advocate, to be our mediator before God, we can say being
found in Him, I've obeyed God. I have obeyed in Christ God. 1 John 4, 17, Herein is our love
made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment,
because as He is, so are we in this world. You mean to tell
me as the Lord Jesus Christ is, holy, undefiled, perfect as he
is, being found in him as he is, before God, so are we in
this world. Yeah. Yeah. That's a happy people. And every time they hear it,
they get happy again. I pray God bless this to our
hearts for Christ's sake. Amen.