Living The Blessed life: Foundations Of Honoring God | Rev. Elisha Satvinder

Our memory verse is Psalms 1:1-3. Maybe the keyboard can still play, yeah, maybe the keyboard only. Thank you. But we’re going to read the six verses. And uh, when we look at, when we just read Psalms, we think of Psalms in many different ways. Uh, Psalms is also called the prayer book of the Bible. Okay, the prayer book of the Bible. The only place where you look and you read and you hear the rawness of a man’s frustration, his struggle with sin, his struggle with others, his struggle of his own self, his struggle of looking to God. So the Bible is very raw and very real that way.

So Psalms, you know, and this year I hope to take us through—not on Sundays—oh dear, what happened? Okay, sandala, okay, this is normal for her. Maybe we can take her up. Okay, okay, just let her rest. Fing to the rescue. Okay, she gets these fainting spells even in school. So, everybody all right? Psalms 1, we come back, okay? Should be all right, okay? Okay, everybody all right? Okay, so where was I?

So Psalms 1 is the prayer book of the Bible. Uh, not that I’m insensitive. This is a condition she has, and we’ve been praying for her, and she’s been seeking medical help, so she’s much better now. Okay, so normally in school, these episodes happen in school while she’s in school, so we be believing that she will be completely healed, amen. So now, when you pray for her on Sunday, when you come for prayer, you know how to pray even more specifically, amen. Okay, so Psalms 1. So, it’s the entry point to the rest of the 149 Psalms, and one of the things that we would look at is for me to take you through 150 Psalms in reading.

So why? It helps our own prayer life. It helps our prayer language. It helps our own emotions and our feelings to deal with issues. So every time you see in this scripture here that we’re going to read, or in the Psalms, when we read the word “law,” “I meditate on your law.” The law is not just the 10 Commandments of Moses. The law isn’t that. The law is all of scripture. Okay, all of scripture when we look at it, and he says, “Your law, your law is the one who…” So whether it’s the law, the word, “word,” “your light,” we understand that. Then, of course, there’s a word that’s used: “meditate.” How do you meditate?

Well, simple thing is this. I think of the implications of that word in my life, around me, in my home, at work, in my studies. So when I, when it says, “Meditate on it day and night,” you will say, “I need to study, I need to go to work, I need to do a lot of other things.” It’s that we can have that one word in our mind or that one verse, and that’s why we think of memory verses. That one word, we kind of let it wrestle with us through the day, and we think, “How does this change me? How can I deal with my situation through its truth?” So actually, it’s very practical.

So law is all of scripture. Meditate. And when it says, “I delight in God’s law,” or God says, “Delight,” so what does it mean? Simply this: I comply with God’s truth. I love what He loves. So when I think about God, I come to the place where I love what God loves, what He desires. What does that do? It changes me. It begins to work in my life. Sounds simple, but it’s a discipline, isn’t it?

So if I can invite all of you, our memory verse, of course, verses—three verses—Psalms 1:1-3 for this entire month. But we’re going to read the six verses because we’re going to kind of park on it for this month. Okay, are we ready to read it out loud? Okay, the rest of us, we read it out, read it out loud. Wonderful, let’s do that.

“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. 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.”

Verse four. Okay, we don’t have verse four? You can’t pull out anywhere from any part, uh, from anywhere? We can, right? Yeah, so we’re going to wait for a while ’cause we’re going to read all six verses. Yeah, yeah. We’ve run 1, 2… [Music] 3. Okay, gandala, turn around, tell somebody, “It’s going to be an exciting year!” Come on, while we’re waiting. Rather than all look like, “Okay, what’s happening?” Okay, come on, turn around and greet a few people and say, “Come on, it’s going to be a great year this year!” Okay, 2025, it’s going to be a great year! Come on, let’s do that, let’s do that, let’s do that.

Okay, okay, we are in business again, everybody. Okay, verse four. Everybody ready to go? Let’s read it.

“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. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.”

Amen, church. Before you sit down, this is God’s word, amen? It is God’s word, not a figment of man’s imagination. It is God’s word. Bless you. Come, let’s dive into Psalms 1.

Today, I basically just call this first couple of weeks “living.” Okay, we got to wait for them to come back to center of gravity. Thank you. Okay, we—I—I’m simply just calling this “Living the Blessed Life: Foundations for Honoring God.” As we grappled with the team, all of us looked at different things for this year. What is it that we really want to pursue? Is 2025 just another year? Is it going to be another year, or is it really going to be a significant year? It’s going to be a year that I encounter God, I draw closer to the Lord.

