Introduction: Psalm 122:1 says, “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord.” KJV
How many of you can honestly say that you are glad to be in the house of the Lord this morning, as opposed to the finest hospital in America?
Let me ask you another question this morning? How many of you really enjoy life?
Now that may sound like a silly question to some of you, but from my observations there are probably more people in this world who are not happy and aren’t enjoying life than those who do. Even some of us who are Christians aren’t enjoying life the way God wants us to. We allow stress, problems, disease and a number of other things to keep us from really enjoying life to its fullest. Unfortunately, hundreds of people in America every week make the decision that life really isn’t worth living and take matters into their own hands by committing suicide. I personally believe that God wants us to be happy. That He wants us to enjoy this life. Which is what I think Jesus was saying in John 10:10 when he said, “I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” KJV
Having a personal love relationship with Jesus Christ is what makes life worth living. Bill and Gloria Gaither would agree with that and a few years ago they wrote a song that expresses this truth. Why don’t we sing the chorus of because He lives together this morning?
“Because He Lives I can face tomorrow; Because He lives all fear is gone; Because I know he holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.”
Knowing that God loves us and really wants us to enjoy life instead of just surviving from one day to the next should be an encouragement to those of us who are Christians. I’ve said this before and I’m sure I’ll say it again, but if anyone should be happy, if anyone should enjoy life it is those of us who are Christians. (AMEN?) If that’s true, and I believe it is, then why do so many of us walk around town with a frown on our face looking like we just lost our best friend.
Well there are probably a variety of reasons for that, however I believe the primary reason is because we allow Satan to take away or ‘steal’ our joy. That’s what the first part of John 10:10 says, Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” Satan doesn’t want you to enjoy life. In fact, according to this scripture and many others he would like nothing more than to destroy your life.
I want to share four things with you today that I believe we as Christians can do, not only to make our lives more enjoyable, but to make them more pleasing to God.
I. FIRST OF ALL, I BELIEVE WE SHOULD DO OUR BEST TO LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF THINGS.
Illustration: How many of you saw the movie Garfield? Well before Garfield hit the big screen, he was in the Newspaper. In one particular strip Garfield is lying in his box and his owner, Jon, walks up and says, "Are you Depressed, Garfield? Garfield, doesn’t answer him, he just gives him one of those disgusted looks. Then Jon says, “Well, look on the bright side. Compared to absolute, hopeless despair, depressed is cheerful!" To which Garfield sarcastically, replies "gee, I feel better already!"
When Moses sent the spies into the Promise Land, 10 of them came back and said, "We can’t do it,.. They are giants... we are like grasshoppers compared to them.”
But Caleb said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." Numbers 13:30.
Caleb was looking on the bright side of things. He was thinking positive. He saw the same things the other 10 spies saw, but he saw them differently.
Someone once said, The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; while the optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
Obviously Joshua and Caleb were optimists and the other 10 spies were pessimists. They knew that God wanted them to have the land, and they knew that He had promised to deliver the people into their hands. Which was the reason that both Joshua and Caleb felt that there was no need to delay the invasion. Unfortunately for Israel, they didn’t listen to Joshua and Caleb, and ended up wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. If they would have just listened to them it would have changed their lives dramatically.
Benjamin Franklin once said, "The sentence which has most influenced my life is, ’Some persons grumble because God placed thorns among roses. Why not thank God because He placed roses among thorns?’
John Maxwell tells the story of two shoe salesmen who were sent to a remote Island to sell shoes. After arriving, the first salesman called the home office back in Chicago and told them that he would be returning the next day because no one on the Island even wore shoes. The second salesman arrived and immediately noticed the same thing. He too called the home office in Chicago. But instead of telling them that he was returning tomorrow he told them to send 10,000 pairs of shoes because everyone needed them.’
You have probably all known someone who always looks at the negative side of things. It could be an absolutely gorgeous day, and you walk up to them and begin a conversation by saying, "Isn’t it a beautiful day," and they respond by saying, "yea, I guess it is but they say it’s supposed to rain tomorrow."
Something happens when we spend too much time looking at or talking about the negative side of things. You see, more often than not, a negative attitude has the tendency to rub off on those around us.
I once heard someone say, "Enthusiasm is contagious and so is the lack of it." I believe that could be also be said about the attitudes we have, and how we look at things. Positive and negative thinking are both contagious. Positive thinking in the church often leads to new ideas, new ministries, new programs, new growth, and an overall optimistic outlook. On the other hand, negative thinking usually causes problems like: division, decline, and an overall pessimistic outlook.
