How Can I Be Happy - Part 2

Christian good news is, the more why because you become, the happier you will be the bad news is the opposite is also true of the report drew more clicks because of a good.

Those truths God's approval recipe for happiness in your earthly life, as well as the guaranteed formula for despair and misery is the conclusion of his message can't be happy is looking at a very from a portion of the word of God. In Psalm one and if you have a Bible close, you might want to grab hold of it sounds kind of in the middle of the Bible you will find the first Psalm, and went to finish up our discussion about as we answer this question. How can I be happy we are very excited that were able to teach these biblical truths. In answering these questions that people are asking and we always invite your help and encouragement in this program is only available because you support it financially and through your prayers, and one things we been doing from almost the very beginning many years ago is offering a spiritual resource each month to encourage your giving and to thank you when you give this month and is our privilege to introduce the calendar for 2021. Now don't think were looking at this from the wrong month.

It's usually offered. Toward the end of the year and a little by little through feedback from our watchers and listeners. We've moved it back to September so that once you ordered in September whether early or late. We have enough time to get it in the mail you get it does during the month of October and the calendar actually begins in November. It's a 14 month calendar so you have the end of the year to put all of your important year-end dates in and then get started with your planning for the new year. There's a lot of interesting things in this calendar, including a way for you to just keep track of every holiday to keep track of everything that's going on in your life. There's places for you to write in because the squares are there for each day and tell you that the beauty of the calendar.

This year it's called colors of creation and were very thankful for the opportunity we have. To make this available to you. Here's how you get yours send a gift of any size attorney point during the month of September and ask for this calendar and it will be shipped to your home right away. I know you love it, it's my privilege to make it available. Well let's get started with the last part of the lesson. We began on Friday as we look at someone and answer this question. How can I be happy. The righteous way not only avoids the downward pull sin, but the righteous way accepts the decisive place of Scripture in life but his delight, says the psalmist is in the law of the Lord and in his law.

He states day and night, and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season it's leaf also shall not wither and whatever he does shall prosper.

The first thing the psalmist says is that the believer who was headed toward happiness. On his way toward God, not away from God. This believer delights in the word of God. Not sure what that meant but I want to contrast it for you. All Christians read the Bible. They read the Bible to find out how far they can go before they cross the line you understand what I mean I've talked to people like this.

They don't read the Bible to find out what God wants them to do. They read the Bible to find out what God will let them do what they can do without getting into a lot of trouble now. The person who delights in the law of God is totally opposite.

That is what he does. He comes to the Bible and in his heart. There's this incredible desire that he wants to please God and so he reads the Bible and he reads it like he was a detective trying to find little clues about how he can please God with his life trying to find ways that he can get by with the things he wants to do, but he opens the book's prayer in his heart is all God, what I really want to do with my life is I want to please you. I will bless you and I want to read your book today and maybe could you show me one little thing one little nugget that I can mine it would help me please you to read the Bible like that.

Did you ever come to God's word like I would take some that's how you delight in God's word because I want you to know something friend if you come to God with that spirit, you'll find little nuggets everywhere because God just loves to show his children how they can please him because God's apparent are you with me the most unheard words from children. Is there anything I could do to help you today mom what would you do mom if you heard those words go over and examine to see is this an imposter. This person get in my house by mistake and kids, you know, if you go home and do that. Maybe you can give your parents a little time to come get ready and warm up to this because this could be little lethal if you Dragon this straight out if you really did a minute incredible would truly be incredible if every morning at breakfast, let me do it today. Yesterday mom. Well, I know we can all dream right now I'll tell you something. That's what it means when the Scripture says to delight in God's word is to come to the word of God with your heart, motivation, being Lord, how can I please you today in the Scripture says that when you delight in the word of God when your heart delights in the word of God not watch carefully that will translate into this wonderful thing and that is that your habits will be dictated by the word of God. Did you know that when you delight in the word of God, it will automatically determine that your habits are dictated by the work of life because if you're coming every day and say Lord, how can I please. You will show you and will translate into life and the psalmist gives us a couple of clues here as to what that will mean first of all, you will discover that your strength comes from God's word. The Scripture says he's like a tree planted by the streams of water, just like the tree was nourished by the constant supplies of water without which, under the blistering sun the tree would surely die.

