Happy Happy Happy

Ps 128 Happy Happy Happy

4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD

People everywhere want to be happy and fulfilled. Nobody wants to be miserable. It is one of the most basic desires of the human heart. In our pursuit of holiness a Christian can almost give the wrong impression that it is wrong to want to be happy, but it is not. Even the 1st public message of Jesus, the sermon on the mount, began with a proclamation of happiness. Blessed, happy, fulfilled, satisfied are the poor in spirit. Happy are they that mourn. Happy are the meek, Happy are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness. The 1st Psalm begins with how blessed and happy is the man who does not walk in counsel of the wicked, etc. The Bible promises joy and peace and happiness to those who repent of their sins and follow the Lord. It is not wrong, self-centered, self –serving to have a desire to be happy. It is basic need of the human heart. The real issue is where will I find my happiness. How can I come by this peace that passes all comprehension? The world promises happiness in many different ways and places. It promises happiness in possessions, in popularity, and with people. It promises life, but brings death. It promises joy and brings pain. It promises satisfaction, but brings despair. But, these do not bring lasting happiness promised in the Bible. Happiness is found in a person, Jesus. We can only find happiness in our lives as we are rightly related to him, passionately pursuing him and closely following him. Let me ask you his question tonight, “Are you happy?” The answer to that question is found in the answer to this question “How are you doing spiritually?”. If you are growing spiritually it doesn’t matter what your circumstances are you will be happy. We seem to think if I can somehow change my circumstances then I’ll be happy. But that is not the case, God wants me to know his joy right in the midst of my circumstances. (Steve Lawson) God is the most joyous being in the universe and as I draw near to him and love him and walk with him his abundant joy fills me. We are to rejoice in the Lord, not in our circumstances (Phil 4:4). He wants us to experience his Joy. Jesus said his joy is to be in us so that our joy might be made full. (John 15:11, 17:13, 1 John 1:4).

Requirement for Happiness

Happiness is not determined by where your body is, but by where your heart is. Not by your external circumstances, but by your internal contentment. Not by your friends, but by your faith. (Lawson)

Defined 1 Blessed Heb esher means happiness or blessedness. It is a pronouncement of God’s blessing. It is positive internal condition of the heart. It can be translated how fulfilled, how satisfied, how happy is the one who. . . . It speaks about happiness now, for he is the child of the happy God, the ever living Jehovah; and a joint heir with Jesus Christ, whose heritage is not misery, but joy (Spurgeon). Oh trust in the Lord for happiness as well as for help! All the springs of happiness are in him. Trust "in him who gives us all things richly to enjoy"; who, of his own rich and free mercy, holds them out to us, as in his own hand, that, receiving them as his gifts,

and as pledges of his love, we may enjoy all that we possess. It is his love that gives a relish to all we taste, puts life and sweetness into all; (John Wesley)

Dimensions

There are two things required to be blessed and happy: A right attitude toward God, our Worship and right actions before God, our Walk. God requires reverence and obedience, and when these are in order God will pour our his blessings and we will experience his happiness.

Fear the Lord – who fears the LORD Attitude of the Heart – Worship. This is the internal aspect that leads to happiness. It is to have a sense of reverence in our heart towards God. Fear makes him the most prominent person in my life and my whole life revolves around him. (Lawson). The fear of God is the corner stone of all blessedness. We must reverence the ever blessed God before we can be blessed ourselves.. . . none but those who fear the Lord will ever walk in his ways. If we fear God we may dismiss all other fear. In walking in God's ways we shall be under his protection, provision, and approval; danger and destruction shall be far from us: all things shall work our good. (Spurgeon) This is the fear which a child feels towards an honored parent,—a fear to offend: it is that which they who have been rescued from destruction feel to the benefactor who nobly and at the vastest sacrifice interposed for their safety,—a fear to act unworthily of his kindness: it is that which fills the breast of a pardoned and grateful rebel in the presence of a venerated sovereign at whose throne he is permitted to stand in honor,—a fear lest he should ever forget his goodness, and give him cause to regret it. Such is the fear of the Christian now: a fear because of reverence for His majesty, gratitude for His mercies, dread of His displeasure, desire of His approval, and longing for His fellowship . . . , the fear not of sorrow but of love, which shrinks with instinctive recoil from doing anything that would tend to grieve, or from denying anything that would tend to honor. (Robert Nisbet) It is not a fear of judgement, as Christ has dealt with our sin at the cross. It is a fear that leads to the recognition of the absolute horror of our sin (to be clear on how horrifying our sin is, we need only look to the only solution that God found for it; the death of His Son), and the real desire not to revisit that sin, to not want to bring that into the Lord’s presence in light of the knowledge of how it offends Him. Godly fear does not paralyse or burden. Godly fear activates godly living. (Marsh) Some say the more fear I have for God the less happy I will be. If I get really serious about God then I will live this life and have no fun, no happiness and no joy. So I’m going to take God in moderation so I don’t lose my joy. I want the best of both worlds. That is the devil’s lie. If you will take God seriously and fear God you will have fun, happiness, joy unspeakable and full of Glory in your life. To the extent that we revere his name there comes rivers of joy and fulfilment and satisfaction and peace in our hearts to the extent that we fear God and take him seriously. Do you need to be happy? Fear him and you will know his happiness (Lawson).

