So You Want To Be Happy

Camden 9.30am 12 January 2003

Philippians 4:8-9 Matthew 5:3-12

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The desire to be happy dominates our mind
Many people delude themselves into believing that they are happy - deep down they are miserable
Proverbs 13:14
Happiness and Unhappiness are not always where we might expect
Why is happiness so elusive?

Happiness is....
- Being single
– A Dobermann
– A diet coke
– A day at the cricket
Happiness is not just a matter of experiencing certain conditions in life
It is not a matter of experiencing the impossible or receiving positive surprises

Building a solid foundation for happiness is a serious business
– It is like building a beautiful garden
– You must plan thoroughly, cultivate carefully and weed meticulously
We need to pay attention to
– how we think
– what expectations we have for our lives.
We need to identify old unhappiness producing habits and pull them out by their roots
Philippians 4: 8-9
Happiness is not an accident
It results from a disciplined and deliberate effort.
It is something that can be achieved.
It is the habit of the heart and mind that can be learned and can be passed on to our children.
– We have a challenge to ensure that our children to discover the life and happiness that God intended for them.

Walk a little plainer, Daddy
Most of us have few legitimate excuses to be unhappy - we choose or misery
Happiness grows out of choosing to live harmoniously with your life circumstances
– what ever they are.
The essential ingredients of happiness are simple and available to everyone.
Trouble is they are so simple that they are often overlooked and ignored.
Happy people exhibit some clear characteristics.
- keeping busy and active
- doing productive work
- spending time with friends, lowering expectations and being yourself.
All the principles together are not enough to guarantee happiness.
We can never find real and lasting happiness while we live outside of God

True Guilt and false Neurotic Guilt
Guilt an obstacle to the gospel
a person who suffers from neurotic guilt has a great difficulty in feeling God's forgiveness

Selfish people are not happy people
Hedonism Happiness is found only in my pleasure and opposite refuse to allow themselves to have pleasure - so intent of relieving neurotic guilt feel guilty when enjoy themselves
Narcissism Strong sense of own importance constant need to feel successful require attention and admiration

Matthew 6:33
Psalm 25:4-5
Matthew 5:3-12
Makarios -Blessed , happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions
Blessed and enviably happy with a happiness produced by the experience of God's favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His matchless grace