So the life that is rooted in the word of God will also be established and it will be strong when you get your roots down deep into God's word.

It's like the tree, sending its roots down deep into the water. Next, the stream and grow strong.

Not only will you discover that your strength comes from God's word but you will discover that your stability comes from God's word. Watch this a fruit tree that is planted by the banks of the river suggests stability. That's what the whole image is about hearing the song. The tree is firmly rooted in the soil so that he can resist the storm. There are trees that are standing today.

I am told that were here when this country was discovered and they have stood strong through the Civil War through all kinds of stress and struggle in this land and if you go to the right place. You can see trees that are just as magnificent and just as beautiful as they were in their prime why they've got a tremendous root structure and they are strong. If you see the redwoods ever stand beneath one of those things that you could drive a car through and just try to imagine something growing out of the ground that big. And did you ever see a tree that was so big that you know in your heart. There is no thunderstorm or lightning storm that is good ever happened on this earth is going to touch that tree. I mean that tree is invincible. That's the kind of stability.

God wants his people to have and he says to us in his precious word that when you put your roots down deep in the God's word, you will become a person of great stability notice. Keep reading. Not only will you find your strength from God's word and your stability from God's word.

But here's what I love, you will find that your spontaneity comes from God's word. There's a little phrase here it says it's leaf also shall not wither itself. Think with me about that for just a moment believe my watch carefully believe is the outward testimony of the tree. Isn't that true belief is the outward testimony of the tree tells you this is this sort of tree and for the Christian, his testimony, his relationship with God.

The Scripture says when the roots are down deep into the word of God. The testimony of the Christian will not wither. It will be a vibrant, beautiful testimony of God is someone has written that all God's trees in the Christian sense are evergreens there evergreen there always green their beautiful testimonies to the stability and strength of the being and they don't wither when the sun comes out, and when the storms come back tree stays strong.

There's much talk these days about the testimony of the believer how our values have changed how our conduct is changed. Everywhere you go, but the leaf does not wither. Listen to me, the leaf does not wither. If it's rightly connected. Do you understand what I'm saying you tell me all here's this guy I thought he was a great Christian man. He withered, he withered under the pressure of temptation under the pressure of sexuality under the pressure of finances. What he withered.

I can tell you something about him if he withered. He wasn't rightly connected because the leaf is the outward testimony of the life that's in the person and if you are rightly connected.

What is that mean your roots go down deep into the word of God. Your drawing energy from your time with God. You will not with. That's the testimony of God's word so let me tell you something if you withered it wasn't the weathering that was the important thing. It was unconnected back here someplace that caused it to happen. Some of you are weathering right now nobody knows it but you. But you know it and you know your weathering because back yonder someplace you disconnected and now all of a sudden the elements are beating against you, and there's no source of life to keep you strong in green spontaneity of your life comes from the word of God. I read something that a secular humanist wrote the read too much of them but this guys pretty famous. His name is Maslow you've read of him. I'm sure if you had psychology. He wrote these words listen to this.

He said that man needs does not have. He seeks for unceasingly and becomes dangerously ready to jump at any hope good or bad. The cure for this disease is obvious we need a validated usable system of human values that we can believe in and devote ourselves to because we know they are true. I thought to myself, where have you been the Bible's been around a long time. That's the system of believable human values that are true and the secular humanist don't even know it exists. My people will sink the roots down deep into this book will find strength and stability and spontaneity and yes there's one last thing they will also find success look, it brings forth its fruit in its season, and whatever he does shall prosper you want to be prosperous and successful word of God says this is how you do it. Get your spiritual roots.

