The Lord of the Rings written by JRR Tolken, is one of the world greatest tales written to symbolize the struggle against sin and the spiritual forces of the devil. JRR Tolken was a believer who led CS Lewis to the Lord.
The story of The Lord of the Rings centers around a ring created by the most powerful demon on the earth for the purpose of controlling the earth and all humanity. The ring was lost for thousands of years but one day was found by a small creature called a hobbit. The hobbits and a wizard, combined forces with some dwarves, elves, and humans to defend the world against the most evil army ever imagined, led by an evil wizard and powered by horrible spiritual demonic powers. The book contains tremendous battles between good and evil.
There are 2 kingdoms - The Kingdom of the world and the kingdom of heaven.
The world’s kingdom provides wonderful benefits - predominant unhappiness, discontent, high suicide rates, higs divorce rates (stats still say about 50%) ie broken families, increasing serious depression cases, abuse of children, sexual abuse of children, ....
2 Tim 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
This is the Kingdom of the world....
POWER!!!!!!!!!
THIS SATANIC EVIL attempts to drain every drop of Joy and Happiness from our lives.
There has always been a real battle between good and evil.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
But Jesus conquered death and sin so that we can experience real joy and happiness!
Are you really Happy? You can be! >>>>>>>>>> If I asked you to raise your hand -- everyone would!
Jesus said to the man sick with the palsy in Matt 9:2 ...Be of good cheer
Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
Jn 16:33 33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world!
(Acts 23:11 KJV) And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul:
(Acts 27:25 KJV) Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, ...
In our text this morning Jesus gives us the keys to Happiness! The kingdom of heaven is the place of real happiness. Here are the Keys to the kingdom and the Keys to Happiness!
How to be truly Happy (blessed) . READ >>>>>>Matthew 5:3-11
They are paradoxical, these keys contradict human thinking because it is heavenly thinking. Kingdom of heaven
The word beatitude means (according to the dictionary) happiness. Jesus defines it as blessed. A blessed life is the only life of happiness
The beatitudes are the first section of the Sermon on the mount.
1And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2Then He opened His mouth (symbol of authority) and taught them, saying:
Here are 7 keys to real Happiness
1st Key. Be humble - poverty (I qualify) ha poor in spirit,
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Charles Allen -- God’s Psy Leading Psy ...All Psy. can be boiled down to this sermon
A. Poverty of Pride -
“JESUS TELLS THE STORY OF ...Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11“The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12‘I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13“And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:10-13
B. Poverty of Power spiritual strength comes through human weakness
The runaway son realized that money wasn’t the answer to life’s problems. He needed his family. His father’s kingdom. ‘I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, Luke 15:18
We all need the loving Kingdom of God. Only in His kingdom do we find real joy -
blessedness = oneness, acceptance - AND WE HAVE IT! theirs is the kingdom of heaven
1st Key. Be humble
2nd Key. Be heartbroken --mourning for happiness?
Unless we are heartbroken over our sin we will never be happy!
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
ILL>> Father Damien was a missionary for 13 years to the lepers on Molokai. Eventually he caught the dreaded disease himself. One morning he spilled boiling water on his foot and didn’t feel a thing. That was when he knew that the deadly disease had come and eventually it would take over his whole body. If only he had feeling in his foot he would be alright, but there was no feeling. >>>> Do you still have feeling in your heart???
A. SORROW FOR SIN --- do you feel it? We must be so grieved by our sin & shortcomings that we cannot rest until we have found forgiveness in God and our souls are satisfied.
17This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. Eph 4:17-19
ILL>> Many churches years ago had mourners benches. Charles Allen in his book God’s Psychiatry said “Today we want God’s blessing without the pain of God’s purging. we want sermons on how to win friends, how to have peace of mind, how to forget our fears. But we must remember that Christ came to make men good rather than merely to make men feel good!”
B. SORROW FOR THE SAVIOR! A suffering Savior must bring sadness to us!
It was our sin that put him there, AND WE INCREASE THE PAIN OF THE CROSS WITH OUR SIN.
