This blog is posted on the 20th March 2017 which is The International Day of Happiness.
The United States Declaration of Independence enshrines the right of every American to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but why is happiness so elusive? The world energetically and enthusiastically runs after happiness, but it always seems to be just beyond its grasp.
Apparently if you have a coke you ‘Open Happiness’
Will Smith starred in a Movie called the Pursuit of Happiness: which is obviously pulled from the US Declaration of Independence.
I have heard preachers talk about the difference between joy and happiness. They say joy isn’t related to circumstances whereas happiness is.
Happiness though is different than joy. We can have the joy of the Lord in any circumstances and at all times. It is our strength even when we are weak…it’s the bottom line that gives our lives meaning and makes life worth living.
Happiness is more temporary, because it is based on “happenstance” or “happenings”. Certain circumstances make us happy. So, we often lift up “joy” as the thing to truly seek after. And that may be a valid point, but don’t we want to be happy? We may not always be able to be happy, but don’t we want to be happy often? More often than most usually are? More than we have been lately? Well? If certain circumstances lead us to be happy, it would be nice to know what those circumstances are.
I preached on happiness a few years ago – here are my sermon notes.
The Bible tells us how to be happy:
Blessed – asher = HAPPY, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable.
1. Happy Is The Man Whose Sins Are Forgiven.
Romans 4:7
7 “ Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered;
Why is he happy
- Because he is free from guilt
- Because that which has separated him from God has been removed.
- Because his eternal destiny has changed.
2) Happy is the man who God Corrects
Job 5:17 “ Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects;
Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.
Why?
Because it’s a sign that God Loves him.
Proverbs 3:12
For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.
Because God is guiding his life.
3. Happy Is The Man Who Is Delighted More In The Word than in the World.
A clear choice is presented here
Psalm 1 –
The Way of the Righteous and the End of the Ungodly
1 Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
Chaff or tree?
Psalm 119:16
I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
4. Happy Is The Man Who Keeps God’s Commandments.
Proverbs 29:18 (Amplified Bible)
18Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish; but he who keeps the law [of God, which includes that of man]–blessed (happy, fortunate, and enviable) is he.
Why?
Because if you don’t you live in a manner that is unrestrained living and that will ultimately lead to your destruction
John 13:-14-17
14If I then, your Lord and Teacher (Master), have washed your feet, you ought [it is your duty, you are under obligation, you owe it] to wash one another’s feet.
15For I have given you this as an example, so that you should do [in your turn] what I have done to you.
16I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, A servant is not greater than his master, and no one who is sent is superior to the one who sent him.
17If you know these things, blessed and happy and [a]to be envied are you if you practice them [if you act accordingly and really do them].
5) Happy is the man who conducts his spiritual walk in a mature fashion regardless of what is happening around him
Proverbs 28:14 (Amplified Bible)
14Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) is the man who reverently and worshipfully fears [the Lord] at all times [regardless of circumstances], but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.
Reverence is respectful, submissive attitude of mind resulting in affection and esteem for the person to which it is directed.
And that attitude my friend will propel you into the presence of God
6. Happy Is The Man who has made God their Lord
Psalm 144:15
Blessed is the people of whom this is true; blessed is the people whose God is the LORD.
7. Happy Is The Man Who Trusts The Lord.
Psalm 84:12
O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusts in you
Proverbs 16:20
He who heeds the word wisely will find good, And whoever trusts in the LORD, happy is he.
So I can’t count…..here are two more
8) Happy is the man is has mercy on the Poor
Proverbs 14:21
He that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.
Miser and Miserable are derived from the same word
9) Happy is the man who finds wisdom
Proverbs 3:13
Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding;
The reasons why
Pr 4
5 Get wisdom! Get understanding!
Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
6 Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you;
Love her, and she will keep you.
7 Wisdom is the principal thing;
Therefore get wisdom.
And in all your getting, get understanding.
