A. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (READ and COMMENT)
1. How many of you actually believe that the Bible is God’s Word for mankind?
COMMENT:
Apart from His Son Jesus Christ, the greatest GIFT that God could have provided for mankind is the Bible—His Living Word—because it is literally God—our CREATOR—revealing Himself and
communicating with HUMANITY.
2. Both Peter and the writer of Hebrews describe God’s Word as “LIVING and ACTIVE.”
a. God’s Word is always RELEVANT to every GENERATION, and contains direction and insight into
everything that has to do with our LIVES.
b. By following the TEACHINGS in this Book, God is preparing us for eternity with Him in Heaven.
B. The problem, however, is when we think the Bible SAYS something that it actually doesn’t say.
1. In fact there are several popular sayings that many believe are in the Bible, but aren’t.
ILLUSTRATION:
Let’s have a little quiz. I am going to read several statements—some in the Bible and some not—
and see if you can tell me which ones are actual Bible statements.
1). “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matt. 26:41- Jesus said to Peter, James, John)
2). “God helps those who help themselves.”
3). “Cleanliness is next to godliness.”
4). “Carry each other’s burdens.” (Galatians 6:2)
5). “God will not give you more than you can handle.”
6). “Eat, drink, and be merry.” (Parable of the Rich Fool. Negative context: Luke 12:19.)
2. This brings me to a popular saying that many believe is Biblical: “God wants me to be HAPPY!”
a. I have heard this phrase used many times in my years of counseling by people trying to JUSTIFY
their SINFUL ACTIONS. However, the Bible doesn’t say that “God wants us to be HAPPY.”
b. I know that some of you are thinking: “Does that mean that God wants me to be UNHAPPY!”
COMMENT:
If I were to say that God does not want us HAPPY that would be very disturbing news, because it feels so GOOD to hear that God wants you to be HAPPY . . . God wants your LIFE to go the way you want it to go . . . God wants you to experience all the GOOD things in LIFE. After all, doesn’t the Bible say, “Rejoice always”?
3. Remember, there is a difference between JOY and HAPPINESS.
a. Our HAPPINESS is contingent upon the “HAPPENINGS” around us.
COMMENT:
As long as the CIRCUMSTANCES surrounding us are GOOD and everything is going OUR WAY, we can be THANKFUL to God for our HAPPINESS. But once that which brings us
HAPPINESS is removed, we often BLAME God because He is supposed to make me HAPPY.
b. Our JOY is not dependent upon outward CIRCUMSTANCES, but on the eternal promise that God LOVES me and will never FORSAKE me even during the most TROUBLING of times.
MESSAGE:
I. GOD DOES NOT WANT US TO PURSUE HAPPINESS, BUT TO PURSUE HIM
A. Now, I’m not saying that God is against our HAPPINESS, but that is not His ultimate GOAL for us.
1. I do believe that God DELIGHTS in our HAPPINESS—that when you and I are HAPPY, it brings
Him JOY just as any PARENT is delighted when their CHILD is HAPPY.
a. I’ve see your Facebook POSTS when your children or grandchildren do well in SCHOOL or
BAND or BASKETBALL or whatever else. When they’re HAPPY, your HAPPY.
b. Any PARENT and GRANDPARENT will tell you that they want their children and
grandchildren to do WELL—they want them to be HAPPY. But do we want that at ANY COST?
ILLUSTRATION:
If your son or grandson SCORED the WINNING GOAL in his High School Basketball Tournament to advance to the PLAYOFFS and started to CELEBRATE, you’re not going to sit quietly in the STANDS with your ARMS CROSSED. No, you’re GOING to be JUMPING UP and DOWN CHEERING for your child or grandchild because his HAPPINESS brings you HAPPINESS.
But if your son or grandson SCORES the WINNING GOAL and proceeds to CELEBRATE by EXTENDING his HANDS with an OBSCENE GESTURE directed to the OPPOSING
TEAM…suddenly his HAPPINESS is not your TOP PRIORITY, is it?
No, your PRIORITY now is not his HAPPINESS but his un-Christ-like BEHAVIOR and ATTITUDE, and what needs to be DONE about it—and it’s sure not going to make him HAPPY.