>>>>>>>>> Think about this. If God knows everything (omniscient or all knowing) He knows what sins we have committed and will commit. So when we choose to sin we are adding to the horrific pain of the cross! Have you ever thought about that? Every sin adds pain to the scourging that almost killed him. Every sin increases the excruciating pain of the cross. OUR SIN PUT HIM ON THE CROSS AND WE MUST MOURN AND BE HEART BROKEN !
(Psa 34:18 KJV) The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
(Psa 51:17 KJV) The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
ILL >>> Mel Gibson’s - the Passion - “Why didn’t you play a part? I did. The only one I was qualified to play. It was my hands that nailed him to the cross!
>>>> Dr. Ed Young said the Super Bowl was played last Saturday...
And with forgiveness comes comfort and joy! (2 Chr 7:14 KJV) If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
1st Key. Be humble
2nd Key. Be heartbroken
3rd Key. Be meek - no one wants to be meek and weak.
5 Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth. and surrender our very lives to the plan sand purpose of God.
(Psa 37:11 KJV) But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Heb wd meek means “molded” = controlled by, molded by God.
A. Be Molded = controlled by God! -- Putty on God’s hands
Ps 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delights in his way.
b. Be MELTED Jesus used a Greek word that means controlled.
We have a choice to be meek , submitting to the will of God or to be SELF -WILLED
(Luke 22:42 KJV) Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
It was this ATTITUDE that he displayed as He completed His ministry, and it is this same attitude that he taught the disciples at the beginning of His ministry. JESUS didn’t respond to the attacks as a normal man. HE OBEYED GOD!
(Isa 53:7 KJV) He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
God is in control of the earth. Are you in His kingdom? If you are you will inherit the earth as a part of God’s Kingdom.
1st Key. Be humble
2nd Key. Be heartbroken
3rd Key. Be meek -
4th Key. Be hungry -
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled. Turn away from our ambitions for all else
A. It is a Passion for God
ILL>>> A young man went to a preacher and asked him to teach him about God. The preacher took him out into to the middle of the river and the young man thought he was going to get a lesson in baptism. But the preacher grabbed him and held him under until he almost drowned. As he came up gasping for and chocking, the preacher said come back to me when you want it as bad as you wanted air.
How have you come into the church today? Were you thinking about your Lord? The Word of God? Did you meditate and focus your whole person on Christ? If it is a blessed happy life you seek / with a peaceful family,
/ a peaceful marriage. / Joy in your job, / >>>> Then Put all your efforts into the getting right with God.
THERE CAN BE NO PEACE AND JOY WITHOUT OBEDIENCE! BEING FAITHFUL TO HIS WORD! tHE PREACHING OF THE WORD, TEACHING IN SS, --- EVERY TIME THE DOORS ARE OPEN- BE IN YOUR PLACE - HUNGRY FOR GOD!>>>>>> BE AT THE DINNER TABLE EVERY TIME THE MEAT OF GOD’S WORD IS SERVED!
B. It is Pursuing God.
(Deu 11:13 KJV) And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
When I was in Bible College I normally went to supper at the same time as everyone else. One year however I played soccer for a short time until I realized I had to work to pay my school bill. But during the time I played ball, I missed the normal supper time at the DH. But the school had a special time for athletes to eat after practice. Ay my first meal I was shocked. The quantity of food was unbelievable. Guys smaller than me ate double what I did, and the big guys ate enormous amounts of food. They were staving and ate like wolves! Do you know why? Sure you do. Because they exercised, they really worked it off and needed food. They were truly hungry.
Your hunger for God is directly related to how you exercise your faith. --- Your joy is related to your humility ...
1st Key. Be humble
2nd Key. Be heartbroken
3rd Key. Be meek -
4th Key. Be hungry -
Tonight - the 5th 6th,7th, keys to happiness.
5th Key. Be forgiving - return good for evil
7 Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
6th Key. Be pure in heart - giving up everything impure
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
7th Key. Be a peacemaker - to wholly choose God
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
There is a cost to this happiness. - A result of having a life of blessedness.
8. Be persecuted - it is the cost of true happiness
The 7 keys to the kingdom are character qualities of the genuine believer, but it will cost something. Unless they are installed into our lives they are worthless.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12“Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
