Bienaventurado, Agosto 2, 2026

Good morning church. It's so good to be here with you this morning. We survived the heat of Arkansas and it's a blessing to be beginning a new series this morning. And we'll be talking a little bit more these three Sundays that follow, but I wanted to start off talking to you about something that's occurring in our church right now. A God by his grace has designed the church to be governed by elders or pastors, it's the same word, and a plurality of them. And here at Fellowship, as our church grows, we begin to take note of men who fit that category. And we're at that point, and some of you received this paper with your bulletin. And this is a list of men who have been recognized among our different campuses with the characteristics to be a part of the pastor team of our church. And they've gone through a process of examination for almost a year, but they have been a part of the church for many more years than that. But what's coming up in this month is that the church has the opportunity to pray for them and to pray for their families. And if there were any preoccupation or concern about any of these men, to bring that before the church. And in that way, we're not just governed by the elders of the church, but the church participates in that selection process. And at the end of this month, if everything continues as it should be, then we will be ordaining these men as elders. And so for these men, I would encourage you to continue praying for them and praying for their families as the Lord prepares them for this. And if you have any questions about how our church is led and how all of this works, please don't hesitate to come talk to Alfredo, Dave, or John. And so today we begin a series about what it means, a three-week series about what it means to be blessed. And that's a very common word in our common lexicon in our language, even for people

that don't attend church. They use that phrase, I'm blessed. But in these three weeks, we'll be looking at specific passages that speak about what it means to be blessed. And so when someone says to you, I'm blessed, we wanna think about what, how God defines that word. Asi que mientras abren sus Biblias en Salmo capítulo uno. And so as you open your Bibles to Psalm chapter one. Quiero que oremos al Señor. I'd like for us to pray to the Lord. Padre Celestial, venimos delante de ti esta mañana. Heavenly Father, we come before you this morning. Reconociendo que no hay bendición fuera de ti. Recognizing that there's no blessing apart from you. Señor, pero es muy fácil desviar nuestra mirada. But Lord, it's so easy to turn our faces away from you. Y olvidarnos de que solo tú tienes la bendición completa para nuestras vidas. And to forget that only you can bless our lives. Te pedimos, Señor, que de este pasaje tú nos puedas convencer de pecado. We ask, Lord, that from this passage you could convict us of our sins. Señor, que nos puedas transformar y cambiar nuestras mentes. That you would transform and change our minds. Señor, para examinar cada área de nuestra vida. That we would examine every area of our lives. Y caminar de la forma en que tú quieres que caminemos. And walk in the way that you would have us to walk. En el nombre de Jesús.

In the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. ¿Por qué no vamos a Salmo capítulo uno y leemos todo el capítulo? Let's go to Psalm chapter one and why don't we read the whole chapter. Y le voy a pedir en esta ocasión que hagamos lo que nuestro hermano Cody, Pastor Cody nos animó la vez que él vino, que nos pongamos de pie para leer la palabra de Dios. And I'd like to ask you, just like our brother Cody had us do and reminded us of, let's stand as we read the word of God. ¿Cuán bienaventurado es el hombre que no anda en el consejo de los impíos, ni se detiene en el camino de los pecadores, ni se siente en la silla de los escarnecedores? Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. Sino que en la ley del Señor está su deleite y en su ley medita de día y de noche. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night. Será como árbol firmemente plantado junto a corriente de agua, que da su fruto a su tiempo y su hoja no se marchita, en todo lo que hace prosperará. He is like a tree planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither in all that he does he prospers. No así los impíos que son como la paja que se lleva el viento. The wicked are not so but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Por tanto, no se sostendrán los impíos en el juicio ni los pecadores en la congregación de los justos. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. Porque el Señor conoce el camino de los justos mas el camino de los impíos perecerá. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous but the way of the wicked will perish. Pueden tomar asiento. You may be seated. La palabra bienaventurado. The word blessed. Significa feliz. Means happy. Completo. Complete. Satisfecho. Satisfied. Significa que esta persona es plena en sí misma. It means that that person is whole in himself. Y me recuerda a una película que me gustó mucho en el 2006. And it reminds me of this movie that I really liked a lot