Down deep in the word of God. You say, does that mean that if I become a practicing studying Christian that I become wealthy know I'm not into that.

Neither is the Bible we define success so strangely, don't we.

Someone is said that prosperity and success for the believer is like a zero is zero until you put one in front of it, then it becomes a 10 to put another zero becomes 100 becomes a thousand, but the zero is a zero until there is a one and true believers understand that prosperity is not prosperity and less the one is at the front of it and when you put the one at the front of it.

God himself and then you begin to add the ciphers, then it means something, but until the one is there. There isn't any meaning to success at all is a natural so the Bible says that whatever success we have. Whatever God gives us.

He's going to make it prosper because he's going to be the one who was at the front of it when we put the zero now we got something right now.

We got something. Whatever man does. He says will prosper much time to talk about the ungodly, because it didn't take much time to talk about them.

In fact, the psalmist probably could've stopped at the end of this section, with the first verse and the first words of verse four, because verse 40 says the ungodly are not so read out loud with me.

The ungodly are not so not so right. Not so like all the stuff we just been talking about right.

The ungodly are not the people to put their roots down deep into the word of God. They are not strong they are not stable they don't have spontaneity to their lives there caught up in the vortex of evil that drags them down to their influence and involvement in intensity. The ungodly are not. So take everything we talked about that's good about the righteous man, and gave it, and you got the ungodly man that's what he said. But then he adds three things that we should not forget, and I can just touch him and quickly. First of all, he says the ungodly cannot stand in the time of difficulty and uses an incredible illustration. He says there like the chaff which the wind drives away and I don't want to pretend that I'm a farmer and that I've had a lot of experience in the farm because I haven't but I used to live with my uncle during the summers when I was growing up and I did a little farm work enough to know that I would cut out to be a farmer.

One of the things I used to do and I did, like this is we used to build hay every summer and I was with the crew that would go on the field and we use square bales.

We went to those around things which you can't stack we as a square bills and we grabbed the bail hook and we pitch that thing up with Arnie and kick it up on the wagon and as I got a little bit older I got to be the wagon man. I got up on the wagon I stack the bales, but I thought it after a while that that wasn't near as much fun as being on the you know why.

When you fill that hay up on the wagon all the chaff on little pieces of hay end up on the wagon floor in Europe. There you don't have any shirt on and it's hot you're sweating. I know that's indelicate but it's true.

It's only told me of the day that men sweat women below. I don't know what that's all about but I guess I mean that's what I heard but I was blowing if you understand I was up on the right and you know I was sweating or going. However, you want to talk about it and then the linen starts to blow, or you go over a hill when you get into the wind draft and all of a sudden all that chaff starts to swirl in the air and you get it all over your skin itches like crazy. Are you itching yet anybody itching. All right you know what chaff is good for its good for one thing, to make it. That's all it's good for its worthless. You can collect it. You can't capture it.

You can't use it and the Bible says that the ungodly who has disconnected himself from God.

He is like the chaff which the wind blows away. Now watch this. Get these two pictures in your mind class the tree planted by the river chaff which the wind blows away. Isn't God an incredible artist. Is there any picture you've ever seen that more graphically describes the difference in lifestyle between a person is firmly rooted in the word of God in a person who's captured with fantasies of the day and just floats around on any wind that happens to blow he can't stand in the time of trouble because there is no stability but notice the Scripture also says you can't stand in the day of judgment and I read that with such great interest because this is what it means means that when the believer comes before the Lord in judgment.

He stands there, not proud, not arrogant, looking into the face of his Lord because he knows it's okay, God is cared for. It sin problem is done he is accepted in the beloved stands there with a sense of confidence is confidence in the day of judgment, but when it says here in the Psalm that you cannot stand in the day of judgment. This is what the Hebrew means. It means that when you stand before God in that day and you had ungodly patterns in your life, and this is what you been human ungodly person. You stand there with your head bowed like this because you can't stand in the presence of God and look at your can't lift up your head.

