A Happy God Wants A Happy People - Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ Charles Spurgeon 19th-century great English preacher said, my dear brothers and sisters of anyone in the world to be happy with should be happy I was reading that about Spurgeon resets on Nelson's teaching students how to preach, because he was about any signal when you talk about have efficient just like there should be a tremendous amount of happiness and joy in your basement.

Talk about him and whenever you guys talk about how your normal facial's observation as it will be happy just my question is my question for you. Are you happy. I mean really happened sometimes like I said we almost, but I'm telling you this, but I want to say God is joining us today on this additional fellowship in the work of Pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now is once again he shows us how God's word.

Our world this past summer as I was studying for the Bible study the greatest life ever lived out of the Gospels, I came across the sermon on the Mount once again and was reading in the beginning of the sermon the Beatitudes and you know the Beatitudes and be blessed are the meek. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are they that mourn, etc. etc. and each time I've always read those have always been just a little bit bothered by reading because it's the word blessed since it says Blessed are the meek. Blessed are the poor, but if you look at were not that mean in fact if you look up the word blessed how you see the word Mark Diaz in Greek, and it is never blessed the word is and I decided while maybe I haven't investigated thoroughly enough. So I looked at a lot of different Greek lexicons that I have the same definition came up for every one of them happy were simply happy not blessed and I started wondering about that.

So I went to the Old Testament that I thought I'll look in the Old Testament where the word blessed is and I did and it turns out the word Hebrew word to choose for Blessed is the word asker and so I looked up in an Hebrew lexicon what asker means and to my not my shock and surprise. Guess what it means happy. This means happy so I began to wonder about that wine. The world will be use the word blessed me. Just think of the word doesn't have a religious connotation to it blessed to something a holy blessed blessing glass your visa better religious word right that it is in fact Webster says the word blessed means hallowed sacred, sanctified, or to consecrate that's very religious, but if you go back in a dictionary, 200 years to a Webster dictionary 200 years ago. Just what it says for Blessed to make happy enjoyment extol. Somehow it got changed into this idea of blessed and the question comes under why don't we use the word happy that the Bible clearly teaches is the word happy and I think it's because happy is become kind of a dangerous word now and it's more dangerous around evangelical Christians, and anyone. It's a word that we are uncomfortable with and I think we should never be you may have heard this, I've heard it many times I've read it many times, God doesn't want you happy he want you holy that's what you read.

So you're not going to be happy, but you're going to be just think of that thought, okay, I'm going I'm going to be holy and apparently it's at the exclusion of being happy right but it's clear that God wants us to be all that's another word. We won by the word holy. There's nothing holy about the word holy nothing. It just means set apart for God. Now we made it holy as though it something else but God wants us holy but he wants us the happy just as much as he wants us to be holy, then enters the idea and I think I perpetrated this a little myself.

We shouldn't be happy. We we should be joyful, we should have joy but not happiness. And that's become kind of a newly a lot of stuff about it in the last 20 years. Joy sort of the antithesis in some ways of happiness.

Happiness is a feeling I joy is a state of being. Happiness is circumstantial, but joy is internal happiness is an emotion, but joy is a choice, so you and I should be joyful but not happy. But the truth of the matter is joy and happiness in words like delight and gladness. There are all synonyms there.

All synonyms, but we somehow have said no no you not to be happier to be just joyful.

John Piper says this he said if you have a not if you have nice little categories for joy is what the Christians have, and happiness is what the world has you can scrap those when you go to the Bible because the Bible was indiscriminate when it uses the language of happiness and joy and contentment and satisfaction. It's always the same debris he jumped for joy on this little guys my pride and joy. So I went for joy.

There's no difference.

I'm sure you from the Scripture point of view. Isaiah 52 seven says this I bring you good news of happiness. That's the translation I bring you good news of happiness.

What about Luke chapter 2 when the angel say I bring you good news of great joy. There's a difference thing joy and happiness say I don't think so at all.

Now there's no doubt that happiness can be a fleshly word is no doubt about that. And there is a fleshly happiness and will address that a little bit maybe done that in the series a little later but if God uses the word happy to define what we should be and why can't we just be happy you see, if you walk up to someone and say look, if you get your relationship right with God you going to be blessed. Okay doesn't stir a lot for people if you say to someone if you get your relationship right with God, you're going to be happy, who doesn't want to be happy she think about this. We have very few things in, but I say when we all have in common. We all pursue happiness every day.

Every one of us all day long.

Almost every choice we make is a happy choice.

People universally want to be happy everywhere. Augustine said this in about 400 A.D. he said every man whatsoever.

His condition desires to be happy no exception. 1300 years later French philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal said all men seek happiness.

This is without exception. Scottish churchman Thomas Boston in the 17th century said, consider what man is he is a creature the desires happiness and keep cannot but deserve it.

The desire of happiness is woven into his very nature it can't be eradicated is as natural for him to desire happiness as it is debris, George Whitfield, the Great American evangelist said it is the end of our religion to make men happy and in any setting.

And is it not everyone's public should be as happy as he possibly can. Charles Spurgeon 19th century great English preacher said, my dear brothers and sisters of anyone in the world to be happy.

We are the people we should be happy I was reading that about Spurgeon.

He sets up mouse he was teaching a bunch of students how to preach, because he was about the best and he said you know when you talk about having your facia. Just light up there should be a tremendous amount happiness and joy in your face when you talk about heaven and and whenever you guys talk about hell your normal face will do just fine. His observation is that I'll be happy just my question is my question for you. Are you happy.

I mean really happy sometimes. Like I said we almost like a shame we should be happy, but I'm telling you this what I want to say this morning is simple. God is happy and he want you to be happy to open the Bible's Isaiah chapter 42 verse one. Isaiah 42 verse one is a great chapter. It's a prophetic chapter about the Messiah who is going to come 700 years later it's referring to Jesus Christ. Obviously, but I want to look at just that first verse, God is speaking through Isaiah he says behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights I have put my spirit upon them, and he will bring forth justice to the nations is referring to the Messiah but is not just introducing the Messiah. He says something else there, my chosen one in whom my soul delights that were delights is the word right side. In Hebrew, and guess what it means happily pleased. It means the take pleasure in two enjoy to be happily pleased God says you know what I just delight in him. I'm happy and in to remember the life of Christ when he was baptized by John the Baptist to begin his ministry and all of a sudden out of heaven. The father spoke many, this is my beloved son remember and he said that this is my beloved son, he said, in whom I am well pleased and happy and then at the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James and John got to see Jesus for who he really was the deified Christ when the monitoring figuration and the same thing as said by God again to the three of them exactly the same thing.

He says this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. God is happy is happy in the sun because he's a happy God no go with me to first Timothy chapter 1. First Timothy chapter 1 in verse 11, Paul is writing the young Timothy here and from verse three to verse 11. The whole thing is a warning about false teaching and false doctrine falls false belief systems but many guess the verse 11, he says something interesting. He says according to the glorious gospel know what is gospel good news right it's good news. Now that Wednesday but that for moment when you tell someone good news. How do you do it. Cairo got some really good news for you scurry just great note. When you have good news. How do you say it when you have good news is you always say happily known to its good nose. That's what the gospel is, he says, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, he said, with which I've been entrusted noticed a nice religious word again blessed. It's my chaos it's happy. I want to give you good news from the happy God seat that sounds different than blessed God. It should be happy talking about the blessed God is talking about the happy God.

Spurgeon translated this and said the gospel is the gospel of happiness is the glorious gospel of our happy God. You think God is happy. I mean you should do you know I don't think living is very somber at sharing the good news with someone.

Check it off of Flickr therein is not the way God is. That's not how we operate.

Go to the end of five Timothy to first Timothy 615 and here Paul's ending it up.

He's not talking about the Lord Jesus Christ and notice what he says are stored in verse 13 he said I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things in Christ Jesus, who is testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, and then he says this, which he will bring about at the proper time crisis coming back okay fine. Then he says he who is blessed the only sovereign the King of Kings and the Lord of lords know we always take Jesus the King of Kings and Lord of Lord and he's he's sovereign. It also says here blessed Mark Diaz happy he's happy and he sovereign and is the King of Kings and Lord of lords see the changes your whole perspective of who Jesus is and what is accomplished. God is happy. He wants his people to be happy. We always say that it's important that a person becomes conformed to the image of Christ, that we want to grow in godliness mature as believers we want to become more and more godly.