8 Exalt her, and she will promote you;
She will bring you honor, when you embrace her.
9 She will place on your head an ornament of grace;
A crown of glory she will deliver to you.”
10 Hear, my son, and receive my sayings,
And the years of your life will be many.
11 I have taught you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in right paths.
12 When you walk, your steps will not be hindered,
And when you run, you will not stumble.
13 Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go;
Keep her, for she is your life.
I hope you find spiritual happiness.
Peter
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Categories: Sermon Notes
peterpilt 
Very good.
Though you crack me up with your use of words as 1), 2) and 6) (at least) aren’t “habits” as such.
P.S. For point 1) I prefer the more post crucifixion accurate Rev 1:5 “washed us from our sins in his own blood’. As I understand it the blood of bulls and goats (being red like sin) was able to cover sin so that God didn’t see it, but the Blood of Jesus washed us clean of our sin and it isn’t there (hidden under the blood) any more.
It’s a play on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People book by Steven Covey.
Sorry I had to explain that. I assumed a level of intelligence of my blog readers. My mistake.
See that’s how language gets changed and so people have difficulty understanding each other. Being a generation before you I would have written “I assumed a level of general knowledge of my blog readers”. I can remember one of the Sunday papers having a weekly “Intelligence Quiz”, but knowing who starred in “Friends” is not a function of intelligence, only knowledge (and watching it may call your intelligence into question – attempted humour there folks).
I have heard of that book, but being “Highly Effective” is not the way God made me so the book is not something I’d readily recall to mind.
Re your comment on Romans 4:7 are you suggesting that you are correcting the Holy Spirit?
Not intentionally, and I don’t think so.
In Romans 4:7 the Apostle Paul is talking about justification by faith being evidenced in Old Testament and quoting King David from Psalm 32. In David’s time we know, from Hebrews, that the sacrifices weren’t enough to permanently deal with sin. Although as David correctly says “Blessed are those … whose sins have been covered” the sin’s still there as is confirmed by the writer of Hebrews who says “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins”.
But to Titus we see written; Jesus “who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession” and in 1John “if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, … the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin”.
And what do we read in Ephesians? “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and [and what …adg?] blameless before Him” hence my reference to Rev 1:5. Sin isn’t covered any more, the perfect sacrifice of Jesus means His blood cleanses us.
It’s a legal thing Pete:
We have been born again; therefore
We ARE sons of God; and
We ARE justified; and
We ARE BEING sanctified; and
We WILL BE glorified.
P.S. Only yesterday the Sunday speaker said (at communion time I think) that the blood covered our sin so I guess that gave me some pre your post thinking time on the subject. Saddens me that people with influence think that way though.
Totally believe that Jesus didn’t cover our seen, He washed it completely away. So let’s go deeper. Why is the concept of atonement is discussed in the New Testament?
Based on what I may say later I’ll say up front that I can’t remember the Atonement being on the list of topics God’s had preached on at the services I’ve attended. That’s not to say that it hasn’t, but I don’t remember it and it’s not the type of message I’d expect that those I currently sit under would bring.
From definitions we have “(in religious contexts) reparation or expiation for sin” but more importantly “the reconciliation of God and mankind through Jesus Christ”. It’s probably the most important thing in the Bible with everything else revolving around it, because the reality of life is that we’re all sinners and deserve to be under the wrath of God and an eternity of punishment in hell. However because of the atonement some of us will instead spend eternity in heaven.
I don’t know which is the chicken and which is the egg, but I so often hear these days of God being portrayed as someone it’s nice to get to know and who you can be friends with if you like, and in that there is no need for “atonement” because we forget to say that “whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them” (John 3:16, no sorry John 3:36 – I could have corrected that, but have you ever seen a sign saying “John 3:36” at a sports match?).
