Let me tell you how you know you've been blessed when external is falling apart and internal is doing fine. Dr. Tony Evans says that kind of peace comes from staying rooted in the truth. Regardless of the bleakness or barrenness, they will be a continuous source of life. This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr.
Tony Evans. If being blessed just meant having more stuff, then every wealthy person would be walking in joy and peace. But we know that's not always the case. Today, Dr. Evans looks at what the Bible really means by blessing and explains how delighting in God's Word can unlock a deeper, lasting joy that doesn't depend on your circumstances.
Let's listen as he gets started. Today I want to look at a benefit that everybody would want. And that is the benefit of spiritual blessing. Scripture brings spiritual blessing. Turn your Bible to Psalm chapter 1.
How blessed is the man? Who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked? nor stand in the path of sinners nor sit in the seat of scoffers But his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law, he meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water.
Which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither, and whatever he does, he prospers. Who here today wants to be blessed? Anyone? If your hand didn't go up, something wrong with you. Everybody wants to be blessed.
He starts off by saying. How blessed. You can't see it in the English. But in the Hebrew, the word blessed is plural. Yeah.
So what he's saying is Blessings multiplied. How blessed? He's talking about abundance of blessing. What is a blessing? For many people A blessing refers to things acquired.
Stuff. Stuff may be a blessing. But I'm sure you know people who have stuff. Who don't look blessed. The back.
The more they get, the more miserable they become. In fact, They can't get enough.
So there must be something more. to blessing, then accumulation. And then, on top of that, are we suggesting that people who don't have a lot are not blessed? Or that people who have less than I do are less blessed than I am. There must be some common denominator.
That regardless of where you live What you drive. The house you live in, the job you work, the money you make, the clothes you wear, there must be some common denominator where all the differences among all the people.
Well, everybody could still say, I've been blessed. Pineapple.
So what's the meaning of the term? Very simply. A blessing. or blessings. Refers to The God-given capacity.
Yeah.
to enjoy his goodness in your life. Paul says, I know how to be. Abounding? Which means to have Surplus. He says, I know how to be a bass.
to not have enough. to pay the bills he says i know how to be up on top I know how to go through a layoff and be down underneath. Yeah.
He says, I have covered the gamut. But then he says In every situation. Whether up, down, in, out, back, forth. I have learned the secret. Are being satisfied.
In other words, I've learned to enjoy God's goodness. in whatever state. I happen to be in. You can get a raised and be blessed. You could be laid off and be blessed.
Because it's related to your capacity. to enjoy. The goodness of God. How blessed is the man? And then he says three things: who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, who does not stand in the path of sinners, who does not sit in the seat of scoffers.
You can first of all tell a blessed person by what they don't do. That's not generally how we start our discussions of blessings off. We start our discussions of blessings off by what we do, by what we have. But where we go, by who we know. He says the first thing a blessed person does not do is walk according to the counsel or the advice.
of the wicked. The black person Doesn't go to people who have no regard for God to get advice on how to live. The fastest way. to miss your blessing. Or to lose your blessing.
is talk to the wrong folk about your blessing. He does not walk. That is, to walk means to live according to the perspective of people. Who have a man-centered and not a God-centered worldview. The second thing that a blessed person does not do is stand in the path of sinners.
To stand refers to Your influencers. and who you identify with. Right, right. The blessed person does not sit in the seat of scoffers. A staffer is a person Who makes light.
of serious things. And they sit in judgment. It says they sit in the seat of scoffers. They're always critiquing somebody else. They're sitting as a judge and a jury.
Over everybody, they can tell you. Everybody else's business. Give you a viewpoint. They have an idea about everything. They have ideas unrequested.
Because they love to look at opportunities. To add somebody else. Watch. Please notice the progression here. We have started off.
Walking. According to the advice. Then we get comfortable, so now we're standing. In the path. Then we make ourselves at home so we're sitting.
In the sea. And you become more and more comfortable. What's the situation? Yeah, yeah. You become more and more comfortable.
Until you find yourself At home. And have not we all experienced that? Starting off in one area, being uncomfortable, and then winding up. Being too comfortable. He says the not blessed person Has the wrong reference point, the wrong starting point, the wrong determining point leading to a downward spiral from walking, standing, to sitting?
That's the not-so-blessed person.
Well, that's the not so blessed person. What is the blessed person doing. But his delight. Is it the law of the Lord? And in his law he meditates.
Day and night. The word delight is a very picturesque word. It means where you'd rather be. Whatever you delight in, you want to be near to. If you delight in a person, you want to be near that person.