We all have those aspirations, but there are different ways we need to do it—put in different processes inside so that we can engage them. So, all of us want a blessed life, right? Nobody wants to be cursed. Everybody wants to enjoy some form of blessing, grace, or mercy. And often in life, we can take shortcuts. We can compromise on values, feeling that we need to help God because God is not getting on with our schedule.

Abraham is a classic example of wanting to short-circuit God’s plan and paid the price with Ishmael and Hagar. But there is a process that God puts in our lives, and we’re going to see some imagery this week, next week, and understand how it is that God’s way is the best way. So, Psalms 1:1-3—can we go back there now? I want to read this again:

“Blessed is the one who… it doesn’t start with ‘who does this’; it says, ‘who does not.’ 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. 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.”

So, living a fruitful life. Living a life that is honorable. All of us want to have an honorable life, okay? A Spirit-led life. We start with God.

I had met somebody, you know, in Publica, after—this was about, what, two months ago? And I had just gone to get something there. A very prominent person—a prominent lawyer, a lovely, lovely person, Godly lady—and we started talking about children at risk and various things. And the issue that we see in the corporate world… of course, we began to talk about different personalities. And I, by chance, said, “Yeah, actually this group…” and she said very gently, she touched my shoulder and said, “Pastor, you know how bad their reputation is in the corporate world, in the city?”

Now, I knew that. But after that conversation, I walked away and I said, this is an organization that’s very well-to-do, very influential. And sadly, the first thing I hear from somebody who’s quite influential is: “Do you realize they don’t have a very good reputation, corporate-wise? It’s how they do their practices; they make their multi-millions and billions.”

That got me thinking of a few things. What kind of life do we want to live? What kind of reputation do I want to have? I can pursue money and success, but at the expense of what? Of what?

So, when we think of this, love must be rooted in God. If not, love is just what the world tells us love is. Because this is the one that produces a life that—not only will we inherit the blessing and the grace of God through the year, but for the years ahead of us. Because it’s not just for 2025—it is for our Christian life. It’s our foundation.

So, Psalms 1 introduces what? A progression of choices, okay? It introduces a progression of choices that either lead us towards God or away from God. Either one. So, these three verses that we’re going to look at very briefly, quickly—they emphasize a blessed person. What he or she avoids, what they avoid, and provide us with some deeper understanding of the path that we choose. We talk about righteousness versus the gradual entanglement of sin.

So, we look at the first: it says, “who walks not in the counsel of the wicked.” It’s our first Sunday, but I think maybe the first Sunday we kind of set our radar and say, “Hey, this is the direction I want to move towards.” All right? So, it says, “walks not in the counsel of the wicked.” The idea here—walks—is something that is habitual, ongoing movement—a way of life. Okay? It’s habitual; it’s a habit.

Now, please do not think that Psalms 1, in talking about all these things, is referring only to the person who doesn’t know God. It’s actually relating also to the person who knows God but refuses to walk in the pathway of God. Okay? So, this is a habitual, ongoing movement—a way of life. It implies what? The decisions that I make, the directions that I take. We all make decisions; we all decide the direction of life. But is that direction from the wisdom of God, or is it from the impulse of my flesh? Is it from the influence of people around who say, “If you want to do well, this is the way to do it”? And sometimes there’s a conflict in our hearts that says, “But that is wrong.” And we say, “Ay, never mind, because I need to close this deal, ah. I need that promotion. I need to get through that exam.” So we just hedge a bit.

So, this is what it’s relating to here. It’s much deeper than what we see it as. So, it says, “walks not in the counsel.” The word “counsel” simply means this: guidance, advice, or plans. We all give advice. We give guidance, and we also receive advice, right? But let’s ask ourselves a question: Where does that advice come from? The advice that I give— is it carnal? Is it of the flesh? Is it biased? Is it my opinion, or is it my anger? What is that advice? Because we give advice to our spouses, we give advice to our children, we give advice to our family, to our friends, to our colleagues. Likewise, we receive advice from them. The needful question we ask is: Where is it coming from?

So, blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel—not in the guidance, not in the advice, not in the plans—of the wicked. It means adopting a worldview or a decision-making process that is not governed by what? By God’s word. Because if God’s word is not the center of my life, then it’s challenging.