that came out in 2006. Que se llamaba En Busca de la Felicidad. That's called The Pursuit of Happiness. Se trataba de un hombre que lo pierde todo y termina sin hogar junto a su hijo. It tells the story of a man who lost it all and ends up homeless together with his son. Y en su lucha encuentra una posición de voluntario sin salario. And in his struggle he finds a position, a service position without a salary, a volunteer position. Pero al final eso le lleva a conseguir el trabajo que cambia toda su vida. But in the end that volunteer position, that unpaid position, takes him to the job that changes his entire life. Y aunque es una gran historia de superación y de motivación. And even though it's an amazing story of moving forward and success. Presenta que la idea de la felicidad es algo que constantemente nosotros andamos buscando. It plants this idea that happiness is something that we have to continually be seeking out. Que la felicidad está allá afuera en algún lugar y que hay que esforzarse más que todos para alcanzarla. That happiness is somewhere out there and we have to work and work hard enough to get it. Esa es la definición del mundo en cuanto a la felicidad.

That's the definition of the world when it comes to happiness. But Psalm chapter one talks about a happiness that is the complete opposite. Instead of being something that someone has to constantly pursue out there, rather than that, it's a state that is available to every man who is in Christ. It's not something outside of them. It's something given to them. It talks about the blessed man in the present term. This blessed man is anchored in something. His happiness isn't based on things that are constantly changing and what he gets and doesn't get. But he has to be living in a certain way. He has to be rejecting the counsel of the evil. It's not by his own strength, but rather meditating on the Word of God. And that describes a person who is rooted like a firm tree. And we'll see the results. And so let's read once again verses one and two. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. And that takes us to our first point, that the blessed man that he rejects evil and delights in God's Word. And so it presents the happy man, the blessed man, with three negatives. He presents the idea that the blessed man doesn't do. And the first thing is that he does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. And think about it. What is it that affects the most the way in which we live our lives and the way in which we make decisions in our lives? What we constantly listen to. And so our direction depends on the things that we are constantly absorbing. It's so easy to know what a person listens to by listening to how a person speaks.

Because normally the person's going to speak about what he listens to them. And so I don't want you to be thinking about what other people talk about. I want you to be thinking about what it is you talk about. I don't know if this happens to you. But sometimes I'll go through a day and I'll think, man today all I talked about was this one thing. And sometimes that thing is something so trivial, something so empty. Or sometimes I talked in the same way all day. I spoke in a negative way just the whole day. And when you do that exercise, you'll start to realize that you're being influenced by some outside source. A veces de tu propio corazón pecaminoso, esos pensamientos se van en tu mente y los dejas cultivar todo el tiempo. Sometimes from your own sinful heart, those thoughts arise. El consejo de los malos siempre llevará lo opuesto a la felicidad. But the counsel of the wicked will always take you away from happiness. Hoy lo difícil no es distinguir entre un consejo bueno y un consejo malo, malisimo. Often times it's not about figuring out whether it's a good counsel, or a good advice or bad advice. Hoy es difícil distinguir entre un consejo bíblico y uno casi bíblico. It's difficult to tell between a biblical advice and almost biblical.

Porque en la era de los influencers. Because in the era of influencers. Todo mundo quiere darte un speech motivacional. Everybody in the world wants to give you some kind of motivational speak. Y suena bueno. And it sounds good. Suena atractivo. It sounds attractive. Como salgo de la pobreza más fácil. How to get out of poverty more easily. Como arreglo mi matrimonio con tres pasos. How do I fix my marriage in three steps. Como le quito el teléfono a mis hijos sin que se enojen. How do I take the phone away from my kids without them getting angry. Tu dices, pero que tiene de malo eso? And you might ask, well, what's wrong with that? Que te puedo dar consejos que no están anclados en la palabra de Dios. Is that they can give you advice that's not anchored in the word of God. Y después se frustran porque no funcionan. And then you get frustrated because it didn't work. Entonces lo difícil no es distinguir entre un consejo malo y un consejo bueno. So the difficult thing isn't to distinguish between a good advice and bad advice. Sino entre un consejo bíblico y uno casi bíblico. But rather between one that's biblical

