Jesus Wants To Give Us Heavenly Happiness (Part 1)

Jesus Wants to Give Us Heavenly Happiness (Part 1)

Matthew 4:23-5:4

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - February 20, 2013

*In John 10:10, Jesus said: "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." But how many people are really living the abundant life?

*Timothy Smith once said that most people are tied down by "when and then" thinking: "When I get a good job, then I'll be happy. When I find the right mate, then I'll be happy. When I have kids, then I'll be happy. When the kids leave home, then I'll be happy." That's "when and then" thinking. But Jesus Christ tells us that the exact opposite is true." (1)

*As Jesus opened His Sermon on the Mount, He tells us that true happiness doesn't come from what happens to us. True happiness comes from Heaven. Our joy is not based on external circumstances. It's based on an eternal relationship with the God of the universe.

*Jesus emphasized this heavenly happiness 9 times here in Matthew 5. The word He used in these verses is translated as "blessed," but the original word simply means "happy."

*Maybe the translators used "blessed" because there IS something different about the happiness we see here. William Barclay said that the original word describes: "That joy which is serene and untouchable. . . That joy which is completely independent of all the chances and changes of life." (2)

*Jesus tells us that we can have indestructible happiness from Heaven above. And He wants us to have it. In tonight's Scripture we find three proofs that the Lord wants us to have heavenly happiness.

1. First: Jesus gives us the Gospel.

*As Matthew 4:23 says, "Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom. . ."

[1] Jesus Christ preached the Gospel.

*He preached the good news: That God loves us in spite of our sins; that He loves us so much, He came to seek and save us; that He will forgive us and allow us to live forever as part of His Kingdom, IF we will trust in Him. Jesus Christ preached the Gospel that can change our lives forever!

*Norman Vincent Peale told the story of a young mother who had been unfaithful to her husband. She could not get rid of the guilt. She began to feel that everyone knew her terrible secret, and everyone would be better off without her.

*Without saying a word to anyone she packed a small suitcase and registered with a fake name in the town's tallest hotel. Her room was on the fifth floor. This woman felt unfit to be a member of the human race. She wrote a note to her husband and her children, telling them that she loved them, but that this was the better way.

*She opened the window, sat down on the sill, and let herself fall backward into the empty darkness. She fell 5 stories, waiting for the impact of the pavement. But instead, she smashed into the top of a parked convertible. She went through the canvas roof, into the back seat. She felt an agonizing pain in her back and legs. Then she fainted.

*The woman woke-up with a cast from the waist down. By the grace of God, there was a young man in the room when she woke up. He said, "I'm your doctor. How do you feel?"

*A new wave of despair washed over her, because she was still alive. She felt that she was such a miserable failure she couldn't even do away with herself. Even death wouldn't have her. Then the young mother felt hot tears sting her eyes and she cried out: "Oh, God, -- God, forgive me."

*The young doctor put his hand on her forehead and calmly said, "He will." Those two words were the beginning of the healing process in her heart. Her life was changed forever. God put her life back together, and filled her heart with joy that Jesus would take away her sins. (3)

*That's the power of the Gospel! -- Jesus preached it.

[2] Even more important, Jesus paid for it. Only His death on the cross could pay the price for our sins. And only the Risen Savior can offer eternal life to those who will receive Him as Lord.

*Jesus Christ wants to give us heavenly happiness! That's why He gave us the Gospel.

2. And that's why Jesus confirms His compassion.

*We see the Lord's compassion starting in Matthew 4:23.

23. Now Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

24. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.