Welcome to Redemption Church. Please take a few seconds to SAY Hi and when your ready, we would like for you to take the NEXT STEP with us. Next Steps is a fun 3 week experience that will help you make friends and find your place at Redemption.
Psalms 37:3-4
Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Does God Want Me To Be Happy?
Just type on word….YES OR NO?
Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may about in hope.
So, God’s wants His peolple to be happy. The question is: what should make God’s people happy?
God wants you to be happy, but what makes you happy may not be what God wants for you.
“Nothing apart from Jesus should make you happy” —D.J. Ward
God doesn’t want you to be happy when it’s only based on things of this world.
1 John 2:15-17
Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading a3way, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
God doesn’t want you to be happy when it causes you to do something wrong or unwise.
Remember that the right thing is almost always the hardest thing to do.
The Pursuit of Holiness Produces Happiness.
1 Peter 1:14-16
So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
Holy definition: To be all-together different from what is common/to be set apart from what is common.
Jesus give the sermon on the mount and begins happiness. This is the only place Jesus talks about what happiness looks like for His people.
Matthew 5: 2-11
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
So Jesus says I should:
- Lay down Pride and find happiness in humility
- Lay down power and find happiness in meekness
- Lay down popularity and find happiness is persecution for righteousness sake
- Lay down greed and find happiness in generosity
Jesus says that what should produce happiness and joy for the Christian is the pursuit of becoming like Him. Only pursuing holiness will produce joy, happiness, pleasure, gladness or blessing that will last.
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