If you delight in a book, you want to read that book. If you delight in a song, you're humming those words. The light has to do. with where you find your joy. Right.
Pleasure. It refers to the things. that make you smile. Even if you're not there literally with it when the thought comes. You smile.
Because its impact is there regardless. When you delight in something, it means it's in your head. It's messing with your mind. It's keeping you up at night. You can't shake it.
That's a delight. That which is pleasing. to the thought. He says the blessed. man or woman.
finds their delight. In the law of the Lord. How do you know they're delighting in the law of the Lord? Because in his law, They meditate day and night. You say, I don't have time to read the Bible day and night.
I've got a job. I've got a family. He didn't say anything about reading the Bible. It says it is law. He meditates.
Day and night. To meditate meant to mull over. The reality of a thing in its relationship to you. It meant to ponder. To recall to interact with The mind.
Most of us want to experience spiritual blessings, but that requires more than just casually hearing the truth. When Dr. Evans returns, he'll explain how meditating on God's Word can unlock its power in your life. Don't go away. Ladies, don't miss your chance to join our virtual audience for the Desperate for Jesus Conference, July 25th through 26th.
Gather your friends, small group, or all the women of your church for an empowering experience made just for you. Through dynamic speakers and powerful worship, we will equip you to leave a lasting legacy, telling the next generation of the Lord's praiseworthy deeds. Visit DFJConference.com to register for the live simulcast. That's DFJConference.com. A quick note that today's message is part of Tony's teaching series, The Benefits of Scripture.
These six lessons dive deep into what God's Word does in our lives, giving light, freedom, strength, and victory when we need it most. It's a meaningful resource we'd love to send your way as our gift when you support the alternative. And with it, you'll also receive the Tony Evans Bible Commentary, a practical, easy-to-use study companion that helps you understand each passage of the Bible and live out what you learn. This special offer will only be available for a short time, so be sure to visit tonyevans.org today or call us at 1-800-800-3222. I'll share those details again in just a moment.
But right now, let's return to Dr. Evans for more insight from God's Word. Meditation is taking what you hear. and work in it. Rolling it over in your mind.
Has somebody ever told you something you have not been able to forget? You would have rolled that thing over in your mind. You'd have looked at that thing backwards and forwards. You'd have gone underneath the sentence to try to figure out. You have worked with that thing.
It's not enough that it was said. It's that you've gone over it, over it, over it, over it, over it, over it. and it becomes a blanket and wraps itself around you. You can't shake it. That's meditation.
He says, in his law, he meditates day and night, meaning. That the truths of the Bible that he has learned or memorized or heard preached or read, he mulls over. Until it becomes a part of his system. That's meditation. Is it any wonder that Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible and it's about David's meditation on the word?
Because he rolled that thing every which way with loose. God told Joshua on this law, meditate day and night. Most people spend more time meditating over their financial situation than they do the word of God. Meditating over their check stub, meditating over the. favorite television show or the last book that they read.
And you know, they're meditating in over it because that's all they talk about. You know where your meditations are, it shows up in your speech. And the way the word infiltrates the system is meditating on it in your various realities of life. It means rolling it over and says, God, how does your word affect what I'm facing right now? How does your word affect my reaction right now?
How does your word affect what I'm thinking right now? How does your word affect how I need to deal with this problem right now? It connects God's word to life's realities. Says that's the blessed man.
So the gap between hearing God's word And being blessed by God's word is a gap called meditation. And he says, the problem is. for the non-blessed person they are meditating on the wrong thing They're meditating on human viewpoint. What man thinks, what man sees, not God's viewpoint, what God says, what God thinks, and what God sees. And that difference brings the difference of the tangible experience of blessing.
Which raises another question, does it? What does he provide? Verse 3. When you Meditate day and night, that is, as a way of life.
Okay. Then a number of things will happen. You'll see it happen. Number one. You will be like A tree.
Substantive, prominent, visible. You won't just be like a tree. You'll be like a tree. Planted. You cut grass.
You'll cut trees. He may trim some branches, but Trees have permanence about them. You're going to be planted. Stable. The stuff that used to blow you down doesn't blow you down anymore.
You've been blessed. When things go wrong and you stay right. You've been blessed. Stuff that would normally make you panic. Quit throwing the towel.
Now you hold your ground. That's because you've been blessed. You become like a tree standing tall. You're a tree planted in rivers of water. Rivers of water Was an Old Testament phrase for irrigation ditches.
