Lies We Believe

“God just wants me to be happy.”

God just wants me to be happy…

Is this a truth or a lie?

INTRO:

Is God’s greatest desire for you to be happy?

If so why?

If not, What is His greatest desire for you?

What makes people happy?

Why does that thing make them happy?

How could that thing also make them unhappy?

Let’s take these questions in reverse order…

2. What makes people happy?

How do things make us both unhappy and happy?

IF SOMETHING CAN MAKE YOU BOTH UNHAPPY AND HAPPY, SHOULD THAT THING BE THE PURSUIT OF YOUR LIFE?

Now pause for a moment… sit back… and consider what all fits into that conversation?

Better yet, what doesn’t fit?

Sports… can make us unhappy and happy. Should that be the pursuit of my life?

School… can make you unhappy and happy… Should grades be the pursuit of my life?

A girlfriend/boyfriend… can dump you or love you… should that be the pursuit of my life?

There are many things that can trap you into believing “this is the purpose of my life...” and then leave you empty, broken, and full of burdens and regret.

WHY… Would… We… Make… That… the pursuit of our life?

FISHING ILLUSTRATION:

Fishing Lure, Fish eats it because it thinks the bait will make him happy.

What happens instead?

He ends up as dinner…

It’s ironic.

“The pursuit of what you thought would bring you happiness is actually the very thing that robs you of it.”

Saying, “God just wants me to be happy.” Is the excuse that can justify any action.

This lie wrongfully allows people to live thinking they are forgiven when really they are living in rebellion to God.

MAIN POINT:

No, God’s greatest desire is that we would be most satisfied in Him.

A friend of mine posted this week, “The point of prayer is not that God would give us what we treasure, full stop. The point of prayer is that God would *become* what we treasure, and then give us what we treasure: more of Him.”

God’s greatest desire is that we would treasure Him above all else.

1. Worldly happiness is tied to Circumstances

Worldly happiness. <- Lie Tied to circumstances

What if God desires more for you than happiness?

Is it possible that in this life, it is the pursuit of happiness that actually causes us to miss God Himself?

Think about that for a moment… Can being happy cause us to miss what matters most?

Absolutely.

In Luke 15 the prodigal son tells us a bit about this.

Luke 15:12-13 “12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.”

When the son got the money… do you think he was happy?

Undoubtedly.

But look how quickly emotions change… He had it all, then he lost it all.

Later in the story when he comes home, He tells his father, “I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worth to be called your son.”

The son thought he had to pay His father back to earn his happiness back.

To the prodigal, what he thought would make him happy - His inheritance-

DID MAKE HIM HAPPY!

But the point is, IT ALSO MADE HIM UNHAPPY!

Something that can make you both unhappy and happy should not be what your life most pursues.

We must reject the lie to only life for what makes us happy.

Because if we buy into that lie, we will only be unhappy when we lose that which we have pursued.

Why do you think there is so much depression and anxiety?

I know according to statistics that about half of you in this room struggle with anxiety.

Y’all have tough decisions to make every day!

You have pressures to perform, get good grades, get into the right college, not bring dishonor to your family name, make the sports teams, get all the scholarships, and also keep up with everything on social media.

That’s a lot of pressure!

Are we trusting in the wrong things for our sense of happiness and purpose?

If those things are what make you happy, we shouldn’t be surprised when we are depressed when they are taken away…

We were made for more than that.

God’s greatest desire is not that we would be satisfied in those things, but that we would be satisfied in Him.

2. We need to pursue Joy and not happiness.

Read Dad’s blessing to me.

What is Joy?

The father responds in Luke 15 to his son’s speech.

What do you think the father says to his son’s apology?

In one of my favorite moments in scripture, the Father completely ignores his sons plea.

Instead, before the speech even occurs, Luke 15:20 says But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”

The father then in vs. 22 commands his servants

Luke 15:22-24 “22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.”

The father’s Joy is that his sons would be satisfied with their dad… and not in what their dad could give them.

The fact that the son came home told the dad, The son knew where to find peace in this life.

Joy is found in close proximity to the Father.

But what is Joy?

JOY:

1. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit - Galatians 5:22

Galatians 5:22 ESV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

2. Joy is built on a person

Matthew 28:20 “20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

Hebrews 13:5 “5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.””

What Joy is not:

Good vibes

feelings that come and go.

positive thinking

We may not be happy in suffering, but we can be joyful in suffering.

How?

Jesus suffered.

Galatians 2:20 “20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

John 15:11 “11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Is your joy in Christ?

This world offers us lots of things that can make us happy, but it can just as easily take away those things and leave you depressed.

Matthew 6:19-21 “19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

What do Moth’s do? Eat fabric, clothes, all that stuff.

What does Rust do? It eats through everything metal and can be very destructive.

What do thieves do? Steal stuff…

Guys, if our treasure is something bugs can eat, rust can destroy, thieves can take away, one bad injury that takes a sport away, a bad grade that removes a scholarship…

We are treasuring the wrong thing.

We need to treasure God and the people in our life that will be spending eternity with God or without Him.

Jesus and people are the only things that cannot be taken away from us.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He is our ultimate treasure.

But no one can come to the father except through Him.

We can’t bring people to God without Jesus.

SO

How are we treasuring Jesus today?

How are we prioritizing bringing people to the feet of Jesus?