You see, where does our Christian life begin? It begins with salvation. Did I come to church so that—did I come to church and agree to receive Jesus because I wanted to get married to someone? Or because I needed something? Or I needed to be in this particular church because a particular few businessmen are there, and I need to—so I’m going to just join that? Oh, I’m going to make that decision. So, that’s very important. Why am I making that choice?

So, salvation begins with me saying, “I am a sinner, separated from God. I need Jesus to forgive my sin. I need to receive Him as Lord and Savior.” Does it end there? No. Now, I begin to walk with Him, and I stop walking out of His will. Are you with me? That means my pathway changes. The influence of decisions in my life changes. My decision-making process changes. And that is where growth takes place. Salvation is not static. Every day, I’m living out my salvation. All right? So, it affects my decision-making processes.

Then, it says, “walks not in the counsel of the wicked.” So, the moment I read “wicked,” I think of other people. So, you shouldn’t be shocked when I say things right here—a wicked person could be sitting next to you in church, but they look perfectly normal. Let me qualify this. It describes somebody who picks wrong moral choices and is opposed to God’s ways.

I’m not opposed to God’s way. Remember, when I believe in Jesus, when I receive Jesus, I put off the old man, I put on the new man. That means now God’s truth governs my heart and my mind. The choices I make change. You know, I think I’ve said this to you, and some of you would have read it. In Wales, there was what we call the Welsh Revival. There were people who went to church but were godless. They went out and lived the way they wanted to live their life—drinking, getting drunk, adultery, cheating, doing all their nonsense. And God began to move upon a young man, and his prayer was this: “God, bend me.” Not bend me so I can be tortured—bend me, and I bow to Your will.

God moved upon Robert Evans, a young man, and slowly, things began to happen. Such was the change in people’s lives—the police stations were empty, so the police had no work to do. Isn’t that fun? So, they put together bands, singing bands, and they went around singing. The brothel prostitutes walked out of the profession and cleaned their lives up. But the most interesting thing was this: it was a lot of coal mining in that area. When they went back to work, the donkeys and horses didn’t respond to the instructions because all the instructions were vulgar words.

What happened was this: men who worked in the coal mines had been so reformed and transformed by what happened that their language changed, their lifestyle changed, and how they went to work changed so much that the animals also got confused. Even the donkey must be thinking, “Same fellow, same voice, but why does he speak differently?” They had to re-educate the animals on how to take instructions. Wow. I say, that is a change. Isn’t it? Amen, that is a change.

So, when we receive Jesus, there is a transformative power that impacts us—the way we speak, the way we think. So, “the counsel of the wicked”—the wicked is somebody opposed to God’s ways. I can be sitting here; I can be opposed to God’s ways. I can say, “No need to be churchy-churchy. No need to be so, ah yeah, holy-moly, godly. What is this, you know? This is the…” Hey, you are opposed to God’s ways. You can even tell your spouse, “Oh, come on, be real. Don’t let church influence you. Pastor, what does he know?”

Please listen—this is not tooting my trumpet here. You can say that to your spouse, you can say that to your children, you can say that to your brother and sister. What you are telling them is, “I am opposing God’s way.” No need to go to church. No need to serve. No need to do this. Why want to do that? Why want to give? Who says I have to give? God’s word.

Are you with me? Are you with me? Yes. Okay. We need to make some adjustments. So, when we read the scripture, it’s really the entry point of all the other Psalms. So, this phrase warns us that following advice, values, and philosophies that are not inclined to God’s word is wicked. This is where transformation takes place.

So, this word “walking” suggests that initially, it looks harmless—just hanging around with people, walking, harmless engagement. “I don’t really get involved. I don’t really get influenced by ungodly ideas, ideologies, or the secular media or pressure.” And I constantly ask—and you hear me say this often—I constantly ask young people: Who influences you more? Even all of us—your social media or God’s word? Which do you hunger and thirst for more? Social media or truth, God’s truth? What is the first thing I grab in the morning—God’s word or social media?

I want to walk in God’s way because, at the end of it, I want to be a tree planted by the river, bearing fruit. I want the blessed life minus the compromise. I want it the God way. The God way is narrow, is challenging, but in the end, it yields a great harvest. So, once we begin to listen and follow counsel that is not rooted in God’s word, our thinking conforms to the patterns. We’ve read it in Romans: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

How am I transformed by the renewing of my mind? It is reading God’s word, meditating on it, challenging myself, and saying, “How does this work for me?” Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is. That’s a lot, you know, because we always want to know what God’s will is, isn’t it? But when I start doing that, then I’m able to test, then I’m able to approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing, and perfect will.

