The Family of Happiness
...I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and JOY in the faith, Philippians 1:25
Text: Philippians 4:4 and Philippians 1:19-26
New items have been added to the bottom of this list:
1. Biblical Happiness defined: Biblical joy is about discovering a reasonable, attainable, and delightful happiness in Christ that transcends difficult circumstances.
2. We must fight for Biblical happiness: God-given faith is demonstrated by God-dependent works. We can't be passive.
...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (v. 12)
3. In our fight for happiness, we must revisit the foundation of happiness (the gospel of grace) over and over!
Human effort cannot even cooperate with God’s grace to yield a right standing before Him on the final day. You are fully accepted because of Jesus!
...for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure (v. 13).
4. In our fight for happiness, we must be the master of our physical desires, not the servant of them.
Take radical measures to fight for holiness. The fight for holiness is the fight for happiness. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:27).
5. As we work for the spiritual progress of others, we enhance their joy and our joy.
You need the church! We find our greatest happiness when we lose ourselves in the service of God for the sake of others. Self-obsession is a formula for unhappiness.
...I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and JOY in the faith, (Philippians 1:25).
"The real goal of growth is that our hearts are changed so that we love God more than anything or anyone else, and love the things that He loves." -Darryl Dash
6. We must learn to appropriate the gospel to specific areas of life. Below is an example from my prayers in the morning on how I appropriate the gospel:
- The first item on my prayer list is "Jesus, You alone are my righteousness!" For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21). I celebrate this first every morning.
- The good news of the gospel--God reconciling me to Himself in Christ, is only good when I understand the bad news. I acknowledge the bad news that I have sinned against God and continue to do so every day. I acknowledge that left to myself, I am in bondage to sin and my selfish, fleshly desires.
- I praise God for giving me the salvation I could never have earned and certainly did not deserve. I am without merit and deserve nothing good apart from Jesus.
- In my mind, I review my calendar for the day through the lens of the gospel. I ask God to allow me to see every challenge, relationship, and item on my schedule as an opportunity to somehow express the life that God has given me in Christ. The gospel makes me dependent on God. I know I have nothing good to offer anyone apart from God's intervention and the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
- I pray for my immediate family, our church elders, and a few others whom I'm actively involved in guiding and counseling.
- I pray for urgent needs.
- I break up other requests, such as people in my Kgroup, Fight Clubs, and others into groups and pray for these on rotation weekly.
*A few other keys to happiness:
- Make exercise an enjoyable and regular part of your day.
- Get enough sleep. “Few things are as theological as sleep,” writes David Murray. Sleep reveals what we believe about God. Because God has given you important work and He wants you to steward your body well, get the sleep you need, and trust God to complete what you’re unable to do.
- If you are feeling sad and hopeless nearly every day, for most of the day, make an appointment with your doctor. Depression is a serious illness that requires medical attention.
Yesterday's Application:
