You can turn your Bibles to the
book of John. John 15, and we're just gonna
read verses nine through 11. And this is not the scripture
we'll necessarily be staying with all day, but it is where
we'll end. So John 15, starting in verse nine through 11. As the Father has loved me, so
have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you
obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed
my Father's commands and remain in His love. I have told you
this so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete. So today, The title of the sermon is called
Happiness, which to human minds should perk our ears pretty quickly,
because it tends to be something that we are constantly looking
for, constantly searching for. It becomes a huge part of our
lives, whether we know it or not. And this happened, this
came up, this topic came to mind. I was actually It was about a
week and a half ago. It was a week from Thursday.
I was working in the yard. And Katie texted me. She was
actually at a work retreat. And a lot of times in these work
retreats, they have different exercises they do to either spur
conversation or spur thought, team growth, all that stuff.
And the question was, and she found it interesting, so she
texted it to me. The text was, where do you find
happiness? Is that the correct wording?
How do you measure happiness? Really doesn't matter, either
way. How do you measure happiness? That's a big, big question. Like,
how do you start wrapping your mind around that? There's the
quick answers. My family. Money. People reach out to that
really quickly. Success. Position in this world. Even when you go deeper into
that, it's a very big question. And I was happy that I was doing
yard work because that tends to be when my mind is somewhat
free. Because the work itself is somewhat
mindless. So I had time to really start
thinking about it. And I didn't really plan on texting
Katie back just because I'm like, well, this is going to take a
while for me to think this one through. Well, about 10 pages
of text later, I had kind of answered her just nonstop. It
just kept kind of coming out. And she said, that's a great
answer. That should be your next sermon. So here I am. And I've
spent a lot of time looking through the scriptures Because it's just
been very curious to me because I've never really thought about
it. How do I measure happiness? How do you measure happiness?
Happiness to me, personally, before we get into what the scripture
says, has been very tricky. And it can be for a lot of people.
It's not unusual, actually. Very few people are thoroughly
happy. but you can become wrapped up
in the idea of happiness. And I think that's a lot of where
our current world is. I mean, you see, when you look
at just the numbers, I mean, depression and anxiety and the
associated medications and counselors, psychiatrists, all of that stuff,
spiking, rising faster than you can imagine. And I think so much of that is
because we're constantly looking for happiness. And we're not looking in the
right place, obviously. But even just constantly expecting
happiness will set you up for consistently being let down. And I'm not setting
this up to be a sad thing. It's just, it's a truth. We live
in a world that has been cursed. Why would we expect ecstasy? Right? This world at one point
was perfect. That is certainly not the case
anymore. So we shouldn't even expect these
things. Matter of fact, I think, I mean,
I know in my life I've spent way too much time Way too much
effort. Searching for happiness. Analyzing my thoughts. Analyzing
my deeds. Analyzing the world around me.
Looking for something to give me consistent happiness. And
I don't think I'm alone there. I think every one of us feels
that way. I think the older you get especially. And I looked so hard. and became
so obsessed with it at times that it did the exact opposite.
I mean, I really truly believe one of the few things in this,
one of the things in this world that has given me the greatest
sadness is my consistent search for happiness. Happiness comes, this worldly
happiness, and we'll get into what that actually means, comes
when you finally stop looking for it here. that comes with no longer depending
on external sources, no longer depending on yourself for happiness,
because you'll never find it here. Not consistent, true happiness
that isn't eventually fleeting. You will not find it in yourself,
and you will not find it in this world. And again, I'm not saying that
to be a downer. You will have happiness, but it will be fleeting.
It will not last. You'll have moments. Happiness
is the eventual realization of God's people that God is working
all things according to his will. And resting in that. Resting in the fact that you
don't have to worry. God has, I don't even like using
the word plan because it's so man-made, like we have plans.
God has a will. God doesn't make a plan. God
just does. And we can trust that. We can
rest in that. And that's where this happiness,
or more so maybe peace, comes from. But I think it's safe to say,
stepping back a little bit, that most people in this world are
consistently looking for joy, are consistently looking for
happiness. And I'm no different. And I'm not saying it's a bad
thing. And it's likely true for all
of us. It says in Psalm 51 verse 8, it says, let me see joy and
gladness that these bones which you have broken may rejoice.
