We all want to be happy, Right?
We want to go through life with a feeling of accomplishment that brings happiness. Sometimes happiness can be a short lived experience in life. Kinda like a kid buying a happy meal at McDonalds. Kids love happy meals don’t they? It doesn’t matter where we are my kids all know when we’re close to a McDonalds. And the request was always the same, Dad I want a Happy Meal. The kids would be so overjoyed they would want to skip over the food in the meal and go right to the toy.
They loved those cheap little toys, and they always had a toy box full of them. But their happiness would last about as long as their fascination with the toy. And that wasn’t very long. They would go off and play never wanting to eat all of the food in that Happy Meal.
When it was time to go home their happiness was over. Well we are kind of like that, we make ourselves happy by buying things cars, houses, toys new tools new cookware new clothes new shoes but our happiness doesn’t last. We have all heard the expression money and possessions don’t buy happiness. All of our lives we try to do things so that we will be happy. However, to our dismay we find out that these things don’t bring happiness, instead we find ourselves surrounded by things that have no real meaning in our lives. People think that happiness can only be achieved when material and momentary conditions are met. People grow up thinking that all they need is a good job the perfect house, the perfect spouse, the perfect kids, the perfect church, the perfect car, the perfect education, when really all we need is Jesus. Amen.
Yes those material things are nice but they are not absolutes. Is there something in your life that makes you happy? Or better yet, is there something missing in your life, that keeps you from being happy?
True happiness starts with the mind. Our Lord and Savior told us everything we need to make ourselves happy. All we need, to be really happy is found in the Beattitudes
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
What does it mean to be poor in spirit?
Does that mean to walk around with your head down feeling miserable or making yourself miserable? No!
Does it mean that you have to be poor? No!
It does mean that we recognize that we are spiritual paupers before a holy and righteous God. It means that we see the truth about who we really are. And what our life is in Christ? And that means we recognize how much we need God. Right?
Lk 18:10-14
That is what poor in spirit means.
• It is much more than being humble
• much more than being polite
• much more than being patient
• much more than being kind
It is recognizing that you are a sinner in the hands of a loving Father. Being poor means emptying yourself of all those self righteous feelings you have. Empty yourself of your proud righteousness, realizing that we cannot make ourselves happy. It means to empty your heart and mind of all the junk the world puts value on.
Philippians 3:7-8
1 Timothy 6:6
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. How do we develop this attitude in our lives?
James 4:7-10 says “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinner, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
So being poor in spirit is placing value on God not on earthly possessions.
Shallow Hall Illustration
Let’s go home now! We could stop right here.
2. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
What do you think our attitude needs to be about our sin? It should cause us to mourn. We need to respond like Paul in Romans 7:14-20
We should be like the Tax Collector that stood before God and declared “Forgive me the sinner that I am.” And not like the Pharisee that was so full of himself.
Mourning is a sign of compassion Matthew 9:36-38
When was the last time you thought of someone who was lost and your heart was broken for them?
Mourning is not a sign of weakness it is rather the opposite, it is a statement of our inner strength and courage. It takes real strength and courage to stand before a Holy God and make the declaration “forgive me for my sin Lord.”
I think you can sometimes tell what kind of Christian life someone is going to have by the tears they shed when they come to a realization of what their sins did to Jesus Christ.
Psalm 51:7-17
3. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are the meek. Houghton Mifflin defines meek as “showing patience and humility; gentle; mild: Unresisting; peaceful; passive.” When we are meek we realize that God is in control and we give in to His will. Our worldly society would want us to be powerful and never give in to anything. We admire those who are strong and mighty. We make fun of the meek. We abuse the gentle, passive people in our society. We take advantage of the unresisting, patient people in our lives but, God blesses them. Jesus lived out all these qualities in His life and the world He lived in followed Him for a short time, then made fun of Him, persecuted and finally hung Him on the cross of Calvary to die.
But Jesus took it all on Himself, never one time did he use His power as the Son of God to free himself, He didn’t speak at his trial. He was gentle, passive, unresisting, and patient. God is a shepherd to the meek.
Matthew 11:28-30 says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Amen.
So how do you take on an attitude of meekness? Stop retaliating, stop gossiping about someone or something you don’t like. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
When we hunger and thirst of righteousness then you will find your happiness. When we develop a heavenly hunger for Jesus everything else will seem meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Duet 6:4-9; Ps 63:1-7; May this be your closing prayer, Ps 86:11-13
