It was sung by Bobby McFerin and the words go like this:
“Don't worry, be happy
In every life we have some trouble
But when you worry you make it double
Don't worry, be happy
Don't worry, be happy now”
“Don't worry, be happy Don't worry, be happy
Don't worry, be happy Don't worry, be happy”
“Ain't got no place to lay your head
Somebody came and took your bed
Don't worry, be happy
The landlord say your rent is late
He may have to litigate
Don't worry, be happy
Don't worry, be happy”
That song became very popular because it dealt with something we all like to think about, and that is HAPPINESS!
Have you noticed that people that are HAPPY generally have a lot of people hanging around them? That is because we all want to be happy, and I guess we think that if we hang out with someone that is genuinely happy, some of their happiness may rub off on us.
HAPPINESS HAS A CONTAGIOUS EFFECT. We can be around an old sour puss who is always griping and complaining about something, and we head for the medicine cabinet. But then we can meet some HAPPY person and the first thing you know we are happy also.
Illus: Speaking of contagious diseases, did you hear about the very contagious disease that seem to be spreading all over the place these days?
A lady that contracted this very contagious disease said, “I'm writing you to let you know that I have recently been
diagnosed with a serious condition called, ‘Sidetrack Syndrome,’ and there's absolutely no hope I will ever get over it.” “It is very contagious; here is how it affects me. See if you have these same symptoms.”
• “When I decide to do the laundry, I start down the hall and notice the newspaper on the table. Okay, I'm going to do the laundry, BUT FIRST I'm going to read the newspaper.”
• “After that, I notice the mail on the table. Okay, I'll just put the newspaper in the recycle stack...BUT FIRST, I'll look through that pile of mail and see if there are any bills to be paid.”
• “Now where's the checkbook? I have some bills to pay. Oops! There's the empty glass from yesterday on the coffee table. I'm going to look for that checkbook, BUT FIRST I need to put the glass in the sink.”
• “I head for the kitchen, look out the window, notice my poor flowers need a drink of water. I’ll put the glass in the sink, BUT FIRST those flowers definitely need some water.”
• “There's the remote for the TV on the kitchen counter. What's it doing here? I'll just put it away...BUT FIRST I need to water those plants.”
• “I head for door and step on the dog. The dog needs to be fed. Okay, I'll put that remote away and water the plants... BUT FIRST I need to feed the dog.”
• “At the end of day: Laundry is not done, Newspapers are still on the floor, glass is still in the sink, bills are unpaid, checkbook is still missing, and the dog ate the remote control. AND, when I try to figure out how come nothing got done all day, I'm baffled, because I KNOW I was BUSY ALL DAY!”
• “I realize this condition is serious...and I should get help. BUT FIRST I think I'll read all my email!”
It seems that many of us have caught this very contagious disease called, “Side Track Syndrome.” There is something else that is very contagious, and that is HAPPINESS!
We like to hang out with HAPPY PEOPLE because we all have been allotted only so many days here on earth, and we want them to be happy days.
Illus: Years ago, there was a very popular television program on television called, “Happy Days!” It was a very successful sitcom. It was about a middle class family called the Cunningham family in 1950’s.
People watched it because it was built around happiness, and everybody wants to be happy.
• Mr. Cunningham (Tom Bosley) ran the local hardware store.
• Mrs. Cunningham (Marion Ross), spent most of her time in the kitchen.
• Their son, Richie (Ron Howard), hung out at Arnold's Drive-In with his pals Ralph and Potsie, trying to be as cool as the coolest greaser in town, the Fonz (Henry Winkler).
• Richie's sister, Joanie (Erin Moran), tagged along whenever she wasn't at her friend Jenny Piccolo's house.
This program started in 1971 and ran until 1984, ten and a half years.
WHY WAS THIS PROGRAM SUCH A SUCCESS? Because it was built on HAPPINESS. This very popular television program never would have survived a month if it was about SADNESS and MISERY!
People are always looking for happiness:
• In their business life
• In their family life
• In their marriages
And yes, they are looking for it in their churches.