and one that's almost biblical. Porque al fin del día. Because at the end of the day. Todos queremos una buena familia. We all want to have a good family. Conozcas o no conozcas a Cristo. Whether you know Christ or not. Todos queremos un buen trabajo. Everybody wants to have a good job. Conozcas o no conozcas a Cristo. Whether you know Jesus or not. Y todos quieren que las cosas le salgan bien. And everybody wants things to turn out okay. Conozcas o no conozcas a Cristo. Whether you know or don't know Christ. Pero cuál es la diferencia? But what's the difference? Veremos más adelante. Let's take a look. Lo segundo que hace es que no solo no escucha sino que no se detiene en camino de pecadores. The second thing he does is not just listen to the counsel of the wicked but he doesn't stand in the way of sinners. Y pongan atención al orden de los verbos. So to pay attention to the order of the verbs. Es como que te está presentando una progresión Primero alguien se para a escuchar. So first it's like he's showing a progression. Someone who stops to listen.

Después se para tal vez por curiosidad a caminar en el lugar donde van los impíos, los pecadores. And maybe by curiosity he walks where the unrighteous walk. Y finalmente veremos que el último verbo es que se sienta. Y está cómodo en ese lugar. Y ahí es donde se sienta y permanece en su vida. And at the end we see that he sits and it's like as if he remains and he's comfortable in that place. Porque pasó de escuchar a detenerse en el camino de los pecadores. Because he goes from listening to stopping and remaining in the place of sinners. El camino que tú lleves en tu vida. The path that you go on in your life. Va a ser evidenciado si estás escuchando a los pecadores o estás escuchando la palabra de Dios. Is going to be defined by whether or not you listen to sinners or you listen to the word of God. Una vez estábamos en un viaje misionero. Yo creo que John andaba conmigo en la Ciudad de México. One time we were on a mission trip and I think that John was with me on this trip in Mexico City. Entonces yo andaba en un carrito así, uno de esos huevitos le decimos nosotros. And I was, what were you going on? En un carrito pequeño, un huevito. He was going on a, in a small car. Y tenía estos amigos que venían de Memphis

que eran jugadores de basquetbol altísimos. And he had some friends from Memphis who were really tall basketball players with him, just crunched up like this. Y entonces nuestro amigo, nuestro guía, me deja perdido en una de esas calles y eran como las 10 de la noche. And our guide left us on this street that was like really small and it was 10 o'clock at night. Y el teléfono no estaba funcionando muy bien. And our cell phones weren't working well. Y la calle cada vez era más oscura y cada vez era más angosta. And the street kept getting narrower and darker the further we went. Y cada vez miraba más graffiti en las paredes. And we kept seeing more and more graffiti as we walked. Y me di cuenta que no estaba yendo en una dirección correcta. And I realized that we weren't going in the right direction. We had not planned well for that trip. And in the end, we found another person on that walk and that's where our walk stopped. And praise be to God, I learned how to drive on the streets of Tegucigalpa. And so, in that moment, I put it in reverse and the people from Memphis were all like this because you don't drive like that here in the States. And I realized that in our lives, sometimes we make decisions and we go down paths that take us into those dark alleyways. And maybe it could be because of curiosity. And maybe it could be because of ignorance as Proverbs talks about the foolish man. And maybe it could be just for outright foolishness, I know the right way to go and I simply choose