We want to be happy. Of course we do. No one seeks
sorrow. No one seeks sadness. But those
who are more happy and prone to contentment in this world,
with this life, are rarely involved in a true relationship with God. They might be in religion. They
might go to a church. God has given some individuals
in this world a greater sense of contentment and a greater
sense of happiness with who they are. Their truth of their sin has
been withheld from them. The truth of what that means
when they will eventually meet God is kept from them. Believers are first shown who
they are, which immediately turns them to what they need. Who they are is corrupt, vile
worms, sinners to their very bones, and that is what they
first need to know to realize, I need a savior. That does not
breed contemptment or happiness. in this world. Because this world
is just a reflection of sin, of us. So to be given happiness and
contentment in this world is to be assured that you're not
one of God's people. To have true, just, I'm good
with how things are. You have not been given sight. You have not had your heart softened
by the Spirit of God. So in a way, and this sounds
weird, To have discontent in this world
is to be hand-in-hand with believing the truth. Because you have both
spirit and flesh. Those two cannot coincide happily. There will be battles. There
will be inner turmoil. And there will be struggle. to have your eyes open to who
and what you truly are, to be given a justified fear of God. That's what happens when you're
shown who you are and the predicament that you're in. God becomes terrifying, which means there will be no
contentment with how things are. to see who you truly are, to
fear God, and to not be content in this world is exactly what
every child of God will experience in this world. So in reality, we should be glad
for our lack of happiness. Glad for our lack of contentment. C.S. Lewis, he wrote the Chronicles
of Narnia, I don't adhere to everything he's ever said, but
I do love this quote. If we find ourselves with a desire
that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation
is that we were made for another world. And that's exactly what
I'm saying. If you can find contentment here,
then this is your home. There's nothing wrong with the
pursuit of joy and gladness, but it is important that we find
our joy and gladness in the right thing. The world seeks its joy
in temporal pleasures. It has no ability to look any
higher than that. The religious world often seeks
its joy in religious attainments or experiences. If you take those
things away from them, those experiences, those momentary
highs, their religion becomes no use to them. But the believer finds joy, and
this is important, the believer finds joy in what God has done. It is not as though he cannot
enjoy the sort of things that someone from this world might,
but his ultimate joy and the joy that gives him strength when
all other joys fade. Because they will fade. At some
point, they will all fade. But there are going to be times
in every one of our lives when joy will be hard to find. It'll
be hard moments. And I imagine every single one
of us has just thoughts firing right now of what you're going
through or what you've been through, the hard moments in your life. The joy that gives the believer
strength when those worldly joys fade is the joy that arises from
the knowledge of God's wonderful works and promises. All the joys of this world will
eventually fall. None of them will last. You will
find yourself in very hard times. You will find yourself in circumstances
you never thought possible. You will consistently disappoint
yourself and probably be consistently disappointed by others. That's
how this world works. You'll find yourself in times
that you could never imagine. But our joy lies in the knowledge
that God's wonderful works and promises orchestrate it all. Without that, this world would
be absolutely terrifying. We have no control over anything.
Like Joe used to say, I can't fix my toothache. I mean, something as simple as
that. So if this world was just chaotic and you had no understanding
of the will of God, that's where the comfort and
joy comes from for his people because you can go into all these
situations. You can get through all these
situations knowing this is according to my Father's will who loves
me. What is it about the Lord, the
works of the Lord, that makes the believer glad? The first
thing must be the fact that they are indeed the Lord's work. Man of this world, the best they
can do is trust in their own works. He must labor to realize the
things that he hopes for. And when things don't go according
to that plan, which they seldom do, he has nowhere else to go. He doesn't have the power to
guarantee any type of outcome in his life, worldly or eternal. We have no power to guarantee
anything. That would be a terrifying way
to live. But the believer's hope concerns things that are beyond
our ability to accomplish. It makes us glad and contented
to know that the Lord has done them and there is nothing left
for us to do. It says in Psalm 100, shout for
joy to the Lord all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It
is he who made us, not we ourselves. We are his people, the sheep
of his pasture. There is nothing left for us
to do. All things are according to his
will. Secondly, the works of the Lord make us glad because
they are great works, ordained by the perfect wisdom of God. We don't have to understand why
things are happening. We don't have to understand what
we're going through or God's reasoning for anything. All we have to know, and this
is in the heart of a believer, is that it's according to the
perfect wisdom of the creator of the universe. That's the comfort that we have
in hard times, is to know this is according to the will of my
Father who loves me. The people of this world must
rely on their own wisdom. And I don't know about you, but
I don't ever want to rely on mine. I'm not trying to be self-deprecating,
but I mean, do you want to rely on yourself for anything in this
world, let alone your eternal destination? Do you want to rely on yourself?