II. Not only should we look on the bright side of things, We should also try to do our best to solve problems, instead of adding to them.
In writing to the church at Philipi, the Apostle Paul wrote: "I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life." Phil 4:2-3
Imagine that, there was a problem in the church at Philipi. Evidently there was a disagreement between two of the prominent ladies in the church. For the Apostle Paul to address this in his letter, it must have been a pretty serious problem. He encouraged these two women to help resolve the situation, instead of adding fuel to the fire.
illustration: A father was having a particularly stressful day at work. So, he decided to take off work a few hours early to watch his son play soccer. His son’s team was made up of boys and girls who were still trying to learn how to play. After a few minutes, the coach blew the whistle and called the players over to talk with them. He said, "Look guys, you can’t win if everybody runs after the ball. You have to play your position, then wait for a teammate to pass the ball to you."
The Lord used the words of that soccer coach to help that businessman understand that he had been so busy trying to solve everyone else’s problems, that he wasn’t playing his own position. The next day he went back to the office and suggested some new ideas, and after passing them back and forth from their different positions, these men and women were able to find solutions and new approaches to their business goals.
There is no such thing as the perfect church. I’m not aware of a church that never has problems. The important thing is that we work together as a team to solve problems when they do develop. As long as we work together, we can overcome any obstacles that come our way.
A third thing we can do to enjoy life more is..
III. To spend more time listening than we do talking.
James the brother of Jesus knew and understood this point. He said, "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." James 1:19
A. We should listen more and talk less, because we will learn much more by listening than we ever could by talking.
Someone said, "We have two ears, but only one mouth, so that we can hear more and speak less." One of the best ways we can learn about the Christian life is by listening to someone else share about their own relationship to the Lord. That’s why it is important for us to be involved in Sunday School or another small group Bible study. Being involved in a small group will allow God to use other people to teach us more about Himself, His purposes, and his ways.
B. Another reason we should listen more and talk less is because it is to our advantage.
Have you noticed that most people don’t like "motor mouths." A motor mouth is someone who is constantly talking. I sometimes wonder whether they just talk to hear themselves talk. Motor Mouths usually have an opinion about everything and don’t hesitate to share it. I sometimes wish I had a remote control like this one so I could push "mute" to tune them out for a little while. Now please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that we should never talk, or never share our opinion with others. Instead, I’m saying, we need to spend as much or even more time listening than we do talking. You will be amazed at how much you can learn just by listening to others.
IV. Finally, We should try putting Jesus first in our lives.
In the ninth chapter of Luke Jesus is describing the Cost of Discipleship with His Disciples. He tells them that in order to be one of His disciples, a person must be willing to put Him first in their life. People who put Jesus first are filled with Christian joy, regardless of the circumstances that come their way. People who do not put Christ first in their lives can not experience the abundant life the way God wants them to.
A. Putting Christ first in your life will eliminate worry and anxiety from your life.
This is what Jesus told his disciples in the sixth chapter of Matthew when He said, "Don’t worry about tomorrow. God will take care of everything that comes your way, just take life one day at a time." Matthew 6:31-34 (paraphrase)
Several years ago automobile makers started installing cruise control in their cars and trucks. As you know Cruise control allows you to push a button and not have to worry about trying to maintain a certain speed. It does this by accelerating when going up a hill, and decelerating when you go down a hill.
Hershall Hobbs says, that we as Christians can move along at a steady pace along the highways of life regardless of whether the road is flat or whether it goes through the mountains. He says when the going gets tough, that those of us who are Christians have the strength for every bump in the road we experience because the Holy Spirit lives within us.
Regardless of the circumstances surrounding you this morning I want you to know that as a Christian you can experience the joy and peace of God by simply putting your life on "Christ-Control." In other words, when you put Christ first in your life He takes over and leads you down the pathways and highways of life.
Jesus said, "I have come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly."
Conclusion: Some people mistakenly believe that they will enjoy life more if they have more stuff, so they go out and buy as much stuff as they can. Unfortunately, that doesn’t satisfy them for very long. Others believe they will enjoy life more if they can find a husband or wife to share their lives with. While this may help for a while, we as human beings cannot guarantee someone else’s happiness.
This morning I want to encourage you by saying that it is possible to live a full and abundant life. It begins with a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. If you don’t have a relationship with Him you will never be able to experience life to its fullest.
Beyond that, I also want to encourage you to look on the bright side of things, and to be a part of the solution rather than part of the problem; spend more time listening than you do talking, and to put Christ first in your life. If you do these 4 things, I assure you, that you will enjoy life more than ever before.
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