So, today, how will this be applied? Well, I put it here: uncritically adopting secular self-help ideologies. What do I mean by “uncritically”? When I look at something, or when I receive advice—or I receive… sometimes when we are making decisions, whether it’s church or whether it’s at work, meaning, you know, the school—and a lot of people have a lot of opinions on how you can do things. And normally, I will just say this to Trina and the rest, I say, “I want to think about this. I want to know where that counsel is coming from. Is it going to get me in trouble five years down the road? I want to know where it’s coming from.”

So even sometimes my wife checks me. “Check, you know, hey, you’re making this decision—how are you making this decision?” I cannot say, “Hey, woman, you… no.” Please, men, seriously, check your ego. And at times, even my wife, I said, “You sure? You sure you want to do this? Have you quieted down your heart? Have you thought through this? Have we really looked at it?” Why? Because we are prone to make mistakes. Is that not true? We’re prone to make mistakes. I’m prone to take the easier option. “Wow, works, sir, do it.” And then this little nagging voice will come from the back and say, “Did you ask Me?” Oh dear.

Okay. So, we do that. Why? Because we don’t know how to bring God into the center of all we do. We are the captains of our own ship. So, uncritically—that means I’m not looking, I’m looking at the pros and the cons and saying, “Okay, how is this working?” So that is what we don’t look at when secular self-help says, “This is the way to do things.” We don’t think about it, we don’t challenge that mindset with God’s truth.

So, uncritically adopting secular self-help ideologies, pursuing selfish ambitions, or embracing a relativistic view of morality—what does that mean? Good is defined by me, not by God’s truth. Bad is also defined by me, my friends, my employer, my employees, or my business partner. Nothing is subject to God’s truth; it’s subject to my feelings and what the popular opinion is. This is how we do business. No, I don’t think so.

You see, businesspeople—people who have money—will like to tell the church how to do church. But can the church, can the leader, turn around and say, “I want to know how you’re dealing with your business?” “Oh, that’s not your business, you know. You stick to the…” No. If you want to have opinions, you must be ready for that question. You must be ready.

So, I can go to work, I can do my business, but I’m tempted to respond to popular advice that prioritizes what? “As long as I hit the bottom line. As long as I pass my exams. As long as I get that visa. As long as I get that business deal. I hit that mark of that money that I want to make, it’s okay if I compromise the ethics.” You know, because everybody does it. God is not everybody. His truth is not everybody. And then I compromise integrity.

So, you realize it could be speaking about any one of us. The challenge is this: we must regularly evaluate whose counsel we follow. Whose counsel am I following? Are my life decisions shaped more by scripture or by culture, by the trends, or by the person who pays my salary? Do I seek God’s wisdom through His word in prayer? James 1:5 says what? “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God.”

We do this: “Okay God, what should I do?” But I don’t take the time daily to meditate on His word. I don’t take time daily to sit down and look at His word and say, “God, let Your word shape me today. Shape me, God. Help me be the center of my decisions. Lord, help me.” If anyone lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But come to the One who gives the wisdom.

So, Proverbs 1:7 says what? “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom or the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” The beginning—the fear of the Lord. Hey, do I have this healthy place? Do I honor God? Am I honoring God?

You know, one of the places I know I dishonor the Lord is in my health, and it’s not funny. Because I’ve got to stop dishonoring God that way. I’ve got to stop dishonoring God with the compromises. I can dishonor God with the way I think. I can dishonor God with how I respect or disrespect others. We can dishonor God with the way we honor the house of God. You can dishonor God by cutting corners at work, at business, at studies, cheating—all those are part of honoring God. Then don’t bind and loose or curse people. Don’t do that.

So, yes, we want to set the trajectory for 2025 because I want to be a tree. We all must be wanting to be trees planted by God. Amen? For God, bearing the God-kind of fruit. We’ve got to just look and say, “I really don’t think I was a fruitful person last year. I think I could have done better in influencing people at my workplace, my business partners.” You know, “I think I could have done a better job of not wasting my time, engaging my studies better. Hey, I could have honored God with my 24 hours that I have.”

You hear me say this so often: social media is a blessing, and it’s a curse. If you don’t know how to use it, you dishonor God with your time. Don’t say you don’t have time because you’re lost with it. You’re lost, lost with it.

So, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Do I have a healthy fear of God?