You can't fix a toothache. So how can a man have any hope
at all? In man, there's no power and
no wisdom. 1 Corinthians 1, or 1 Corinthians
1, verse 20, it says, where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is
the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? For since in the wisdom of God,
the world through its wisdom did not know him. God was pleased
through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who
believe. On a side note, I love that line
so much because I I have very little confidence in what I can
do. And so it hits home when I'm standing up here and it says,
through the foolishness of preaching, God will do what he wants. Because
that's, to me, that's what it feels like happens quite often. But I can't stand in the way
of the will of God. He will reach who he wants to
reach. Jews demand miraculous signs
and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a
stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. But to those whom
God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of
God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is
wiser than man's wisdom and the weakness of God is stronger than
man's strength. Again, His weakness is stronger
than our strength. His foolishness is greater than
our wisdom. How can we possibly depend on ourselves for anything? And that would be a terrifying
place to be. But the believer, the believer
can have not just hope. He can have a perfect hope. Even
though we are so imperfect, our hope can be perfect because it
is in the One who is, knowing that all things are in
the hands of God. Whereas man must rely on themselves
with completely limited power and wisdom Sorry, I'm missing a page, I
think. That's okay. Whereas men must rely on themselves
with severely limited power and wisdom, we rely on God with unstoppable
power, guided by flawless wisdom. So, going through this world,
happiness or not, We can understand that all of this is being guided
by God with unstoppable power and flawless wisdom. We have
a perfect hope. What are some of the works of
God that can make the heart of a believer happy? Because there
are some. There's a lot. But, I mean, Katie
and I went on a walk yesterday, and creation. Creation is amazing. It says in Psalm 95, he calls
on us to sing with joy to the Lord. Why? In his hand are the
depths of the earth and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea
is his for he has made it and his hands formed the dry ground.
We can look at this world and take pleasure in it. It is literally the finger work
of our Lord. Now the crazy part is we can
see the beauty in it now, but it's nothing like it was before the downfall of man, before
sin was brought into the picture. And someday, perfection will
be found once again, will be seen by all of God's people. We can take gladness and happiness
in his sovereign control over all things. We have a lasting
joy because the things that are likely to bring us down in this
world are actually part of his wise works to bring us salvation. That's the goal. That's the end
work. God never promised us happiness. but he promised his people salvation
through the finished work, through the blood of Christ. Peace between
God the judge and his people is guaranteed. Happiness while
we're here, joy, none of that is promised. In Romans 8, 28, one of my favorites,
and we know that in all things God works for the good of those
who love him, who have been called according to his promise. So
many people take that and run with it and think, yeah, God
wants nothing but good for us. That is not what is being referenced
here. The good is eternal. All things work for the salvation
of his people. That is good. The good of this
world is nothing compared to that. That is not the good he's
talking about. It's all fleeting. It means nothing.
It all comes to an end. This is the good that never ends. It's the eternal blessings earned
by our Savior. All things, God works for the
good of those who love Him. We can know that. no matter what
circumstances are happening around us. It says later on in that same
verse, for those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed
to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among
many brothers and sisters, and those he predestined, he also
called. Those he called, he also justified. Those he justified,
he also glorified. We can know the good that God
is speaking of in Romans. The good is that his people are
predestined, called, justified, and glorified. We aren't experiencing
that now, but that doesn't make it any less true. It's been paid
for by the blood of Christ. There's your contentment. There's your joy. There's your
happiness. And how foolish is it to rebel
against God's absolute sovereignty? Someone is in control of this
world, and it's obviously not you, and it's obviously not me.
Isn't it good to know that God is in control? And of course, other aspects
that we can rejoice, other God's works that we can rejoice in, those works he has done through
and by the Lord Jesus Christ. The eternal election of all of
his people, the guaranteed salvation of every single one of them,
the payment of every one of their sins, the irresistible calling
through the Spirit to every one of his people, These are all
things we can take joy in, and we should. And we rejoice in the works of
the Lord because of their outcome. It says in Psalm 92, the righteous will flourish like
a palm tree. They will grow like a cedar of
lemonade. Planted in the house of the Lord they will flourish
in the courts of God There is no other place worth
flourishing Where else do you want to flourish where else matters
other than the courts of God? And there's no buts there there's
no ands there's no ifs It says, the righteous will flourish like
a palm tree. They will flourish in the courts
of God. They will. Period. Because we can do nothing in
our own, but that work has been finished. That work has been
accomplished. And it's been accomplished by the only one who could. And
not only could he, he could do it perfectly. and put a stamp
on it that can never be broken. You'll have plenty of happiness
in this world but it will be fleeting and that's okay. That's
the way this world works. We have much more to look forward
to. We are marching through the valley
of the shadow of death on our way to Zion. And that place is prepared by
the Lord of Lords and guaranteed by the unfailing blood of Christ. And yet, we consistently search
for happiness, even though it was never promised
to us in this world. What did Christ tell us about
happiness? One thing I noticed when I really
dug into this is that Christ did not talk about happiness
that much, which probably tells us something. In John 16.33, matter of fact,
it says the exact opposite. He says, in this world you'll
have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome
the world, which is exactly what we've been talking about this
morning. This world will not be easy and it will have trouble,
but take heart what matters beyond this world. What matters for
eternity is taken care of by Christ who has overcome the
world, who has defeated death. Jesus makes it clear that life
in this world will include difficulty, but lasting peace while we're
here is found in him. and eternal peace between us
and God is found in Him. In the Beatitudes, Matthew 5,
I'm just gonna read three through five, he talks about blessed
are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who mourn.