2. So, I submit to you that God’s HIGHEST PRIORITY is not for you and me to pursue HAPPINESS,
but for us to pursue HIM.
a. 1 Corinthians 10:31b- “…WHATEVER you do, do it all for the GLORY of God.”
b. Not for our GLORY . . . not for our HAPPINESS, but for the GLORY OF GOD whether it makes me HAPPY or NOT.
ILLUSTRATION:
I think sometimes we reduce God—the CREATOR and SUSTAINER of the Universe—to a celestial VENDING MACHINE.
When I put a dollar in a SODA POP MACHINE and push the BUTTON, I expect a DIET DR. PEPPER to come out—and if it’s ice-cold, I am really HAPPY. But if I push the DIET DP button and a PEPSI came out, I’m heading for the MANAGER.
COMMENT:
We often do the same thing to God. We put in our BUCK, press the BUTTON, and we expect God to DELIVER exactly what we WANT—whatever makes us HAPPY:
“God, I said my PRAYERS this week. I went to CHURCH. I tried to do GOOD THINGS. I gave a little MONEY in the OFFERING. I HELPED an OLD LADY cross the street. I SWERVED to avoid HITTING my neighbor’s DOG, even though it barks all night.
“Look at all the THINGS I’ve have done for You. So now my HEADACHES should go away. The BANK should approve my LOAN. I should get that PROMOTION at work.
“God, I did my PART. So, now GIVE ME what makes me HAPPY.”
3. God does not EXIST to SERVE us—we EXIST to SERVE Him.
a. We are to PURSUE Him whether or not it brings us HAPPINESS.
b. Again, God is not AGAINST our being HAPPY, but it is not His HIGHEST PRIORITY to make us HAPPY.
B. In fact, there are TIMES when God is not concerned about our HAPPINESS at all.
1. God DOES NOT want you HAPPY if it LEADS to doing something WRONG or UNWISE.
a. 1 Peter 1:15-16- “But just as He who has called you is (HAPPY), so be (HAPPY) in all that
you do.”
COMMENT:
Sorry, I MISREAD that: “But just as He who has called you is HOLY, so be HOLY in all
that you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am HOLY.’”- 1 Peter 1:15-16.
We as children of God are to be “HOLY” (set apart) in ALL that we DO, because our Father in heaven is “HOLY”.
b. But when we believe that above all else “God wants me to be HAPPY”, then we will be
TEMPTED to do things that are SINFUL in the pursuit of HAPPINESS.
ILLUSTRATION:
A HUSBAND moves in with a woman who is not his WIFE, and justifies it saying, “She makes me happy, and God wants me to be happy.”
A PARENT neglects their CHILD in pursuit of their CAREER or their RECREATION, and justifies it saying, “But this makes me happy, and God wants me to be happy.”
A TEENAGER is caught up in sexual activity with her boyfriend, and justifies it saying, “But I love him, and we make each other happy. God wants us to be happy.”
A SAME SEX COUPLE justifies their relationship by saying, “We love each other, and make each other happy. We can’t help who we love. Doesn’t God want us to be happy?”
c. God’s highest priority for us is not our HAPPINESS, but our HOLINESS—to be LIKE Him.
COMMENT:
God has every right to DEMAND our HOLINESS because He sent His Son Jesus to the CROSS to take our PLACE and DIE for our SINS. And believe me, it wasn’t FUN!!
2. God DOES NOT want you HAPPY if it’s only BASED on the things of this WORLD.
a. I have learned by watching Television COMMERCIALS there are some THINGS that I NEED to make me HAPPY that I didn’t know I NEEDED:
ILLUSTRATION:
Did you know there’s a FACIAL CREAM that if applied 30 minutes before you go to BED will eliminate WRINKLES? Apparently if you have WRINKLES you can’t be HAPPY.
There’s a HAIR COLOR just for men. …That’s the name of it: “JUST FOR MEN”. If you have any sign of GRAY; your HAPPINESS scale goes WAY DOWN. Sorry guys!
And to be really HAPPY . . . I have to start buying the TOILET PAPER that BEARS use. Who knew?
COMMENT:
The WORLD tells us that if we can have BETTER POSSESSIONS, PEACEFUL CIRCUMSTANCES, THRILLING EXPERIENCES, RIGHT RELATIONSHIPS, PERFECT
APPEARANCE, you NAME IT, then we can finally be HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY.