The second thing I want us to look at is “stands in the way of sinners.” That means I refuse—I do not stand in the way of sinners. What does this mean? “Stand” means to take a firm position. I linger. First is “walk,” walking—walking is, you know, kind of touch and go. Now you stand—you linger. It’s with greater intention. It suggests what? Engaging more deeply. You start having deeper conversations. Yeah, you know, physically there can be a distance, but mentally and spiritually, you could be being influenced in the wrong way.

So, “not stands in the way”—the “way” again is lifestyle, behavior, path. The word symbolizes one thing: moral direction of one’s life. So, the same question: who shapes my values? Do you have one value at work and a different value at home? Do you impose a different value in church? Do you compromise on God’s values? Because we do answer to Him, isn’t it?

So, the thing is this: it’s a moral direction. Is that moral direction coming from people around me outside of church or within church? That’s important. So, “stand in the way of sinners”—again, we think “sinner,” somebody who doesn’t know God. That’s not true. It simply means the one who misses the mark of God’s standard. So, it’s one who lives habitually in disobedience.

I can be a believer, change my name, have my Bible, come to church, and still be disobedient in my heart. I still can be disobedient, and I get upset when I’m corrected. Oh, I throw these things: “Mind your own business.” No, you’re a believer. You’re accountable.

Pause. When was the last time we were accountable for our lives, for our money, for our time, for our behavior? When was the last time? Difficult. Important.

So, “standing” reflects a deeper involvement than walking. It signifies what? Becoming more rooted in sinful patterns. So, this could involve participating in behaviors and habits that contradict God’s ways. We can go out for parties and behave completely like pagans. So, while “walking” involves listening to ungodly advice, “standing” involves what? Aligning with a place, what you do. You actually start defending those wrong decisions. You start defending the wrong decisions.

So, what’s the challenge here? Now, it can be seen as someone who moves simply from observing sinful behavior to one who begins to justify why you need to participate. “Hey, you know, I need to be in the world. My friends—I’ve got more non-Christian friends and engagements than Christian friends.” All the more, the challenge is: I better live my life right.

The work that we are involved in, whether it’s from the government or marketplace leaders or whatever it is, and I tell you this with all sincerity—you are constantly asked to compromise on principle. Constantly. And I have to decide: is this relationship, partnership—is this worthwhile or not worthwhile? How do I deal with it? “God, I need wisdom.” Because I know, if this one pulls out, the team is going to say, “You know how much they give?” or “You know how much they support?”

I have to make that hard decision. The hard conversation is, “Hey, I understand this, but I’m sorry. I cannot do this for you.” I think I told you a story of one of the embassies. They said, “This embassy, the first time when they give, they never give you more than 5,000 to 10,000.” So, the second person came to see me, and at that time, we were much smaller. Walked around, got very impressed, and we sat down—my office was over the other side. I still remember that. Anybody remember that dingy blue couch? And we started talking.

I said, “Well, it’s sad that you only give to these things.” I said, “Actually, if you look around, I have that hardware. What I need is 1, 2, 3.” Oh, she said, “Well, Reverend, you know, I understand that, but there are ways to write.” Of course, I perked my ears. Okay. “You can write it this way and put it this way and do this.” So, I looked at the person, I leaned forward, and I said, “Are you asking me to lie?”

This person flipped her head back, laughed so loud, and said, “I have hardly come across somebody who wants money and tells me that they’re not going to lie for it.”

Unprecedented, we got 140,000 for the next three years. If I had compromised 10,000 and sold my soul… I’m so glad. Have I faulted? Yes, I have. But I am determined to keep building that ethic. Everybody, amen? Come on, we can do it.

We live for a higher standard. We live for God. We live for His truth. We are salt and light. We are bearers of that. We are bearers of God’s truth. Don’t be embarrassed if somebody cannot walk with you with that—that means they cannot stand the truth in your life, and that is their choice. It’s not for you to compromise.

“We cannot do this business deal until…” No, I’m sorry, we cannot do it. It means we can’t do it because you are asking me to dishonor God. You’re asking me to dishonor my family, my church, and everyone that I know.

So, whatever it is, what’s the challenge? It’s to identify areas where you might justify sinful behavior or linger in environments that weaken your commitment to God. You decide in all honesty.

Sorry, using personal examples and illustrations. There are groups of people I have refused to go out with anymore, and they can be amazing supporters. But every time I go there, it’s this nonstop stupid vulgarities, running down people, coarse joking, jesting. I always come out feeling like I just dumped myself in the toilet bowl. You know, seriously, like you took a poop bath. You feel so licked, and I said, “Why am I doing this?”

