TEXT:
Psalm 1:1 "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful."

INTRODUCTION:
A friend used to say, "If you lay down with the dogs, you get up with the fleas."  He was referring to the effects of bad company.  Psalm 1:1 shows the effects of evil companions. A man who surrounds himself with evil companions will go from bad to worse. A person who continually passes down Sinner's Lane will be effected by the company he keeps.  First, he strolls the same path as the wicked, thus meeting them on his journey. Second, he stands to talk with them and take advice from them.  Eventually, he is found sitting in their company as one of them.

I. STROLLING WITH THE WICKED

A. WHO ARE THE WICKED?
    1.  The wicked have no fear of God.
    2.  The wicked are deceivers
        a.  They want to distort the work of God. (Jude 3-4)
        b.  They are self-centered, seeking their own gain. (Psalm 73:12)
        c.  They are liars. (Proverbs 16:27)
    3.  The wicked are condemned.  (2 Peter 3:7)

B. THE BLESSED MAN DOES NOT STROLL WITH THE WICKED
    1. He does not seek the advice of the wicked.
    2. He does not travel the same path that they travel.
    3. Even though they may be clever and witty, if they are wicked, he avoids them.

C. ARE YOU STROLLING DOWN SINNER'S LANE
    1. Most will say that they don't listen to what the wicked have to say.
    2. However, they will drive down the highway filling their minds with secular music.
    3. They are filled with stories of sexual immorality, alcoholism, drugs, and other wickedness.
    4. They turn their radios on and invite some wicked song writer to join them in their lonely car.
    5. They say they don't keep company with the wicked, but they allow wicked moviewriters to
        join them in their lonely living rooms to counsel them in what to do with a boring relationship.
    6. It's definitely not the same counsel that they would find in the Word of God.

II. STANDING WITH THE SINNERS

  A. WHO ARE THE SINNERS?
    1. According to Wilson's Old Testament Word Studies, the Hebrew word translated "sinner"
        here refers to someone involved in a lengthened series of sinful acts.
    2. It is a reference to those who are determined to practice sin and have set it up as their trade.

  B. THE BLESSED MAN DOES NOT STAND WITH SINNERS.
    1. To stand with sinners means to be a part of their crowd.
    2. The blessed man does not become a part of that crowd.
    3. 1Cor 15:33 "Do not be deceived: 'Bad company corrupts good morals.'"
    4. He does not do what sinners do.
    5. He does not choose his words from the vocabulary of sinners.
    6. He does not choose his entertainment from their list of favorites.

  C. STROLLING LEADS TO STANDING
    1. Those who stroll with the wicked will ultimately stand with such sinners.
    2. Illustration of THE PREACHER'S PARROT
            An old preacher once owned a parrot that he was very fond of, but the
            bird had picked up an appalling vocabulary of curse words from its
            previous owner.  After a series of embarrassing episodes, the old preacher
            finally decided that he would have to have his bad mouthed parrot put to
            sleep. But a lady in his congregation suggested a last-ditch remedy. She
            said, "I have a female parrot. She is an absolute saint. She sits
            quietly on her perch and prays constantly. Why don't you bring your
            parrot over and see if my own bird's good influence doesn't reform him?"
            The preacher said it was worth a try, and the next night he arrived with
            his pet. The bird took one lock at the lady parrot and chirped, "Hi,
            Toots, how about a big kiss?" The lady parrot responded gleefully, "My
            prayers have been answered!"
    3. I'll never forget the time I had been hanging out with some nasty mouthed friends for
        the afternoon and let out a string of curse words in front of my mother later that evening.
    4. Strolling with sinners had led to standing with them.

  C. ARE YOU STANDING WITH THE SINNERS?
    1. Where do you learn your business practices?
    2. Do you find them in God's Word, or do you find them by watching the wicked?
    3. Do you have one set of standards when you talking to church people and another set
        of standards when you are talking to others?
    4. If there is no difference between you and the world, then you are standing with sinners.

III. SITTING WITH THE SCORNERS

  A. WHO ARE THE SCORNERS?
    1. Wilson's Old Testament Word Studies says this is a person who "...sets at nought and scoffs
        at the most sacred precepts and duties of religion, piety, and morals."
    2. It is someone who is in open rebellion against God.
    3. It is someone who is engaged in service for Satan.
    4. This is the ultimate end of those who turn away from God.

  B. THE BLESSED MAN DOES NOT SIT WITH SCORNERS
    1. He does not associate with those who support the advancement of the devil’s kingdom.
    2. 1Cor 5:11  "But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is
        called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard,
        or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat."
    3. He does not sit with those who condemn the righteous.
    4. He does not hang out with those who have plans to thwart the church.

  C. ARE YOU SITTING IN THE SEAT OF THE SCORNFUL?
    1. It amazes me to hear the comments of some Christians concerning the Disney Boycott.
    2. They not only refuse to join the boycott, they join the pro-homosexual crowds who are
        fighting against it.
    3. They are not merely listening to the counsel of sinners, they have sat down in the seat of
        the scorners.
    4. Those who stroll with the wicked and stand with sinners will eventually sit in the seat of
        the scornful.
    5. This also reminds me of the Trojan Horse of Liberalism in our churches and schools.
    6. Infidels who deny the inerrancy of the Scriptures and speak against the bodily resurrection
        are being paid good money to teach our young people in our universities and seminaries.
    7. These men who have been trained by those who scorn the Word of God have been lifted up
        as teachers and leaders.
    8. They've strolled with the wicked and stood with sinners in other schools where the Bible
        is openly attacked.
    9. It has affected them, because they now sit in the seat of the scornful and are skeptical of
        God's Word.
  10. These skeptics are sought out to be professors who train our young people for the ministry.
  11. Once they might have been qualified for such a lofty goal, but they have been tainted.
  12. They've been influenced by ungodly and wicked companions.
  13. They sit in the seat of the scornful and look down their noses at men of faith who preach the
        unadulterated Word of God.

Conclusion:
It is impossible to regularly keep company with wicked people without being contaminated both by their ideas and by their habits.
People who think wrong invariably act wrong.
Wrong behavior comes from wrong thinking.
Wrong thinking comes from wrong standards.
The standard for right thinking is God's word (Psalm 1:2).
The blessed man will use God's Word as his standard rather than the man made standards of the wicked.