Irrigation ditches carried the water to the root of the tree so the tree could drink. Watch this, regardless of the external circumstances. It had to do with what was happening underneath the ground. Irrigation ditches are designed to bring water when there is no water. Blessing doesn't mean the weather is nice all the time.
Blessing means I'm drinking regardless of how the weather is, because I've got underneath the ground irrigation ditches. Regardless of the bleakness or barrenness. Of the environmental others around, there will be a continuous source of life. Let me tell you how you know you've been blessed. You know, you've been blessed when external is falling apart and internal is doing fine.
That's ribbons of water.
Somehow. Joy has taken over. But he goes on to say in verse 3 Your tree. That yields its fruit. In other words, you you're a tree that's productive.
You producing. You are productive. You are maximizing your potential. You are producing fruit. Why?
Because you're no longer dependent upon externals to produce it.
So, because it's coming underneath the ground, you are producing fruit. In order to produce fruit, the tree must be living. Yeah.
Why are so many of us producing no fruit? Because we dead inside. Dead things can't produce life. Let me tell you a number of things about fruit. First thing you need to know about fruit.
Is that Fruit Always reflects the character of the tree of which it is a part. In other words, apple trees don't bear oranges. Orange trees don't bear pairs. If it's an orange tree, it's going to bear an orange. An apple tree is going to bear an apple.
I can know what kind of tree you are by the kind of fruit hanging off of you. Let me tell you something else about freight. Fruit doesn't eat itself. You don't watch apples eating apples. Fruit.
always exists for the benefit of another.
So the way you know That you're blessed. Is that you are being a blessing. Other folk can take a bite out of you. And be blessed. When fruit starts eating itself.
That's cause disease has set in. That's the problem with this current emphasis on being blessed. Everybody wants to be blessed for themselves. And it's okay. As long as others can bite.
out of your life and be blessed because you a juicy piece of fruit. But if the fruit only exists for the fruit Right. Then that fruit doesn't understand what it is. We told something else. Its leaf does not wither.
That's called evergreen. Evergreen Evergreen. In other words. There is perpetuity. Its leaf doesn't dry up.
There's a freshness. A life A vibrancy. Let me tell you how you know that you're blessed. Because you bounce back. Quicker.
The distance. Between when you face it and how you bounce back from it. It's getting shorter. That's 'cause you're drinking on the inside now, so you you're not dependent upon what's happening out there. And then he summarizes it.
And what a summary it is. Whatever he does. He prospers.
So, you know, it's talking about a person. I'm not talking about trees, it's talking about a person. Whatever he does. He prospers.
Whatever he touches, she touches. It's going somewhere. Because they're going somewhere. He says, if you meditate on my word. And new channels are dug inside your heart.
Now, I'm not just talking about reading the Bible. I'm talking about... visiting another realm. They're tornadoes. Tornado Chasers.
You saw the movie Twister. That's a dangerous job, getting near a tornado to determine the miles an hour. Then the hurricane chasers, there's a big difference. Tornado chasers go on the ground near the tornado, jeopardize their lives, but hurricane chasers get in a plane and go above the hurricane to look for the eye of it. Which way are you approaching life?
Ground level or on top? Dr. Tony Evans, reminding us we can rise above life's storms and find God's blessings when we stay grounded in His Word. Tony will come back with a closing thought to wrap up today's lesson in just a moment. Before he returns, though, I want to remind you about that special offer I mentioned a little earlier.
You can get the full length versions of all the messages from doctor Evans's current series, The Benefits of Scripture, along with the Tony Evans Bible Commentary. A powerful resource packed with accessible verse-by-verse insights designed to help you understand and apply God's truth in a deeper way. Both the audio series and the Bible commentary are our gift to you when you support the alternative with your donation. To take advantage of this offer, just visit tonyevans.org or call us anytime at 1-800-800-3222. That's tonyevans.org or by phone at 1-800-800-3222.
Okay. Many people think freedom means doing whatever you want, but Dr. Evans says that kind of thinking can lead us straight into a new kind of slavery. Tomorrow, he explains what real freedom looks like from God's point of view and how Scripture becomes the key that unlocks it. Right now, though, he's back with this closing illustration.
I don't know if you ever noticed this or not, but fish never get upset when it rains. Cause fish knows something. That no matter how bad it gets up there. It can only get down 25 feet. The hurricane, tornado, no matter what it does on the water, it can only penetrate 25 feet.
So when that mess happens, the fish goes down 26 feet. They go down deeper. If there's turbulence in your world, go deeper. If there's struggle in your world, go deeper. He says that scripture brings spiritual blessing.
Stability during unstable times. May we go deep.
So they were no longer affected by the weather.
