A Portrait of happiness (8/20/17 Reflections on the Psalms #1)

ATTN: Since I preached out of Psalms last week, I thought I would stay in the same book. When I was a younger Christian, I didn’t like the psalms very much. What boy likes poems and emotional outcries? I rather liked the books that gave you straight forward instructions like the letters of Paul in the New Testament. Just tell me what to do and I will do it! But as I am getting older, the psalms speak to me more and more, and I think it’s because as I am getting more life experiences that I can identify with that the psalm writers were experiencing. And I am able to see how fragile life is and far less depends on what I do and so much more on what God is doing…. If you are going through life’s difficulties, a dry season, or difficult changes, then I recommend the psalms to you as they are not written so much to instruct as to move our hearts.

Today, I’m ripping my own sermon that I preached 3 years ago on Psalm 1. But I thought it bears repeating and so I modified it a bit, put some new ingredients, and I’m serving it to you fresh. And the topic is on happiness. One thing I am realizing about myself is that as I get older, my take on certain topics change. It’s not usually that I was wrong before and now I know what’s right, but more that I now know more completely and have a fuller understanding of the topic than before. And one such topic is happiness. And Psalm 1 deals with that very topic. So, the outline for my sermon goes like this: 1) the primacy (or importance) of our happiness to God. 2) A portrait of a happy person. 3) Prescription for happiness. Simpler language: 1) Our happiness is important to God. 2) What does a happy person look like? 3) How can we be happy?

 

1. The primacy of happiness in the Bible (the importance of our happiness to God)
2. 1 “Blessed is the man who walks not…”

The word “blessed” can also be translated, “happy is the man who walks not…” The very first chapter of Psalms starts off talking about being happy. We learn from this that happiness is important to God because it’s teaching us what a happy person looks like and how to be that person.

Who else starts this way? Jesus, on the sermon on the mount. “Blessed are the poor in the spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek….” You could also say “Happy” in place of blessed. Now, Did you know that God wants you to be happy? He wants his children to be happy. Now, if you grew up in a conservative church like I did, you feel uncomfortable hearing that God wants us to be happy. We are far more comfortable hearing that God wants us to be holy, rather than happy. Years ago, when I would officiate weddings, I would say to the groom, “don’t strive to make your bride happy. But strive to make your bride holy.” But I no longer subscribe to that. Because I no longer see happiness and holiness as separate.  I believe the Bible teaches that true holiness will lead to happiness and true happiness will lead to holiness. I think they are both sides of the same coin. But, somehow we came to associate holiness with being stodgy, uptight, prudish, and even boring. And happiness is something fun, laughter, dancing, but nothing is further from the truth.

One definition of holiness is being separate. But be separate for what? Be separate from the evil things of the world and be like God so that we can be happy like God! That’s what! Think of a simple illustration: Why do we build a fence? The fence is not to lock us in. But to keep bad things out such as wild animals. So that we can be free and happy without worrying about snakes, coyotes, wild boars coming in. So, God gave us the laws. The laws are like a fence. It’s telling us where not to go so that we can be free and happy. Why do we tell kids not to do drugs? Why do we take away their freedom to do drugs? So that they CAN be free! Have you seen people on drugs? Don’t look happy. And don’t have freedom. God wants us to be happy. He wants us to be free. That’s why He wants us to be holy and separate.

Some say God is so negative. Look at the 10 commandments. Thou shall not shall not… 9 out of 10 are all negative statements. But look at it this way. There are only 9 thou shall nots. Only 9 negatives. You know what that means? 10 million positives! That means you can do a million other things. Would you rather God spell out 10 things you can do and the rest are restricted to you? No, God is setting up a fence, so that we can be protected and free and be happy.

Now, I do believe there is a difference between what the world thinks will bring happiness and what the Bible say will bring happiness. The world is all about external circumstances but Christians look to God and it’s more internal. And I have spoken more extensively about this before and so I will not belabor the point. But, ultimately, we want the same thing. We both want to be happy. But the world’s way won’t work. God’s way will.

 

1. Portrait of a happy person in God. (What does a happy person look like?)

1) What he doesn’t look like…

– v.1 Blessed is the man who a) walks not in the counsel of the wicked, b) nor stands in the way of sinners, c) nor sits in the seat of scoffers.

        Do you see the progression in this unhappy person? He’s getting more and more comfortable with evil.  At first, he’s walking with the wicked, and then he’s standing, and then he’s sitting. You see him settling in with evil. He doesn’t jump into evil but he slides in.

ILL: We’ve seen this in High School, haven’t we? A goodie-to-shoe who is so desperate to find friends and fit in that she mixes with the wrong crowd. At first she feels uncomfortable with what they are doing, but a compromise here and compromise there, soon she finds herself doing those same things. And then eventually she becomes one of them and now mocks at the naive ones who are like how she used to be.

        Of course, to her, she is being wise or street smart, but really her life is filled with fear, anxiety, false security, and fake friendships. It’s just a matter of time before it blows up on her face. So, happy person is a person who has not made compromises. This person says “no” to certain things so that she can say “yes” to many good things.