That's really what it means you cannot lift up your head in the presence of God. Aren't you glad that our God is the lifter of the head is the lifter of the head before Christ came into my life.

I stood with my head bowed in front of God but God lifted my head up and he gave me confidence but the ungodly cannot stand in the day of judgment, nor can he stand in the congregation of the righteous says the psalmist.

That's really repeating in a new way, what is already set, but it's saying much more than that we listen to it carefully. It says he can't be standing in the congregation of the righteous psalmist means that while wicked men today live in a world in which there are still many righteous people, and God calls these righteous ones. The salt of the earth listen to me. God is not going to allow both classes of people to be together forever. Did you know that here in the Psalm he talks about the righteous and the ungodly and there together in the same world but that's not the way it's going to be and I don't know if you ever thought about that. If you are a person who's never known God or don't trust Christ as your Savior. What that means is there something to be this great separation and the ungodly are going to be separated forever from any righteous influence in their life and friends. What that means is that throughout eternity.

You will live with those who are also wicked and more wicked than you are never seeing a righteous person, never hearing a righteous word, never witnessing a righteous act forever and ever and ever. I don't have to describe hell if there were no more to it than that. That would be enough. The destiny of the ungodly. Not a pretty picture.

In fact, psalmist puts the period to his writing. In the last verse when he says the Lord knows the way of the righteous but the way of the ungodly shell parish Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great English preacher wrote once these words he said the righteous man carves his name upon the rock. The wicked man writes his remembrance in the wind. The righteous man plows photos of Earth and so does and has a harvest here, which shall never be fully reaped until he enters eternity. Now watch this carefully.

But as for the wicked man he plows the sea, and though there may seem to be a shining trailer behind his keel.

The waves pass over it and the place that knew him shall know him no more forever. How many of you ever been waterskiing and you you been in the boat or on the skis and you look behind you and there's this beautiful trail behind your season. If you like to jump the wake you, and maybe in another ski boat you're jumping over the lake behind the other skier what you look behind you, and you've left a trail you've plowed a thorough but come back 20 minutes later and try to find God. Spurgeon said that's what it's like to live a life minus God. It's the plow referral in the sea. It looks good for a moment, but it doesn't last. And you can never find it again. Two ways and two destinies in happiness is at the end of one road blessed incredible are the blessed Mrs. of the righteous man happy is the man that trusts in his God and wonderful encouragement.

So all of us happy is the man who trusts in his God, Tony, what were doing. It tested during these days I want to give this testimony with my hand raised up God is faithful. He has been he will be and he is in whatever were facing now you know God is enough for that. He's bigger than all of this and he will be there for us and is there for us if we put our trust in him.

If you want to know joy and happiness. And if you want to get rid of the anxiety that's plaguing your heart right now you need to find God in your life and I hope you have done that and if not, that you will. I would like to encourage you to join Donna and me at our Turning Point team for a one night live online event with special guest musical performances and interviews. The date for that is September 30 that's a Wednesday night begins at 9 PM Eastern and Pacific and will be broadcasting live to our Facebook page as well as our website with special guest Sheila Walsh really have musical guest Anthony Evans and I interviewed Levi Lesko who is one of my new friends and during this time were also going to have prayer for our nation. This is to be a very special time. It's kind of in place of our life events which option we can do this year because the coronavirus were not going to be discouraged by that woman to have an event anyway and will be telling you more about it throughout the month of September. Draw a circle around September 30. Make sure you join us for the special great day. See you tomorrow is message originated from shadow Mountain Unity church and senior pastor Dr. David Jeremiah would love to hear how to impact your life and tell us it is a 38 San Diego, CA 92163 or visit our website at davidjeremiah.org/radio we will help you there.

14 month 2021 calendar colors of creation. You can also tell you the revised was that you point ministries instant access program and visit Jeremiah.old/radios monetary conflict. Join us tomorrow as we continue.

God I need some nonsense taking time to listen to the Friendly's and