Joy To Your World! - Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ happy to give than to receive tremendous statement because it means this. We all have the capacity because he promised us in abundant life to be happy about you, but I find that comforting in a very real sense see what I like about it is I can control my genetics I can control my I can even control the circumstances or opportunities in my life, but this is something I have control of your child of God, you have a capacity to be perpetually happy joy.

That's what Jesus Christ is saying joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word 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 meets our world so you find it.

Happiness becomes a real challenge for an awful lot of people. We all want to be happy. The single most popular course at Yale University in the eye. This is been given to the students for over decades now is a course on happiness. Why you want to be happy.

Everybody wants to figure out what's the key to being happy. And of course you and I both know that the marketing people know this if you really want to be happy sleeping on a mattress if you really want to be happy and drive our car if you really want to be happy. Where are close it if you really want to be happy, drink our beer. This is the key to happiness, because we all want to be happy is good to be happy now called to recognize and it's good to be happy as a person. Happy people are healthier than unhappy people and the reason is they tell us, is there your immune system is much much stronger on a happy person that is on unhappy person. Social indicators research even says that happy people, by and large make more money than unhappy people. According to Harris and his Harris polls. They have done these polls for decades now, and according to Harris, only one out of three Americans are happy. In fact, over all the years they've done at the highest percentage of happy people.

They never pulled in America's 35%. So that tells me that two out of three of you are unhappy as Americans, but I want you to understand that happiness is serious business.

If you're not happy. Clinical depression has gone up 10×10 times since last century, 10 times and in fact the World Health Organization states that depression is the second meeting of cause of disease in the world. So the whole world is not very happy.

They also find out that age, education and wealth don't move the needle on happiness while so we know that happiness is not what you hang your closet or park in your garage or have deposited in your bank.

We keep thinking it is but it's not Daniel Gilbert of Harvard professor says this weaving money will bring a lot of happiness for a long time actually just brings a little happiness for a very short time and he said if you don't believe me ask lottery winners like while that's that's in addition, and yet in spite of all the doom and gloom so far, Jesus Christ said in John 1010 I have come to give you life and it abundantly is not just eternal life or yes is coming if we put our faith and trust in him we have eternal life. But he said no, I've come to give you life here and give it to you abundantly.

Now that's without a great inheritance.

That's without credit cards that that's without a great job that's without college degrees fact that's even without psychoanalysis. It's without Botox.

It's without hormone therapy is without any of those things Jesus said I've come to give it to you and here's what's most interesting. He tells you exactly what to do to have you had at one great statement that he made even repeated in the book of acts.

He says this is more blessed to give than receive an outward blessed we studied it in Beatitudes on the sermon on the Mount is Mark Ellis and it means happy, joyful, happy notice, it is more happy to give than to receive tremendous statement because it means this. We all have a capacity because he promised us in abundant life to be happy and I know about you but I find that comforting in a very real sense, you see what I like about it is I can control my genetics I can control my IQ. I can even control the circumstances or opportunities in my life, but this is something I have control over your child of God, you have a capacity to be perpetually happy and joyful. That's what Jesus Christ the same should surprises memory was born from what the angel said the angel said we bring you good news of great joy.

That's what Jesus Christ offers us not just eternal happiness, but temporal happiness not just happiness for one day but happiness for this day. There are so many passages in the New Testament use words just like us joy, happiness, gladness, celebration, cheer the light blessing and exultation. In other words God wants you to be happy and he tells us how to do it and it's an interesting thing because over 50 times in the New Testament God says that happiness is linked to its more blessed or happy to give than receive is over 50 times in the New Testament. He says you're going to be happy by giving yourself away.

That's how you're going to be happy and he gives us one another's one another's in order. If you want to be happy.

There are certain things you can do to give yourself away so you can experience the abundant life of Jesus Christ spoke the first one I want to look at today is in Hebrews chapter 3 Hebrews chapter 3 in verse 13. The writer of Hebrews writes this, he said, but encourage one another, day after day as long as it still called today, so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

So the first thing he tells us in its more than one place in the New Testament is to encourage other people. Now, if you've ever been encourage you know how good that feels. But what I'm saying is when you are in. Encourage your one of the side products to use you be happy encourage the word is really a compound Greek word Paraclete toss and you get the word Paraclete Holy Spirit member. Jesus said in John that the Paraclete will come. Parent means come alongside you and click cost means the callout affirming words, someone who comes alongside you and calls not affirming words to you. In other words, at the comes to you and encouragement. He says all the way through the New Testament. First Thessalonians 5. He tells us to encourage one another in Romans 15 five even says God will give us encouragement that he likes to encourage us encouragement good for people to seek but I want to say this morning. It's good to the people you encouragement. It's good for you Dr. Barbara Fredrickson wrote a book called positivity and she said this, people have a way of becoming what you encourage them to be, not what you nag them to be. She's right.