Blessed are the meek. There's no promises of happiness,
joy. And it says the poor in spirit
Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Those who mourn are the ones
who will be comforted. The meek will inherit the earth. Whose
is the kingdom of heaven? God's people. The joyful and
happy? No, it says the poor in spirit. Who will be comforted? Those
who mourn. And who will inherit the earth? The joyful? The guy that's totally content
and happy in this world? No. The meek. I'm not saying that there's no
happiness to be had. What I'm saying is that that's
not what we should be looking for. Happiness is found in God. Happiness
is found in resting in what He has done and understanding that
Your place is prepared by the man Jesus himself. That's where
happiness comes from. And someday we will truly experience
joy in a way we can never even imagine right now. That's where we look. We look
to him. We look ahead. Happiness in this world is fleeting.
Christ said in Mark 8, 36, what good is it for someone to gain
the whole world and forfeit your soul? What would you rather have? Some temporal happiness in this
world or the salvation of Christ? What good is happiness world
if it doesn't benefit your soul? How much happiness in this world
is actually good for your soul? Your eternal standing with God.
Would you rather be happy now or eternally loved? One of the few times where Jesus
actually talks about our happiness and joy being found is in John
15, and this is what I read earlier. It says, As the Father has loved
me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you
keep my commands, you will remain in my love just as I have kept
my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you
this so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete. Where is the joy that he speaks
of? In his love. So have I loved you. And that makes your joy complete. He said, that child of God, you
will remain in Christ's love, and in turn will remain in God's
love. There is your joy, and there
is your contentment. Knowing God, knowing that His
worth, that His worth fearing every day, He is worth fearing
every day, and in every way. But knowing that because of Christ,
you have nothing to fear. There is your peace, and there
is your joy, And really, that, again, is more a sense of peace
than it is happiness. Because that's what Christ is
guaranteeing us right now. We were in a position of warfare
between God and ourselves. God cannot justify sin. And we are nothing but sin. But Christ made a way for peace
to exist between God's people and himself. Not happiness. Peace. The peace of knowing we have
nothing to fear. Which makes sense, because Christ,
again, didn't give us happiness. He gave us his peace, and it
actually says that in John 14, 27. It says, peace I leave with
you. My peace I give you. not just peace, the peace of
Christ, my peace I give you, the peace I have earned for you. I do not give to you the way
the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Do not be afraid. There is your joy. There is your
contentment. You have peace with God, guaranteed. Have you been made to know God
and know that he is worth fearing in every way? Christ has made peace between
you and him. He says, do not let your hearts
be troubled. And we can take that to heart
in this world. We will have troubled hearts.
It will happen. We'll probably walk out and in
15 minutes something will happen and we'll have some tough times
again. But Christ himself has told us to his people who he
loves dearly, do not let your hearts be troubled. Do not be
afraid. You have peace with God. I have done that for you, and
it cannot be undone. My peace I give you. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we come
to you with thanks. There are no words to truly show
the gratitude that we should have for what you have done for
your people. The position we were in to be
dead, on the ground, unable to do anything for ourselves, not
even able to stand up and look to you, But you came to us, Lord, and
you've made a perfect way to give us life and peace through
our Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray, Lord, that you will
keep that fresh in our hearts and fresh in our minds as we
go through this world to give us the contentment and peace
and joy that we need as we navigate the rest of our time here. And Lord, we look forward so
much to the true peace and the true joy that we will experience
the day that we can actually be with you face to face. And we can know that we can,
that day will come and we can have confidence in it, which
is so against our natural setting, because we know who we are. We
know how we act. We know the sinfulness, the depths
of our hearts. but we don't come to you as that
individual. We come to you in Christ, which
means we can have absolute confidence, Lord, coming to you in what Christ
has done. And again, we can't thank you enough, but we do. We thank you, Lord,
for your love, your perfection, your power, your wisdom, Help
us to trust it as much as our feeble minds can. We pray this in Jesus' name,
amen. Oliver, you wanna come?