Well if if that's true then God if he's happy. What should we become more and more happy if you're growing Christian you should be more happy. That's the point. God's happy you want to be more like him.

Be happy like he is going me to Luke 1515 we seen this before but Jesus going to teach in three parables and one he wants to talk about is he doesn't want to just talk about lost things being found. That's part of it, but what he really wants to talk about his what does God think about it. When something is lost is found and uses three different pictures to do it. Three completely different pictures.

The first one is the lost sheep.

So he says in verse four. What man among you that he has 100 sheep and has lost one does not. He said leave the 99 he said in the open pasture go after the one which was lost until he finds it, and when he is founded he lays his aunt lays it on his shoulders and what's the next word rejoicing happy he's rejoicing and when he comes home. He calls together his friends and his neighbor saying to them, rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.

So what happens to God when something that is lost is found. He's happy.

He goes on what woman if she has 10 silver coins and loses one of them does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it, and when she found that she calls together friends and neighbor saying, rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I lost in the same way I tell you there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over center reap everybody's happy. They might give my baby mean just the angels are happy. God is an happy okay but the next one has to do with the prodigal son in the prodigal son as we know the story well we have to do with the father. What is the father like that clearly God so look a dime to verse 20 after he's come back it said he got up and it came to his father and while he was still a long way off, his father saw him, felt compassion for them and he randomly braced embrace them and kissed him now would you call that a sad scene or happy when I'm just off the top my what you think. What are you doing home nice happy.

Now watch the sunset in father, I have sinned against heaven in your side am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his slaves quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand sandals on his feet and bring the fatted calf and kill it and let us eat and celebrate for this son of mine was dead, and is come to life again.

He was lost and fine and they began to celebrate in a father with because they're all happy than the older son comes in is you never gave me the fatted calf never been a great for me and I didn't leave that thing. But notice how the father ends in verse 32 but we had to celebrate and rejoice for this brother of yours was dead, and as he said has begun to live. He was lost and it was found is the nature of God.

God is happy he's especially happy when that which is lost is found mean you ever think about that today you came to Christ.

It may God happy now made you happy. I hope it made me happy.

May God happy. He said all heaven rejoices there's happiness here. I'm a happy God. You see, that's the way this works now this picture of God go with me back the Psalm to the book of Psalms Psalm two.

Psalmist is writing and he's writing about some it's very important in this whole subject matter. Most human beings don't care for God and I like him and they don't want them in their lives. They just don't know do anything to avoid going vent their own religions and their own religion and say I don't have to deal with God I don't have to deal with any that I'll just make up my own religion.

And then all believe in that religion and everything will be fine though say I'm agnostic or atheistic, and another is a God exist or I don't think there is a God at all, son. Having to do with God. That's man that's what man does he rebels against God. That's the way it works for me so that's the context here and it says why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing.

The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, and saying let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us by knowing to do with God I don't have to having to do with God.

There notice the next verse he who sits in the heavens laughs so funny, so the good to be able to do it. It would have to do with me. They can avoid me forever really I don't have to have any part of God really he laughs. It's an interesting thing from that point of view, the Lord scoffs at them. He said he will speak to them in his anger and he said and terrify them in his fury you can avoid me said.

But here's the other thing I think that's funny because as I think that's funny that you think you can do without me. I think this is the funny thing that's the nature of God. Now notice when you get to the end of this. I love the way it ends. He said do homage to verse 12 do homage to the son that he not become angry that you perish in the way for his wrath may soon be kindled and then it says this.

How blessed are those who take refuge in him.

Asher Asher happiness how happy are those who take refuge in him.

We can avoid God will ultimately either know God as your Savior is your judgment, you will know one way or the other New Testament says that he knew about every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and I can avoid but if you think how happy are the see a happy.

God wants us to be a happy pastor broke apart on the radio ministry of fellowship Lord, if you ever miss one of our broadcast or maybe you just listen to the message one more time. Remember, you can Google a great website called one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online at that website you will find on with today's broadcast but also many of her previous audio program is at Fellowship in the Word.

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