Intro: a few months ago I came across a church service in progress, the preacher was preaching and as they scanned the audience I noticed something, not one person was smiling. If you were doing a commercial on the Christian life, that audience would not have been a good advertisement, because Christians should be the happiest and most blessed people in this world. David the great Psalmist gives us this picture in his very first Psalm, which is the secret to a happy or blessed life. Today, I want to minister into your life out of this beautiful Psalm.
How To Live A Happy Life
Psalms 1
Background: if you understand the Life of David, you will know that he isn’t writing on how to have the perfect life. Some people want the perfect life, but that is a life that is reserved for the future, but David gives us keys to living a blessed or happy life, and today we all can live by these principles in chapter one.
I. Get The Right Directions—don’t walk in ungodly counsel—the first step to a miserable life is getting ungodly counsel. It is the counsel of our world, it is the counsel that says live life for pleasure or things, or to gratify your flesh.
a. the first key to a happy life is in any decision you make, get Godly counsel before you act. Don’t get the latest trend, don’t follow the advice of the crowd. One of the best ways to have a happy life is to surround yourself with people who give Godly advice and wisdom
b. if you want Godly counsel, associate with Godly people. Don’t just open your ears to anyone or anything. If you want to be a miserable person, just open your ears to everyone who wants to fill them.
c. by the mouth of a few witnesses let something be established, don’t get all your advice from one source, there is wisdom in getting a spiritual second opinion.
Ill) years ago in Bainbridge Georgia a young lady came to our office who wanted out of a marriage. She said, she didn’t love her husband and never did. I asked her, if you never loved him, then why did you get married. She said, a minister told me that it was God’s will for me to marry this man. So she married him off a single word from a Pastor.
II. Hang with the Right People— don’t stand in the way with sinners—the next principle to a happy life, is check who you are hanging with—a lot of people life very unhappy lives because of wrong associations and influencers in their lives.
a. if someone is going to take you to hell, dump them. People get into what I call trap relationships, they are controlled by another person. If you are in a relationship that tears you don’t spiritually, you need to get out of it.
b. Check who you run with, to see who you are—a good look at who we associate with will tell us the type of person we are or are becoming. Birds of a feather flock together.
c. Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom—if you realize this story, He and Abraham were both being so blessed that they need to split up so there would be room for both of them. But after a short time in Sodom, Lot’s family had become Godless.
III. Keep Right Attitudes—don’t sit in the seat of scorners—another way to be miserable is to develop a miserable attitude. Here is a key: if you want to be a positive person, don’t keep listening to the negative report. David says, don’t sit with critical, complaining, negative people and expect to be a joyful, positive person.
a. scorners don’t see any good in any thing.
b. Scorners are doubters, if you want to keep your faith, then build it up with faithful people, if you want to lose your faith, sit around with a group of people who are constantly saying, it can never be done.
c. Your attitudes are developed with time—in sports there are now sports psychologists, and they get paid big money in helping athletes to keep a positive attitude even in negative situations.
IV. Stay in the Word—v.2 if you want to have a happy and blessed life then stay in the Word. Go to the Word on it. Meditate on the things of God.
a. the Word builds up your faith—faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
b. The Word produces hope—some people get bogged down in the past, or overwhelmed in a present crisis—the Word gives hope, it fills your life with the confidence that things will get better, that there is a blessing on the other side of that mountain.
c. The Word is the answer to the problem—no matter what the question is, the Word is the answer. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life—everything you need in life, is in the Word of God.
Close: a while back a man told me their family had a miracle happen. I thought he was about to relay how their was a physical or financial blessing take place. But he relayed something totally different. He said he had an aunt that was the meanest, most unhappy, most complaining person in the world. He said, she ruined most family re-unions with her constant negative attitudes and hard words. This had gone on for years. He said, but she went to a crusade and gave her heart to Jesus Christ. He said, it was amazing, at their family re-union, she was the life of party. She was smiling and laughing, and hugging everyone, he thought maybe aliens had come and taken over her body. But what had taken over her was Jesus Christ had come into her life.
Today, no matter who you are, or what you are facing—Jesus is the key to a happy life. The Word of God is the answer to your problem. And the Holy Spirit will give you the power to overcome. The other day I read a proverb that made a lot of sense to me: it said, better a happy man who only can eat vegetables, then a miserable man eating in the house of plenty.
