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.
. After we realize that we are spiritually broke and in need of someone to help us, we see ourselves as who we really are and we lament or mourn over our sins.
. In psalm 51: 3-4 King David laments:
For I recognize my hrebellion;it haunts me day and night
.4Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight.
. Scholars believe that this psalm was written after the prophet Nathan went to David and confronted him over his affair with Bathsheba.
. David was mourning his sin, seeking God’s forgiveness.
. When we cry out to God , mourning over our sins, He will comfort us and provide us with the peace and comfort.
. This happens when we come under conviction or are reminded of our sins and we repent and change or stop what we are doing.
. Jesus says that you will be happy because God will comfort you in these times.
. Once we realize that our spirit is poor and that we need forgiveness for our sins, we are well on the road to happiness.
. The next step on the path to happiness is found in verse 5:
. 5God blesses those who are humble,
for they will inherit the whole earth.
. Happy are the humble
. Many people believe that to be meek or humble is to be spineless. That you have to let people walk all over you.
. That’s not what Jesus is saying at all.
. In the original language, “meek” is used in bridling a horse, or taming a wild animal. The word “meek” is a picture of “power under control.” So when Jesus talks about a meek person, He’s talking about one whose life has been brought under the influence of the Holy Spirit, & God is in control of that persons life.
. Happy is the person who can let God take control of their life.
. Have you seen the bumper stickers that say that God is my co-pilot. If you are to be meek or humble or gentle as various translations then you need to let go and make God the pilot, not the co –pilot.
. As most of you know, I am a big American Idol fan. One of the winners in past years was a singer named Carrie Underwood. After winning the talent show, the first single that was a big hit for her was “ Jesus Take The Wheel”. A line in the chorus says, “ Jesus take the wheel, take it from my hands. I can’t do this on my own. I’m letting go…. Jesus take the wheel.
. Jesus says that to be happy, we are to be humble and allow him to empower us with the Holy Spirit.
. Our spirit is to be His spirit of humbleness and meekness.
. Not one who is spineless but one who is under control of the Holy Spirit.
. For true happiness we are to recognize our need for God, mourn over our sins and be humble and not try to do things in our own power but depend on Him to guide us. To be the driver in our life.
. The next step on the path to happiness is found in verse 6:
6God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,
for they will be satisfied.
. I believe that this one is the hardest for people here in our great country to understand.
. When we think of being hungry, it’s because we maybe skipped lunch or breakfast.
. Or being thirsty because we have exercised hard or have been working outside in the yard and have gotten thirsty.
. That’s not the hunger and thirst Jesus is describing.
. Back in the days that Jesus was on the Earth, people could literally go days without eating or drinking and they understood this concept of hungering and thirsting.
. How all you can think about is where your next meal is coming from or where you can find a drink of water after being in the desert.
. Jesus is saying that to be happy, you have to have a single mindedness of I must be in a right relationship with God.
. Do you want this relationship as much as your body craves and needs food and water.
. We sang a song here a couple of weeks ago titled “ As The Deer”. This song gives us a beautiful depiction of this thirsting for righteousness. The first line in the song is; “as the deer panteth for the water so my soul longeth after you. You alone are my hearts desire and I long to worship you.
. Can you picture a deer after it has ran through the fields and woods because of something that scared it and it finally gets to a brook and stream and as it is panting for water because of its thirst.
. Jesus says that to find true happiness, we must thirst for a right relationship with God just like this deer is desperately in need of water.
. Our next step on this path to true happiness is found in verse 7: 7God blesses those who are merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
. Happy are the people who show mercy, because God will also show them mercy.
. We can be happy because God has shown us mercy through His grace.
. Once we receive this mercy from God, we should show the same mercy to others that God has given to us.
. A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death. "But I don’t ask for justice," the mother explained. "I plead for mercy." "But your son does not deserve mercy," Napoleon replied. "Sir," the woman cried, "it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for." "Well, then," the emperor said, "I will have mercy." And he spared the woman’s son. (Luis Palau, "Experiencing God’s Forgiveness", Multnomah Press, 1984, sermon central.]