Interestingly “The word “atonement” in the Authorized Version of the Bible is an Old Testament term. It appears only once in the New Testament (Romans 5:11) where it is translated “reconciliation” in the Revised Version”. (https://bible.org/article/atonement-christ) so I’ll have to do some looking to see to what extent it is discussed. [If this is true it shows how much people who live with an “that’s OT” attitude miss out. In a way it’s like trying to understand algebra without first understanding addition and multiplication.]
Just guessing, but one of the reasons we need the atonement discussed (in the NT) is because all religions (including those that use Christian terminology, e.g. Catholicism) are works based and it’s up to us to be “good enough” to get to heaven. The idea of leaving it completely in the hands of another (especially God whom we’re trying to please) is contrary to our nature, to the extend even that there are people among us who think that their sin is only covered and that if they’re bad enough that covering won’t be good enough. The NT was written in the main to non-Jews who may not have had a grounding in the OT so they needed the facts even if they didn’t have the reason and history behind it.
P.S. Haven’t really answered your question as I first have to do some looking into it.
With regard to happiness surveys/studies have been reported on happy countries it has been the Nordic countries that report the highest levels of happiness. These are countries with low religious participation rates. They have high taxes and also a large welfare state.And yet they have in the main kept voting in social democratic parties. When Norway got wealthy from North Sea oil they banked it in ethical investments for their future pensions. Sweden did away with censorship and they ended up with only one adult shop in Stockholm.Finland has the best education system in the world.Divorce is lower except for Sweden. Russia and the US have high divorce rates.
Divorce rates are higher in red states than blue states in the US. .These would be states that have larger evangelical numbers than others.Does religious involvement lead to greater happiness? Do people more like the social experience at church?. Do people who attend the synagogue on Saturday or prayers at the local mosque on Friday evenings experience this happiness? Why do migrants from other countries often fill the pews in churches? On a Sunday morning if i go to MacDonalds there are a large number of women from the Philippines who have just attended mass. These folk come from a country where there is no centrelink .
Years ago I got hold of a DVD and book by Harvard Psychiatrist Dr Armand M Nicholl title The Question of God C S Lewis and Sigmond Freud Debate God Love Sex and the Meaning of Life.C S Lewis was the writer of the Narnia books as well as a number of others my favorites being The Screwtape Letters and Fern Seeds and Elephants.
Lewis was an atheist in his early life converted in his adulthood to Christianity and became one of it’s greatest defenders. Lewis lost his mother to cancer as a young boy. He went to a school where he experienced a lot of bullying. He got his father to get him a private tutor, William Kirkpatrick. He was called “The Great Knock” by the Lewis. He was an atheist however he helped Lewis develop a technique to argue effectively which benefited him in later years. . Freud was the famous psychoanalyst who consider belief in God as a neurosis. Dr Nicholl produces several film clips of their lives from childhood to adulthood and eventually death. At the end of each section he has a group of people discuss the contents. This group consists of both believers and non-believers. The most well know non-believer is Psychology Professor and member of the Skeptics Society Michael Shermer.
They discuss issues under part 1 What Should We Believe part 2 How then should we live? I have been rereading the chapter “Happiness What is the Source of Our Greatest Enjoyment in Life” Both Lewis and Freud suffered from depression in their lives. Lewis’s conversion apparently changed his view of the world. “The many biographers of Lewis as well as his friends (like Tolkin) emphasize how profoundly his world view changed altered his life in particular his capacity to experience happiness” Freud considered happiness can be found in the satisfaction of physical pleasures such as sex and food. He lost his favorite daughter and grandson to the Spanish flu . He was nominated for but did not receive the Nobel Prize. He had been famous for the counselling technique of psychoanalysis. Some critics say it took to long and was too expensive. Towards the end of his life he was secretly writing to a theologian with questions of God suggesting he might have doubts. Psychoanalysis has a low percentage cure affect according to those who have studied the various therapies.
At the end of the show i notice few changed from their present position. One guy seemed to move towards doubt of religion.