Follow the Lord who walks in his ways! This is the action of the Hands – Walk It is external expression of fear. It is the external fruit of an internal fearful heart. It is idle to talk of fearing the Lord if we act like those who have no care whether there is a God or not, God's ways will be our ways if we have a sincere reverence for him: if the heart is joined unto God, the feet will follow hard after him. A man's heart will be seen in his walk. To enjoy the divine happiness we must be active, and walk; we must be methodical, and walk in certain ways; and we must be godly, and walk in the Lord's ways (Spurgeon) The fear of the Lord is the internal principle; but unless there be a corresponding expression in the outward life, what reason is there to suppose that it has any existence at all? Observe also, that there is no walking in the ways of the Lord, until his fear be established in the heart. There can be no genuine morality apart from the fear of God. How can a man obey God while his affections are alienated from him?—(N. M'Michael) God makes blessed those that walk in his ways, because he himself walks with them (Thomas Le Blanc) You can never be happy when you’re walking in sin. When sin moves in happiness, moves out. But when holiness and obedience move in, unhappiness moves out. The happiest moment in your life will be that moment when you are most treasuring God and passionate about him and when your heart is filled with overflowing fullness of God and when you are walking in purposeful obedience to his word in the very center of his will for your life. (Lawson).

What may seem like two statements of blessing is actually one. The fear of the Lord and walking in His ways are inextricably linked in the life of the believer. Without one the other too is absent. Those that do not fear the Lord will find themselves wandering away from His path. Those that wander away from His path will find that they do not really fear the Lord. (Marsh)

Decisions is everyone None are excluded but those who will not walk in his ways.—Edward Jewett Robinson This happiness is for everyone, but everyone must choose whether they want the “fleeting” happiness of the world or the forever happiness that the Lord offers.

Realms of Happiness

Here are four realms of happiness or the blesssings of fearing God and following in his ways: Finances, Family, Friendships and Future.

Finances 2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. Here is a promise of happiness and blessing for those who fear and follow God. “You shall”, is a promise of God of his blessing and our happiness in our work (or studies). Some men never enjoy their job, for they give themselves no time for rest. Eagerness to get takes from them the ability to enjoy. Heaped up happinesses belongs to that man who fears the Lord. He is happy, and he shall be happy in a thousand ways (Spurgeon) Instead of labor without reward, or indeed labor for someone else’s reward, the Psalmist speaks of the blessed of being experiencing the rewards of labor, The blessing offered here then is not a ceasing of work, but an assurance that the work is not in vain and that its fruit, its rewards, will be experienced by the laborer. The Lord may bless you financially. He may not. The crucial fact is that it is the Lord who blesses, (Marsh).

Family 3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table Here is promise of God’s blessing on the relationships of those who fear and follow him. This blessing is not for those who do not fear and follow him. “Will be” sets forth the promise of happiness in relationships. Relationships are tough and sometimes trying. None are perfect, but this promise says that God will bring about blessing and happiness in the relationships that honor him. A relationship that is not focused on him will never be happy. All may seem good at the beginning but unfiltered discord and strife will lead to unhappiness for those who do not fear and Follow God. (2 Cor 6:14-16).

Friends

5 The LORD bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life! Here is God’s promise of blessing in society, your friendships. Those who fear God and faithfully follow God will have incredible lasting friendships. When we fear God and follow him, we choose our friends wisely. They are friend’s that see God’s best and seek God’s best for their friends, even if their friends don’t see it themselves. They are friend’s that weep with you in trying times and walk with you in tempting times and won’t let go or give up on you in times of failure. Oh for these kinds of friends who experience God’s happiness and long to see others experience this happiness.

Future 6 May you see your children's children! Peace be upon Israel! We all are concerned about our future, especially college students. We wonder what we will become and what will become of us. Here is God’s promise for future happiness of those who fear God and follow him. This illustrates our hope for the future, to see our children’s children. God knows the future. We only know the past and the present, but our hope is in the one who sees the future even when our present is fuzzy. None of us are exempt from the difficulties of life and even the trials that we face. But, we can trust him for a blessed and happy future even in the midst of the most difficult times. This promise implies long life, and that life rendered happy by its being continued in our offspring. It is one token of the immortality of man that he derives joy from extending his life in the lives of his descendants. (Spurgeon). Do you want a happy blessed future make a decision now to fear God and faithfully follow him.

Satan will foster the lie that holiness hinders pleasure, but the ultimate expression of happiness on earth or in heaven is that God causes us to drink of his pleasures (Gurnall) Ps 36:8 “you give the drink of the river of your delights” Drink from his river and you will be happy. .