The problem is, all of these are based on EARTHLY THINGS, and EARTHLY THINGS
CHANGE. What brings you HAPPINESS today may not bring you HAPPINESS tomorrow!
God knows that EARTHLY THINGS cannot provide LASTING HAPPINESS, only He CAN.
b. 1 John 2:15-17 (READ and COMMENT)
COMMENT:
What the WORLD has to offer is FLEETING and TEMPORARY, but what God has to offer lasts for ETERNITY.
II. GOD’S HIGHEST CALLING FOR US IS NOT TO BE HAPPY, BUT TO BE BLESSED
A. HAPPINESS is based on CIRCUMSTANCES, where as a BLESSED LIFE is based on God’s
GOODNESS and His PRESENCE.
1. In the Beatitudes Jesus presents a LIST of what a “BLESSED LIFE” looks like, and I dare say that
not a ONE is on your HAPPY list- Matthew 5:3-12 (READ & COMMENT)
a. The Greek word that Jesus uses for “BLESSED” is “makarios”, and it can literally be translated
“more than happy”—it is a PLURALITY of HAPPINESS that God wants for us.
b. The word is used 43 times in the New Testament, and not once is it used in relation to EARTHLY THINGS or PHYSICAL CIRCUMSTANCES.
2. God wants to make us MORE THAN HAPPY, but that doesn’t mean that we will never get SICK,
that we will never LOSE our JOB, that we will never experience HEARTACHE.
a. God’s definition of “BLESSED” is far different from our definition of BLESSED.
b. When I say that God wants us “BLESSED” it doesn’t mean that everything is going to GO OUR WAY, or that we’re going to GET all the THINGS we want in LIFE, or that God is going to say
“YES” to every PRAYER.
B. We can be in the middle of the most DIFFICULT, HEART-WRENCHING circumstance of our LIFE
TIME, and still be deeply BLESSED by God and experience unspeakable JOY.
1. James 1:2- “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because
you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.”
COMMENT:
We don’t like the TRIALS that we face in LIFE and we certainly don’t ASK God for them, but during those DIFFICULT TIMES is when God is BLESSING us with STRENGTH and ENDURANCE and increasing our FAITH in Him—all in PREPARATION of SPENDING ETERNITY with Him.
2. James 1:12- “BLESSED is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the
test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.”
COMMENT:
If WORLDLY HAPPINESS is what we SEEK, we will CRUMBLE when TRIALS come and miss the “BLESSING” that God wants to give us knowing that our HOME is not of this WORLD but with God in HEAVEN.
3. C. S. Lewis (of the Chronicles of Narnia fame) once wrote: “If I find in myself a DESIRE which no EXPERIENCE in this world can SATISFY, the more probable explanation is that I was
MADE for another WORLD.”
a. The reason human beings are always in SEARCH of something BIGGER and BETTER in life is because God CREATED us for something BIGGER and BETTER that this WORLD does
not nor cannot PROVIDE.
COMMENT:
Inherent in human beings is an INNER CRAVING that no worldly PLEASURE or POSSESSION can fully SATISFY and bring lasting HAPPINESS. WHY? Because you and I
were not created for Earth! This WORLD is not our HOME—it is only TEMPORARY.
So, no new CAR, no new HOUSE, no new WARDROBE, no new PERSON is going to
SATISFY the CRAVINGS of your HEART. Only God can fill that VOID.
b. That’s why Paul reminds us that “…our citizenship IS in heaven…”- Philippians 3:20a.
COMMENT:
Notice that Paul is writing in PRESENT tense—we are CITIZENS of HEAVEN right now. And HEAVEN is where our LONGING stops?it’s where we FIND the HAPPINESS that we have been SEARCHING for ALL ALONG.
CONCLUSION:
A. God wants us to be MORE THAN HAPPY—He wants us to be BLESSED.
1. He wants more FOR us than the phony, fleeting HAPPINESS the WORLD offers.
a. Real lasting HAPPINESS comes from PURSING God and SEEKING His WILL in our lives.
b. EVERYTHING and EVERYONE else that we think makes us HAPPY is only a TEMPORARY SUBSTITUTE.
2. David writes: “…Blessed [MORE THAN HAPPY] are the people whose God is the Lord.”-
Psalm 144:15b