Most of the folks have this one thing in common; we want to be happy. But we do know some who seem to think they have a constitutional right to the “Pursuit of Sadness and misery!”
God’s church needs to understand that God’s Word teaches that God’s Church should be a happy church.
This is why many pastors have come to recognize that the people of God have been battling with Satan all week and the last thing they need to hear or want to hear is some preacher beating them over the head with the Word of God, telling them how good-for-nothing they are. They need to be uplifted, not beaten down with the Word of God.
Illus: Many pastors remind me of the pastor, who was known for his lengthy boring sermons. As he was preaching one of his typical sermons one Sunday morning, he noticed a man get up and leave during the middle of his message. The man returned just before the conclusion of the service. Afterward the pastor asked the man where he had gone. "I went to get a haircut, was his reply. "But," said the pastor, “Why didn't you do that before the service?" The gentleman said, "Because, I didn't need one then."
In churches today . . .
• Good Pastors who know what the Word of God teaches, know that church should be a place of happiness!
• Good Sunday School teachers know that the people of God need to come to a Sunday School Class where the Word of God teaches them that God loves them and cares about their every need.
• Good Song Leaders select songs of joy and happiness to sing because the people of God have been zapped spiritually all week, and they need some new life instilled in them.
Illus: A choir director was not very fond of his pastor, but would always try and select songs that were appropriate for the occasion.
• One week the preacher preached on commitment, and how we should dedicate ourselves to service. The director then led the choir in singing, 'I Shall Not Be Moved.'
• The next Sunday, the preacher preached on giving and how we should gladly give to the work of the Lord. The choir director then led the song, 'Jesus Paid It All.'
• The next Sunday, the preacher preached on gossiping and how we should watch our tongues. The hymn was 'I Love To Tell The Story.'
• The preacher became disgusted over the situation, and the
next Sunday he told the congregation he was considering
resigning. The choir then sang, 'Oh, Why Not Tonight.'
• When the preacher resigned the next week, he told the church that Jesus had led him there and Jesus was taking him away.
• The choir director had the congregation stand and sing, ‘What A Friend We Have in Jesus.’
The preaching, teaching, and the singing should be uplifting most of the time. We should sing with a smile on our face, not “Oh say, but I’m sad”, but “Oh, say but I’m glad!”
A church can be a place of SADNESS or it can be a place of HAPPINESS. People can go anywhere and hear a bunch of griping and complaining.
There are churches that are filled with such things and they can not understand why their lost family members and friends do not want to come to church. Listen, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out!
Notice, David did not say:
• I was glad when they said let us go to the baseball game
• I was glad when they said let us go to the basketball game
• I was glad when they said let us go to the soccer game
• I was glad when they said let us go to the beach
He said, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.”
Going to the house of God should be an exciting time. Why should God’s House be a place of HAPPINESS (gladness)?
We see it is . . .
I. BECAUSE CHURCH IS A PLACE OF GOD'S PRAISE
One problem in the church today is that people have lost the joy of worshipping the Lord. It makes you wonder if they really know the Lord at all.
Illus: They remind me of this fellow that kissed this beautiful woman. He said to her, “Am I the first fellow you ever kissed?” She said, “You might be, you look vaguely familiar!”
Many times we get more excited about the things of the world than we do about the things of God.
Illus: For example, a Christian lady was out in the yard working. She looked at her watch and saw it was almost time for her favorite television program to come on and she made such a mad dash for the house that as she was running up the steps, she slipped and fell and broke her wrist.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if God’s people were so HAPPY IN THEIR SERVICE TO THE LORD that they would make such a mad dash for the house of God to worship God?
David said, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.”
One of the ways that the church finds that gladness is through coming to recognize that God is WORTHY OF OUR PRAISE. PRAISE IS NOT JUST SOME ASPECT OF CHURCH THAT MEN THOUGHT UP. It is something the Word of God teaches the church should do.
God never meant for His church to be a place of griping and complaining..
• Look at Psalm 9:2, we read, “I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.”
