Happiness Is Connected To "Be Attitudes" !? 2 Series

Happiness is connected to Be”attitudes” II !?

Matthew 5:1-5:12

Last week in our message we shared four of the eight conditions required to enjoy happiness. The first was to be poor in spirit; second, to mourn; third, to be meek; and fourth, to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Today we will consider the remaining four.

Do you think Jesus was a happy person? I do, Was it Jesus’ money that made Him happy? Was it his house, job, or was it His wife and kids that made the difference in His life? He had none of the things we as Americans consider to make us happy. He never owned a donkey or horse. He depended on handouts for His income. He was sometimes so hungry He would eat raw grain or pick fruit off a tree. He knew what it was like to be rained on, to be cold. He knew what it meant to have no home.

He was convicted of a crime He never committed. Witnesses lied about who He was. Pilate swayed by politics Had Jesus Crucified.

He should have been miserable. He should have been bitter. But He wasn’t. HE WAS JOYFUL!

There was a time when if you were trying to help someone, there was an understanding that you were just trying to be like Jesus, that you were just being compassionate and Christlike. That you wouldn’t be sued for trying to help someone. It used to be that when you offered help to one in need, it was understood that you were just trying to be like Jesus, that your compassion would be your protection

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."

In our world today in some places we have to have Good Samaritan Laws to protect the merciful. Those who are merciful, receive mercy from God, happy are those who have received that mercy from God. This mercy has been demonstrated by the sacrifice made for us through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:3 says “Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you. Who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Jesus didn’t have those things that perish, spoil or fade but he had the peace without those physical things because it is not the physical that will bring you true happiness but rather something more spiritual.

Paul said in his letter to the Philippians “I know what it is to be in need. And I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty of in want.” Paul also new that is wasn’t the physical that brings true happiness.

We should show mercy to our fellow man. Be merciful when getting your hair cut. Be merciful when someone cuts you off or makes you mad. Don’t be too soft. I am not talking about a soft mercy that has an anything goes attitude, we never pollute the truth in the gospel, we must be merciful while standing firm in our faith. And that leads us into our next beatitude.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Just because we have a merciful attitude doesn’t mean we compromise or pollute our beliefs. We have to be pure in heart. What does that mean, pure in heart? Pure in heart means you are a for real person. It means you live out what you really believe. To do that you have to first know who you really are. Some of us do not know who we really are. Some of us are angry, hateful people underneath the goody goody fake shell we have built. Yes, some of us are not pure in heart under that goody goody fake shell. Do you know someone like that? Someone who has a goody goody shell built around them. You have to know who you really are. So what is a pure heart? A pure hearted person is someone who realizes they are sinful human being. They have a holy sorrow for their sinful nature and submit to God through Jesus Christ; they follow the teachings of Jesus and apply them to their life. And they develop a heavenly hunger for righteousness. Does that all sound familiar? It should because we talked about that last Sunday morning. So in a nutshell a pure hearted person has a good start when they have a holy sorrow for their sinful nature, accept and apply the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Then develop a heavenly hunger for righteousness. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. For they shall see God. We can only see God clearly when we have a pure heart. You can’t live under your goody goody shell and see the hand of God at work.