Encouragement has an effect on people. You see there's no question about it, but when I want to say is encouragement has an effect on you see cassettes one of the ways you give yourself away when you give, you become happier blessed by God. Secondly, Ephesians chapter 4 and verse two.

Ephesians chapter 4 and verse two. This was more difficult. I think for us. Paul says this with all humility and gentleness with patients, showing tolerance for one another in love. Showing tolerance for one another. Are you intolerant you see things and people act in certain ways.

If you want to be intolerant you're living on the right planet. There's no question about it. You can be intolerant every day of your life. You can be intolerant with your family. Be intolerant with your neighboring me intolerant on the highway. You can be intolerant where you shop you can be intolerant where you work everywhere there's things that people do that you can be intolerant of and that's okay that your choice but I can tell you one thing you want and not happy.

Intolerant people are not happy.

It's amazing how they're not see that word, he noticed the conditions do it with humility, do it with gentleness and do with patients.

Why because it's hard to tolerate us. We do a lot of things that make people intolerant.

That's just people that were patient is interesting it means long tempered his don't don't get angry because it's so easy to get angry with people in the way that they act in the way that they do it.

Think about the Pharisees. Jesus is enemy. They were intolerant of anybody who didn't keep the law the way they They were always intolerant member what Jesus said to him you go on your way to take a speck out of somebody else's.

I you have a log in your own see that becomes a very important part. It becomes a very critical personality and it will make you happy at all because you have the talk.

Be tolerant of people and that becomes a very important thing for us to do deal Moody who is the founder Moody Bible Institute. Great evangelist the last century. He said this right now I'm having so much trouble with DL Moody that I don't have time to find fault my fellowmen.

That's what we all should be you want to be intolerant. Be intolerant of the sin in your life that you should be intolerant, not other people's behavior. So you have to encourage one another. You have to show tolerance for one another and I want to go to Philippians chapter 2 with me in verse four, Philippians 2 verse four to start their possible verse we actually says this do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.

Number looking for your own personal interest but also for the interest of others.

You need to have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although he existed in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, he emptied himself, and he took on the form of a bondservant being made in the likeness of men. And being fine in the appearance of man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even the cross and for this reason, God highly exalted him, and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, while he says you and I have to regard everyone else is more important than ourselves. Is that what our culture teaches you I mean what's our culture say over and you need to look out for number one and who is that it's me that's of the culture says you look out for number one.

Jesus exactly the opposite. You have to regard everybody else is more important than you are to this is hard for us this kind of thing we find to be a very difficult thing for us altogether. It's it's interesting that what happens to us as we become preoccupied with ourselves and that's once you have that attitude, then it's easy to be selfish, it really is. I think one of things I find over all the years and all the marriage counseling I've done is even in the context of marriage. Most of the time. What I hear, and struggling marriages by rights it she's not meeting my needs and my rights and she's not meeting my needs and my rights. Once you do that, that's a prescription for marital failure doesn't work that way you here often miss when it comes marriage to what good marriages. It's 50-50.

It's not. It's 100 zero. That's what a good marriages 100 zero by the way, if both of you live with 100 for them, and zero for you just what you get 5050. You see, but that's what it takes but you start demanding that your needs and your rights aren't being met. We have if I have to regard all of you is more important than me. I surely should regard personal metric to has, more importantly, don't you think you see, that's the point that is trying to make regard everyone is more important than you and it's interesting that he gives us his tremendous example in Jesus Christ hello but Isaiah wrote 700 years before Jesus was born. Isaiah wrote this can ask Canon acts boast greater power than the want to use as a me Isaiah it off course not. That's what you and I are you and I are just axis all the glory goes the want to uses. You see were just the pool of God. That's the way this whole thing works and is not, in other words were just the conduit in which God flows through think that if you share a gift. Your gift was someone a really wonderful spiritual gift. You know why you can because God shared one with you when you give someone the gospel is because God gave you the gospel when you love somebody is because you were first loved by God. When you teach somebody something is also because you are already taught by God. The same thing. So that's the way this whole thing work succeeded over and over and over again so wonderful to think more of other people than he is of herself, and is not easy.

You see, it's not easy. We live in such a hierarchical society we we just believe their people appear than people here than people here than people here one of God doesn't say that affect the word of God doesn't even say there's a whole lot of steers at all, the word of God.