• Look at Psalm 32:11, we read, “Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.”
• Look at Psalm 35:27, we read, “Let them shout for joy, and be glad..”
• Look at Psalm 40:16, we read, “Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee:”
• Look at Psalm 64:10, we read, “The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.”
• Look at Psalm 118:24, we read, “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”
When we do PRAISE HIM, two things will happen:
(1) IT WILL DRAW US CLOSER TO GOD
James 4:8 says, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you….”
Notice, God does not put any limitations on how close we can draw to Him. Sometimes folks will say, “I want to get closer to the Lord!” That’s good! Now, how close do you want to get?
God’s Word says the ball is in our court. You see, the Lord Jesus has done everything that He can possibly do to draw nigh unto us, but now He says, YOU DRAW NIGH and then I WILL DRAW NIGH.
Turn your eyes from the things of this world and set your affections on things above, and begin to praise Him, and see if you will not begin to draw nigh unto God.
Illus: A lot of men know how to GET A GIRL, but they do not know how to KEEP A GIRL.
When they are courting their wives, they say all the nice things that a woman wants to hear. They praise her for:
• The way she combs her hair
• The way she walks
• The way she talks
• The way she smells
• The way she dresses
But after they marry her, all the PRAISE DISAPPEARS.
Illus: That reminds me the old minister who was out walking one dark evening and he saw someone approaching him carrying a lantern.
As he came closer, he recognized that it was Willie Jones who was known to be, "a sandwich short of a picnic lunch".
• "Where are you going with that lantern, Willie Jones?"
• He said, "I'm going courting."
• The old parson said, "It's not very romantic to take a lantern when you are going courting. When I used to go courting I never took a lantern."
• "Aye", said Willie Jones, "I always wondered how you come up with such a ugly wife. You should have carried a lantern and you would have known what she looked like before you married her”
Before we married, all of us fellows praised our wives to high heaven.
THEN WHAT HAPPENED? They listened to all those nice things we said, and they said, “Your Mommy raised a smart boy!” And they began to snuggle up close to us the more we PRAISED THEM!
And the same thing is true with loving God. When we begin to praise Him, He says, “YOU DRAW NIGH TO ME and I WILL DRAW NIGH TO YOU.”
(2) IT WILL DRAW GOD CLOSER TO US
Israel knew it was not enough to build a beautiful temple to worship in. Look what Israel said about God, in Psalm 22:3, we read, “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.”
They said two things:
(1) GOD IS A HOLY GOD
(2) GOD INHABITS THE PRAISES OF HIS PEOPLE
God’s church is a place of HAPPINESS because they recognize that only God is worthy of worship.
• In Isaiah 43:21, we read, “This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.”
• In Psalm 107:8, we read, "O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men."
The Bible says that God created us to PRAISE THE LORD! God does all these wonderful things for us week after week so we can come into His house to PRAISE HIM!
But after God does all these wonderful things for us, some people come to church and:
• Act like He has not done a thing worthy of their praise
• Act like every good thing that happened to them this week was due to their own doings
Illus: Have you ever done something and someone else got the praise for it? If you have experienced this, you know that it did not make you very happy.
God is not happy with some churches, because their church services are dead and they cheat God out of His praise.
Illus: A little boy was in the foyer of a very dead church. The pastor saw him looking at a plaque hanging on the wall that honored the dead of this particular church.
• He said to the little boy, “Do you know what that plaque is for? The little boy said, “No sir, I do not know why those names are on that plaque!”
• The pastor said, “These are the members of this church that died in the service.”
• The little boy said, “Which service did they die in, the A.M. service or the P.M. service?”
If the people of God would get excited about Him, it would not be long before a lost world would come running to Him. Church should be a happy place.
Conclusion:
Part 1 of 2
I. BECAUSE CHURCH IS A PLACE OF GOD'S PRAISE
Part 2 of 2
II. BECAUSE CHURCH IS A PLACE OF GOD'S PRESENCE
III. BECAUSE CHURCH IS THE PLACE OF GOD'S PEOPLE
