6/22/08: 6 Pentecost

6/= 22/08: 6 Pentecost

St Stephen’s San Jose, The Rev Ken Wratten

Sermon Series on Happiness; Week One – = Does God Expect Us to be Happy?

Do you ever feel happiness challenged? Is the= re so much going on in your life that there is no room left for a sense of joy and peace? Since God created us, and gave us the intelligence to invent a Google search engine and the internet, and fingers that can touch type, can God re= ally expect us to be happy living in all this craziness that keeps peace and joy= out of our reach?

You and I need to remember that happiness is = NOT completely defined by what happens to us. Letting our view of life depend on external happenings doesn’t take into account what we discussed before about living in grace. Living in a state of grace means what happens to us = is NOT the only thing that determines how we feel. How we feel is determined by what happens to us AND by the way we think about what happened. And if we a= re in a state of grace, then the THING isn’t the THING anymore. It has b= een changed by our being in God’s grace. We have peace even when things aren’t going perfectly.

Dr. Ed Diener at the University of Illinois is one of many people doing research on what produces happiness i= n people; how we are satisfied or not satisfied with our life.

Money: if only I could buy anything I wanted.= It brings happiness only if we need it to provide our basic needs. After that, resear= ch shows that money won’t make us happy.

Fame: if only we were popular and known by everybody. Depression in Hollywood.

Youth: implies health, stamina; one of the mo= st unhappy groups is those 25- 35.

Climate: Oh to live in California, not in Buffalo, NY= . Research says no.

Education: the benefit of white collar job, i= ncome level, security? Research says no.

Two things from research bring happiness: rel= igious faith, strong social connections with friends & family

There are basics to experiencing happiness th= at come from our faith. This is important stuff. So let’s take a closer = look at the mechanics of being happy when you are a person of faith in God.

Observations:

One: Biblical happiness is about internal pea= ce, joy, and a sense of well-being;

Happiness is not based on external circumstan= ces.

Well, let me be more precise;

There is a happiness that reacts to happenings (this is temporary and volatile);

And there is happiness that overrules happenings (this is strong and lasting). <= /span>

We all experience the first kind of happiness-reacting to a nice day; a raise in pay at work; a birthday presen= t we really wanted; or being able to buy the car we’ve drooled over for the last 10 years. But if that is= the kind of happiness we settle for, then we constantly have to raise the ante, don’t we? We need more raises, whether the money will change our qual= ity of living or not; and we need a bigger car, whether we can fit it in the ga= rage or not.

The second kind of happiness is from the insi= de out, rather from the outside in. This is about living with an inner joy regardless of what is happening on the outside, because we are in relations= hip with a God who promises hope and peace.

Observation Two: Biblical happiness is someth= ing greater than pleasure. It describes how God sees us, not how we feel. God s= ees you as blessed when your life reflects certain characteristics.<= /span>

Observation Three: This inner happiness is about our sense of relationship to God. We can’t find happiness by seeking happiness, but by seeking God. ItR= 17;s like wanting your granddaughter to give you a hug: sometimes you can’t ask for the hug, but be a loving grandparent and you’ll get lots of h= ugs.

So, does God expect us to be happy? Let’= ;s look at the first few verses of Matt 5. Jesus was describing the way God’s believers are blessed. The original word in Greek translated here as ‘blesses’, also means ‘happy’; but the meaning of t= his word ‘happy’ is that the believer receives God’s divine f= avor when he or she displays certain characteristics in their life. Jesus is describing the life characteristics that define the happiness that comes fr= om receiving God’s favor.

2000 years ago, Jesus saw how desperate peopl= e were to sense inner joy, inner peace, and real happiness. So he taught them how = to get it. This is a great message for us, today.