Just as there's only two kinds of people in the world.

There say people and lost people. That's it.a lot of others to see if it doesn't work that way. So we need to regard others as more important even than we are forcefully Roman 16 in verse three no one to remember something.

This is Scripture.

This is not I can add on Sunday not a PS. This is important.

This is Scripture. This is just as much God's word is a 10 Commandments are and it's interesting when you think about that point if you watch what happens.

Verse three great purse going to call my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who for my life risk their own next to whom not only do I give thanks, but also to all the churches of the Gentiles also great.

The church that is in their house.

Greet happiness. He says my beloved was the first convert to Christ in Asia greet Mary who is worked hard for you greedy, sit at Donica's and Junius my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. He said, who are outstanding among the apostles, who also were in Christ Jesus before me greet he says ample lightness. He's in my beloved in the Lord greater Banas, our fellow worker in Christ and stinky as my beloved and greener palace. The approved of Christ. Greet those he said or who are of the household of Aristotle us. Greet a roadie in my kinsman. Greet those of the household of narcissists who were in the Lord. Greet.

He says try Pineda and trifles workers in the Lord.

Greet purses the beloved who is worked hard in the Lord and greet Rufus a choice man of the Lord and his mother and mind and greed he says, as in the protests, he said, and for Legion and Hermes and paratroopers and hermits in the brethren with them and greet Polonius and Julia Ann Mirus and his sister Olympus and all the saints are with them and greet one another with a holy kiss all the churches of Christ greet you. You notice any redundant word in their greet, greet, greet one another. That's twice. Greet one another with a holy kiss greeting one another while being being he said, in a sense kind to one another, were not exactly a greeting, culturally. If you do say a word asserted typifies American now it's rage that's that's America Haywood, you have to be very old to realize when you were young you never heard of brokerage you never even heard of it here all the time now we have road rage. We have airline passenger rage. That's always interesting on the news a bunch of people laying on top of some guy trying to stop him on an airline because he's full of rage. We have checkout line rage people get really upset like that. It's amazing how angry we are and maybe the worst social media rage.

That's kind of what social media is about rage.

I'm just so angry.

I'm so mad while Paul says twice to the Corinthians needed. Greet one another and use the term holy kiss in the degree that one another with a holy kiss. By the way a lot of people investment with a holy kiss. While a holy kiss is a cultural cares that you do because of your love for the Lord. In other words, how did this culture often greet itself culturally. The kids comes the culture is as you have it for you as a child of God. You do a holy kiss. Why, because this is what God expects of you.

He wants you to do this. Greet one another with a holy kiss. Francis, if you're in Europe, a lot of times, and you greet people they kiss each other on the cheeks.

They kiss each other.

That's just the way he wants to go to the Asia and often when you greet someone you bow that you greeting in America. A lot of America has no standard thing.

I used to think the handshake was standard that I moved to New Orleans and there's a lot more kiss and a New Orleans and there is another place.

But the point of it is simple. You need to greet people why it's good to be greeted see it makes you feel good that you greeted now this is the one place where you do. Probably more greeting and you do any other place that's a little bit said but there's a problem with it.

You look forward to greeting people who are your friends. You see, come the church and you find your friends and you greeted me a real friendly, but what if you knew the church you see music while they were real friendly to each other you know then say were to meet churches of trying to fix this and I been in churches where they'll say okay anybody here for the first time today and then a happy please stand and you stand up and then to go great this person is like on my hi hi doing great. It's one of great good to see you here and then next week you're nothing next week.

No one greet you. It's just like it's our duty to greet Melvin got a new person standing up. That's a person will greet know it means greet people because it makes people feel really really good about themselves. That's the way this works is the way greeting is pastor Bill Gebhardt on the radio ministry of fellowship Lord, if you ever miss one of our broadcast or maybe you just like the message one more time. Remember the little green website called in one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen the fellowship and the word online that website you will find on with today's broadcast so many of our previous audio programs as well at Fellowship in the Word. We are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible. We ask all of our listeners to prayerfully consider how you might help his radio ministry continuous broadcast on this radio station by supporting a monthly fourth is the one-time gift support for ministry can be sent to Fellowship in the Word. 4600 Clearview Pkwy., Metairie, LA 7006 if you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format that is is a sermon, the pastor will deliver during a Sunday morning service at Fellowship Bible church visit our website FVC Nola.org that FVC and LA.O RG at our website you will find hundreds pastor Bill sermon you can browse through our sermon archives defined sermon series you're looking for or you can search by title.

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