to go down the wrong path. And so, if somebody could see the path of your life, what street would they say that you've gone on? Directed by the Word of God? And so, what continues for the wicked? What is it that the blessed man doesn't do? Because the way of the sinner takes the person to a place of instantaneous, instant gratification. Sin. Not listening to the voice of God. And if you do that for a long time, you're going to get to a place where that lifestyle is just comfortable for you. But the blessed man does not sit in the seat of scoffers. Think about this figure, this example that the psalmist gives us. Now he mentions an attitude that's not even a personal one. But now he's talking about a behavior that comes from an attitude of looking at others and scoffing at them, teasing them, putting them down. Because when the blessed man is doing something that goes against the current of the culture, the culture will scoff at those decisions as if the righteous man, the blessed man, has done something wrong. What is the opposite of this type of behavior? It says that the blessed man delights in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. He doesn't say that this relationship with this man and the law is something obligatory, something he just has to do. As if it's weighing him down in his life, I have to read God's Word, and it's holding him back from the life he really wants. No, when somebody understands the value of the Word of God, he understands that it's a delight to listen to it. It's a delight to study it. And when he doesn't have that present in his life, it's a delight to listen to it.

life. He misses it. What value does the Word of the Lord have? You could go to the longest chapter in Psalms and in the whole Bible, Psalm 119, and the main theme is the Word of God. So if you want to know all the characteristics of the Word of God, go to Psalm 119 and read it. But I'm just going to share with you today a couple of them. It says that the Word of God is a lamp unto my feet. It's a guide for the believer. When everyone else is walking in darkness, when they don't know what to do because the economy is all over the place, the Word of God is a lamp unto our feet. We can walk firmly. When there's sadness in our hearts, when our souls are just broken by the circumstances in our lives, the Word is healing to our souls. And when we're just filled with anxiety, the Word of God sustains us. When we don't have peace, the Word of God reminds us of our hope. And when we're tempted to do things that don't honor God, we hide His Word in our hearts so that we might not sin against Him. When we're missing joy, the Word of God restores our joy. It makes us wise. And we could continue with the list and not finish today. How do we hear from God today? If it hasn't become clear to you, through His Word. And I know that in our culture it's popular to talk about, oh, I heard from God and maybe He'll just whisper something into my ear in the secret place. But if we would open the Word of God and we would study it and we would submit to the Word of God, we would be able to listen to the Lord at every moment. And not just listen to Him, but meditate upon it day and night. The word meditate in the original language has to do with when a lion would kill its prey and then it would protect it from any other animal that would come and try to scavenge for its food. And so it's as if we take God's Word and we protect it and we have this attitude, nothing is going to prevent me from delighting in God's Word. I will protect it and guard it. And in this upcoming year, and we're working on the system for how we'll do it, we're emphasizing memorization of scripture. If the Word of God does all of that in our lives, why wouldn't we memorize it? We're going to memorize God's Word together. What is the result of this blessed man? Let's look at verse three. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither, in all that he does he prospers. The second point is this, that the blessed man lives a stable and fruitful life. Think about it, how his life is not anchored in all these external things. It's not a specific job.

It's not a certain lifestyle. It's not based on his health or sickness. It's not based on economics. It's like a firm tree planted by a stream, it doesn't move. It's planted. And when a tree is planted in the same place for a long time, eventually it will give the fruit that God designed it to give. And so as he's not going here and there, looking for the next trend to bring him happiness, he's firm. And what is that source of his firmness? The place in which he's planted, next to streams of water. Water is the life of a tree. When you see a tall tree, you have to understand that its root system is much bigger than the height that it has. And for those of us who have wanted to cut down trees and take out the stump, you realize that the root system is so big. Think about this beautiful illustration. The tree is what we see. The fruit is what we see. But the most important thing is the roots. And the system of the roots represents what's happening internally in our life. And so in Scripture we can see that God's Word is that water source that gives us nutrients in our root system. And the more that our heart receives that feed, fed, the more our hearts are fed by God's Word, the more we'll see the fruit. Many people are so focused on the fruit, and they forget about the roots. And everything that happens in order to summarize what will happen with this blessed man, everything he does will prosper. Therefore that shows us a mirror for our lives. Because the opposite is what the unrighteous does.