. We don’t deserve Gods grace and mercy but God grants this to us anyway. I truly believe that this is one of the things that makes God happy.
. We can share in this happiness by showing mercy to our fellow man.
. Verse 8 shows us the next step on this path to happiness.
. 8God blesses those whose jhearts are pure,
for they will see God.
. In his sermon “ steps to joy” Melvin Newland says that
“this Beatitude could be translated, “Blessed is the man who is genuine in heart, who is authentic, who is not a phony, because such a man will see God.”
Now what does that mean? Does that mean that I’m never going to think a bad thought the rest of my life? Does that mean that I’m always going to be a wonderful person who lives a perfect Christian life?
No! Bad thoughts will still come. Satan will see to that. And bad things will still happen in our lives. But we can come to God & say, “God, here I am, with all my cracks, my scrapes, my scars, & my sins. I know I’m not perfect. But I want to be straight, to be genuine with You.” And the promise is that God can deal with that.
So if you want to see God, take the mask off. Quit being phony. Quit pretending to be the person you’re not. Just be straight with God. “Blessed are the pure in heart.”
. We will be happy when we are the person God wants us to be in Him.
. The next step is found in verse 9:
9God blesses those who work for peace,
for they will be called the children of God.
it takes a lot of maturity to be a peacemaker. A peacemaker is not just someone who stands between two people who are fighting & separates them. A peacemaker is someone who changes the whole climate of what is going on.
ILL. There are 2 kinds of people: “thermostat” people & “thermometer” people. A thermometer reflects the climate of the room. If the room is cold, it’s cold. If the room is hot, it’s hot.
But a thermostat can change the climate of the room. By its setting a thermostat can change a cold room into one that is warm, or a hot room into one that is cool. And a peace-maker is a thermostat person. A peacemaker can change the climate of the room when he or she walks in. Have you ever seen that happen?
Have you ever been in a room where everybody is negative & complaining, & everything is going wrong? Then a thermostat person enters the room, & soon says something that causes people to say, “We never thought of it like that.” And the whole climate changes.
God wants peacemakers in His church. God wants peacemakers in the workplace. God wants peacemakers out in the world, people who never dwell on the negative, but concentrate on the positive & see the good things God is doing in His church & in the world.
. Happy are those who help to change the world for Christ.
. Lastly we see the final step in our path to happiness. We see it in verse 10:
10God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
. There are people in the world who are so in tune with God and their relationship with Him just flows from them.
. These are the people that nobody can find fault with in the way they conduct their affairs and serve their fellow man.
. These people are persecuted for the godly life they live because man can find no other fault in them .
. Jesus says that we should be happy when people persecute us for doing what is right.
. Just keep on doing what you are supposed to be doing because you have a inheritance in heaven.
. These people realize that all happiness comes through Jesus Christ.
. I want to close with a story this morning.
. A number of years ago Orel Hirschheiser was pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers. They had just won the World Series, & Orel had been named “The most valuable player of the series.”
One of the TV shows about the series showed him in the dugout just before the 9th inning started. He was leaning against the wall & his lips were moving. It was obvious that he was saying something to himself.
So when he was a guest on the Tonight Show, Johnny Carson asked him what he had been saying. “I wasn’t saying anything,” Orel responded. “Well, then, tell us what you were doing.” Finally Orel replied, “I was singing.”
“You were singing?” Johnny said. “I didn’t know you were a singer.” “Aw,” Orel said, “I’m not.” Johnny persisted, “What were you singing? Sing it for us now.” “Nah, I don’t want to sing.” But by that time the audience was chiming in with “C’mon, sing it, sing it to us!”
Finally, Orel Hirschheiser started to sing, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below.” And Johnny Carson was speechless. The whole audience was dead silent. Then one person started clapping, & soon the whole audience joined in applause.
. Orel realized that all blessings, all happiness comes from God and our relationship to Him through Jesus Christ.
Note: Main outline and portions of this sermon came from Melvin Newlands sermon “Steps To Joy” Sermon Central.