M= att 5:3; To experience inner happines= s, peace, joy – we need to realize that we need God. We need to understa= nd that it is beyond us (despite all the John Wayne and Arnold Schwarzenegger movies to the contrary) to al= ways be in control, to do life on our own, and to never answer to anybody else. =

2 Cor 12:7-10; Paul tells the story about an ailment he had, some think it might have been epilepsy, but no one really knows. Listen to Paul’s way of understanding his ailment.<= /span>

“To keep me from getting puffed= up, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and k= eep me from getting proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it a= way. Each time he said, “My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses= , so that the power of Christ may work through me… When I am weak, then I = am strong.”

Paul knew he had weaknesses, and that= he needed God. And the awareness of his need for God gave him strength to endu= re anything that came his way. Ultimately everyone needs God. You need God. Ot= hers need God.

We know how much we need God blessing= us to get our pre-school launched by September. We know we can’t do it without God. And so there has been this outpouring from you, and from peopl= e at the former St. Stephen’s School, offering to pitch in and help make t= his vision a reality; to serve the 3 and 4 year olds in this neighborhood with a superb pre-school, based in Christ.

Think about the things in your life t= hat you’ve fought so hard to do on your own. You’ve stressed, and worried, and worked to do it on your own. Begin today to recognize your need for God to be in that situation. Ask God to help you; let God know that you know you can not do it on your ow= n. That realization will bring you the inner happiness that only faith in God = can give.

Ma= tt 5:4; To experience inner happiness, peace, joy – we need to face our failures= and sins honestly. Jesus says that when somebody mourns, that brings comfort. <= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Here is what I think Jesus is sayin= g. There is a progression we have to walk through. First we have to deal with = our past, our mistakes and our sin honestly with God. Having done that, there i= s a deep inner peace waiting for us. Jesus is assuring all believers that by admitting and mourning our failures, God will bring us blessing and inner happiness.

The Psalms were written by King David, a man = loved by God, but David had a time in his life when he got carried away with his importance and his power as King. He fell guilty of adultery, and lying and murder. In Psalm 51:3, David acknowledged his rebellion against God. “I recognize my shameful deed= s; they haunt me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I h= ave done what is evil in your sight.”

David didn’t blame anybody else; his pa= rents, or his friends, or that he had a bad day. He took ownership for what he had done, and took action to make it right with God.

Where have you and I fallen short of God̵= 7;s expectation of us? And all of us have. Let’s face it; the only time a= ny of us is perfect is on our resume! But in real life we have our faults; we = make mistakes.

The way we grow in our relationship with God = is to say to him, “God, this is what I’ve done; This is what I’m struggling with; This is what I’m still doing, and I need you to empo= wer me to change.”

God wants to restore joy in your life; that m= ight mean opening yourself to God by being honest with Him where you have rebell= ed against Him; where you have done something wrong that you know offends God.= This may be the time to deal with that failing with honesty, maybe for the first= time in your life. It isn’t easy work, and it isn’t fun. But on the other side of that work there is joy; there is inner happiness. THAT is how= you experience God at work from the inside out.

M= att 5:5; To experience inner happines= s, peace, joy – we need to be humble in marriage, and family, and friend= ships.

You might think that being humble means that we’re supposed to act timid or whimpy. But that isn’t what being ‘humble’ means. I= t is about being strong, but under control.&nbs= p; The word translated as ‘humble’ refers to a wild stallion that has been brought under control. We’ve all seen the movie The Hor= se Whisperer, right? There is nothing timid or whimpy about a wild horse that = has been brought under control. A humb= le believer is a person who has submitted herself or himself to God’s control.

It isn’t easy or comfortable to admit a weakness. But when we can do it, we find that our marriage, our family relationships, and our friendships become authentic and powerful. They aren’t based on the image of who we want to be, or who we want others= to think we are. Our relationships become based on who we REALLY are. Those relationships last.

Happiness isn’t found in money alone, or fame, or power, or in yourself.

Paul said, “Always be full of joy in the Lord… I have learned the se= cret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gi= ves me strength. Philippians = 4:12,13 NIV

Realize your need for God; face your failures and sins honestly; be humble in your relationships. Then see if la= sting happiness doesn't begin to take over your life from the inside out. Amen. <= o:p>