Look at what verse four says. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. The wicked live an unstable life. When a person is not rooted in the Word of God, he lives an unstable life. One day he wants this, and the next he wants that. One day he acts in this way, and the next he acts a completely different way. It says it's like the chaff that the wind carries away. And it's in those days when they would cut the wheat, and they would want to clean the wheat, they had to take away the chaff. And so they would take that large fork-like. tool, and they would throw it up in the air. When the wind would come, it would blow away the chaff because it had no weight. And it would go wherever the wind blew. But the wheat would fall straight down. The life of the wicked is like the chaff that the wind drives away. And verse 5 tells us what will happen. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. And that takes us to our last point. That when somebody decides to live in this way, and they don't want to change their paths, they don't want to surrender to the Lord, they will experience the judgment of God. And it's that if somebody lives in an unrighteous way, a wicked way, they ignore that there are consequences to their actions. But let me remind you, Church, that there are consequences to our actions. When there is sin in our lives, and we don't bring it before the Lord so that he can deal with our sins, there are consequences. Why? Verse 6 tells us. Do you have that verse in yours, because it doesn't have verse 6 on there?

Sorry. It's up here. You can see it on the screen. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. The Lord knows. And that means that he knows the way you walk each day. Where does our blessing come from? One day God promised a man named Abraham that he would bless through him all nations. And that promise was for telling Christ Jesus that Jesus and his work would provide a blessing available to all nations, that Christ would be that man that would walk in the ways of God 100 percent. That he would perfectly reject what is bad and evil and walk perfectly in the ways of his Father. But one day he would die as if he had disobeyed all the orders of his Father. So that today God would treat us the way that Jesus deserved to be treated. That the righteousness of Christ has been imputed, has been given to us for those who have set their faith in Christ. And that truth should motivate us to examine our lives. That if we're walking in that righteousness that we've already received, and because we can only be justified by faith. But because that righteousness is imputed to us, that doesn't eliminate the fact that we need to walk in righteousness. And I want to finish asking you this question as the worship team comes forward. If you examine what you listen to, if you examine where you walk, and if you examine the place where you're seated or anchored, would it be taking the advice of the unrighteous and wicked? Or would it be delighting in the word of God? Are you rejecting all things that are unbiblical and listening to the word of God?

One of the ways in which you can know the answer is if you're experiencing stability in your life. Are you experiencing that joy and that life that comes through the word of God? Because if your life is drastically changing every time that your circumstances change, then you're probably rooted in other things rather than rooted in the word of God. Another way in which you can examine yourself is examining the fruit of your life. How are you living in your home? How are you behaving at work, at church? Are you prospering or are you stuck? It could be that in some areas of our lives we've experienced this happiness. But maybe in other areas of our lives we're struggling. There's grace at the throne of the Lord. But if there's something specifically or some attitude that you'd like for us to pray with you about, at the end of the service some of our brothers and sisters will be available over here at the cross and they'll be available to pray with you. I'd like to invite you not to pass up that opportunity. Because that's part of the reason that we gather together. So that we can pray for one another. Carry each other's burdens. Maybe you don't go to someone over here at the cross but you have someone close to you that you know better that you'd like to pray with.

Let's finish in prayer asking the Lord that we would examine ourselves. Heavenly Father, we come before you this morning. Recognizing that there are many areas of our lives that we're not allowing your word to direct. Lord, that we need to grow. Lord, we need to recognize you. And Lord, sometimes we're blind to those places where we're struggling. God, could you show them to us this morning? Lord, change us, Father. If there are things we're listening to that aren't cultivating that joy that comes from your word, help us to remove it from our lives. If there are thoughts in our minds that aren't aligned with your word, help us, Lord, to submit to the authority of your word. If there is fruit in our lives that is reflecting that we're not in your word, Forgive us Lord, in the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.