Happiness Is .......

HAPPINESS IS ……..

MT 5:1-10

INTRO: A minister was speaking about all the things money can’t buy. “Money can’t buy happiness, it can’t buy laughter and money can’t buy love” he told the congregation.

Driving his point home he said, “What would you do if I offered you $1,000 not to love your mother and father?” A hush fell over the congregation. Finally a small voice near the front, raised an important question, “How much would you give me not to love my big sister?” [ sermon central ]

. Attending a wedding for the first time, a little girl whispered to her mother, "Why is the bride dressed in white?" ?

"Because white is the color of happiness, and today is the happiest day of her life."

The child thought about this for a moment, then said, "So why is the groom wearing black?" [sermon central ]

. We all want to be happy don’t we.

. Our bill of rights say that we are all given the right by God to the pursue happiness.

. We look around and think; man if I could just win the lottery everything would be wonderful.

. I would be able to have all that my heart desired and I could find true happiness.

. That search for true happiness is in all of mankind.

. The problem is that we seem to always be looking in the wrong places for this happiness.

. I have good news for you this morning. I am going to share with you this morning the path to happiness. How to achieve that true inner peace and happiness that we all want.

. We find this path recorded in the 5th chapter of the book of Matthew as Jesus begins the greatest sermon that has ever been preached.

. The sermon on the mount. It begins with what we refer to as the Beatitudes.

. The term Beatitudes is derived from a Latin word that refers to a state of happiness or bliss.

. Jesus is telling us how we can be truly happy.

. That happiness is what He starts His great sermon with.

. Mt 5: 1-10 ; 1One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him,2and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes

Matt 5:3-12 // Luke 6:20-23

3“God iblesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,

for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

4God blesses those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5God blesses those who are humble,

for they will inherit the whole earth.

6God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,

for they will be satisfied.

7God blesses those who are merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

8God blesses those whose jhearts are pure,

for they will see God.

9God blesses those who work for peace,

for they will be called the children of God.

10God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,

for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

. The First step on the path to happiness is to realize that you are in need of God is found in verse 3:

. God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,

for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

. The New King James translation says that blessed or happy are those who are poor in spirit.

. Now to just look at that it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense .

. Happy are people who are poor in spirit. How can you be happy if you are poor in spirit?

. Well let’s look at what poor means. When you are poor, you are broke, busted, destitute.

. In his commentary on Matthew, John MacArthur writes that: “Classical Greek used the word to refer to a person reduced to total destitution, who crouched in a corner begging.”

. So we could paraphrase this by saying that; happy are people who realize that they are spiritually broke.

. Happy are people who are destitute and in need of something or someone to save them.

. What Jesus is saying to them and to us today is that we are blessed or happy when we finally realize what it is that we are in need of to be truly happy.

. We need God.

. Happy is the person who realizes that they need God. This is the first step to happiness.

. Next Jesus says that God blesses those who mourn.

. We see this in verse 4: 4God blesses those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

. Happy are the people who mourn.

. Remember this is the road to happiness and there is a progression as we go down this road.