Obviously, I am not bringing an influence to these guys—they refuse. So, I stopped, which got a few of them to be perked up and said, “Why?” I said, “Well, the conversation must be a bit more valuable than that.” Okay, moving on.

Ephesians says, “Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything…” How much, everyone? Everything. “…to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,”* and it goes on to the other parts of what you call the armor of God. But the whole issue is: I engage. This is my armor. I engage God’s truth.

Life. Last one: “sits in the seat of scoffers.” Doesn’t sit. Okay, sit—what does “sit” mean? To remain, to dwell, to settle. Actually, this speaks of a settled commitment or a sense of belonging. That means you’re so buddy-buddy already.

Let’s look at this a bit more. Here, the “seat”—what does the word “seat” mean? It refers to a group of people, but it’s a place you are at. But it also means this: a position of influence. The question is this: Who has the position of influence in your life? Sometimes it’s your boss, your supervisor—they cause you to compromise.

You can have a Christian boss that has no respect for your local church. You can have a Christian boss who doesn’t think you need to be generous, or you need to be giving to the Lord, or you need to be serving God. You can have Christian bosses that way. And they are in a seat of influence, and in that seat of influence, they influence you to compromise God’s truth. Vice versa, you can be doing that to the people you work with or lead. It cuts across.

So, you don’t have to listen. “Hey, why listen to church? Why listen to pastor?” Your position of influence corrupts God’s value system.

So scoffers—we think, what are scoffers? Those who mock or ridicule God and His ways. Why? They show contempt for righteousness. Again, it can be a believer; it doesn’t have to be an unbeliever. I live a life of compromise; I mock it.

So “sitting” is the culmination of this downward spiral, this downward progression. It describes completely becoming comfortable with ungodliness, actively opposing God, and leading others astray through ridicule or rebellion. A scoffer doesn’t just sin—they actually do it openly and lead others into compromise.

Proverbs 1:22 says, “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?” Now, if you look at this again, I can say I’m simple. But is it the simplicity of compromise?

“How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?” You don’t become a fool overnight. You start hating knowledge bit by bit, doesn’t it? Then you become a full-blown fool, yeah, and you become a mocker. And what happens is this: the danger is that we make jokes out of it.

Sometimes, while the sermon is going on, I know what he’s going to say next. You know, “He’s meaning this.” That’s mocking. That’s mocking. When you go out and you mock the sermon or you mock something that happened, that’s mocking. When you read God’s word and you say, “Ah, that’s…” That’s mocking. We’ve got to be very careful with that. We’ve got to be so careful with that.

So, this year we tell ourselves, “Hey, I want to be influenced rightly. Let me start with God, amen? Let me start with the word of God. Let God influence me. Let God influence my thoughts, my decision-making. Let God influence all these areas of my life. Let God influence me.”

So, today, this can manifest where it’s a stand that we take—that we influence others to doubt or reject biblical truths. Our current position of success is no measure of our obedience. I’ll say that again: our current position of success, or our position of influence or status, is no measure of my obedience.

The challenge is this: we must avoid becoming desensitized to sin. We must regularly assess where our thoughts, our words, and our actions align with God’s truth. Resist the temptation to settle into environments or relationships that mock or belittle faith.

We must regularly evaluate our lives. Where am I aligning myself? Am I aligning my decisions, my values, my behavior with God’s truth? Or am I settling into relationships or environments that are slowly pulling me away from God? This is a question we must keep asking ourselves, because the danger is subtle. It starts small, and before we know it, we’re sitting in the seat of scoffers—completely comfortable with compromising on God’s standards.

Ephesians reminds us again: “Put on the full armor of God.” Why? Because standing firm in God’s truth requires us to actively engage with His word and His presence. It’s not passive—it’s intentional. You need the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation to stand firm. The armor of God is what equips us to resist compromise and stay obedient to Him.

The year 2025 is an opportunity to set a trajectory for growth, for honoring God, and for living a life that reflects His truth. It’s about being like the tree described in Psalms 1: planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in season, with leaves that do not wither. It’s about living a life of integrity, obedience, and intentionality—rooted in God’s truth.

So, this year, as we step into 2025, let us ask ourselves these questions: Whose counsel are we following? Who influences our decisions? Are we meditating on God’s word and letting it shape us daily? Are we living lives that reflect His truth and His values? Because at the end of the day, we want to be people who honor God in every area of our lives.