ILL: I say to the young people, the most dangerous time to try something illicit is the first time, not the last time we overdose that kills us. The very first time is the most dangerous because it gets us in the door and the next time it’s easier and easier… It’s foolish to think: only if he did it in moderation. No. Certain things we need to not start at all. Not get our foot in the door because often, that’s how Satan will entice us just to get us in the door and we realize it’s a bear-trap that we can’t get out of.  “But how am I going to learn that it’s bad unless I tried it?” a young man might say. If the only way you learn is through making mistakes, then you are foolish. You don’t have enough time in life to experience everything to know that they are bad for you and by the time you’ve learned them all, you have no life left to live. And those habits will haunt you for the rest of your life. You know, Satan repeats to every young man – “You’re different. You can handle this. You just try it a few times and you can quit anytime if you don’t like it!. Just one time won’t hurt!” It’s bear-trap. He will clamp down on you and won’t let you go. Build a fence around yourself. Cut off your arm. Gouge out your eyes if you have to, Jesus said. (breaking off friendship, leaving town, cancel internet service…)

2) Then, what does a happy person look like?

1.         a) he “delights” in the law of the Lord. (v.2)  The “law of the Lord” is referring to the whole word of God. So, this person delights in the word of God. Notice the word usage here. It doesn’t say, he is “dutiful” towards the word of God, or “obedient” toward it, or even “faithful” towards it, but he “delights” in the word of God! He doesn’t go to God because he fears hell but because he wants to. It delights Him. This is not a grumpy, long-faced Christian who says, “Oh, I’m toiling, sacrificing, suffering for Christ.” But this person is happy. He likes being around God, hearing about God, obeying God! This is a happy, blessed person! “But, Pastor, really? I can’t see how anyone can delight in God or His word. Everytime I try to read the Bible, I fall asleep.” Well, I’m proof that that is possible. If you know me, I’m the most practical person there is. No-nonsense, cut to the chase, bottom-line, efficiency is big on my book. But God opened my mind to know that this isn’t just a mechanical world or a physical world. There is more. Far more. And a little joy we feel in little things like food, friendship, music, are just a glimpse of joy we can have in God.
2.         b) “He is like a tree” (v. 3). He is consistent, rock-solid, stable, and faithful. Have you known people who are just solid all around and consistent week to week and year to year? You know you can rely upon them and they are just faithful people? That’s what a happy person looks like. He’s like a tree, not like a chaff blown by the wind, ever changing with the changing circumstances…- a happy person does not float from place to place just because things get a little tough. He stands his ground. Unlike the unhappy and wicked, who is only about himself constantly looking for a little better position, a little more comfort, a little more pay… This  person is rooted. He knows his calling, his purpose, and he will not be moved like a tree and stay His ground even when storms come and tornados rip through.
3.            c) “…that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.” (v. 3) And this happy person exists for others and does good to others. His leaves provide shades and branches provide fruits for others. He’s not out to make himself happy, but to make others happy, and in turn his life become enriched and he becomes happy. Have you realized this about happiness – happiness is a by-product? The more we focus on making ourselves happy, the more unhappy we will become. But when we finally turn our gaze away from us and unto others and help them become happy, what we find is that we are happy. It’s a byproduct.  
4. d) But notice that even this person has seasons. “That yields its fruit in its season,” (v. 3) He’s not always producing fruit. There are seasons. He goes through winters too. But his leaves don’t wither because he is planted by streams of water.    

ILL: I read an article on the Fijians some time ago. They are surveyed to be the happiest people on earth and they were asked what their secret was. One researcher observed, “in island communities, individual happiness tends to come second. People spend less time dwelling on what pleases them and more on their contribution to society.” And then he also noted, “Fijians put their trust in their community and in their faith. Christianity is a hugely important part of village life….” So, happy people make it about others. They focus on providing shades and fruits to others. And they in turn become happy.

 

III. Prescription for happiness (How can we be happy)

What is the source of permanent, circumstance transcending happiness? It’s the stream. What is the reason that this tree is able to proper? It’s the stream that’s providing vitality to the tree, isn’t it? As long as the tree is near the water, its leaves will stay green and branches will produce fruit.

        This stream reminds me of Psalm 23. “The Lord is my shepherd; i shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.”

        What is this stream of water? Jesus said, “whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14.

        Jesus is the water that can restore our soul and refresh us and make us happy. He’s the one who will stay by us through all seasons. How do we know? Because even though He is the everlasting streams of water that provides for all the trees, he himself became thirsty on the cross crying, “I thirst!” He became thirsty so that we might drink. His blood was shed so that our blood won’t be shed on judgment. He was isolated and died alone so that we may live in community.

        Are you connected to this stream? Are you drinking from the fountain of water that is Christ? Do you plug yourself into the word of God daily and delight in His word to the point of being satisfied? Why not start at the book of Psalms if you have neglected reading it lately? Subscribe to our daily devotions we send out. Find time to read, meditate, and pray until you find your happiness and contentment in Christ.