WEBVTT 00:00:06.680 --> 00:00:09.759 Proverbs chapter 3. Most of our scriptures are 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:12.240 going to be in the Psalms, but we're going to 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:15.439 kind of jump around, so if you don't catch a 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:17.379 scripture we go over, just let me know after 00:00:17.379 --> 00:00:21.899 the fact, and I'll tell you where it was. We're 00:00:21.899 --> 00:00:24.320 just going to pick a few short, simple scriptures 00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:28.160 today, scriptures that I think are easy for us 00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:32.479 to understand and for us to remember. We're going 00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:35.259 to start in Proverbs chapter 3. I have one correction 00:00:35.259 --> 00:00:38.479 from last week. Last week I told y 'all about 00:00:38.479 --> 00:00:42.340 a good wife and a good mother in Psalms 31. I 00:00:42.340 --> 00:00:45.119 didn't realize I said Psalm. It's actually Proverbs 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:48.340 31. So if you went home last week and you read 00:00:48.340 --> 00:00:50.500 Psalm 31 and you said, that don't say nothing 00:00:50.500 --> 00:00:53.719 about a good mother or a wife, then you'll know 00:00:53.719 --> 00:00:58.130 why. So that was a slip that happens. So it was 00:00:58.130 --> 00:01:01.710 Proverbs 31, and today we will be in Proverbs 00:01:01.710 --> 00:01:09.209 chapter 3. Today I've got a good word for y 'all, 00:01:09.230 --> 00:01:13.450 and the word for y 'all today is, I want everybody 00:01:13.450 --> 00:01:17.150 to do what makes you happy. That's a good message. 00:01:17.269 --> 00:01:19.430 That message will go far in our world today. 00:01:19.489 --> 00:01:21.269 That's the message that people like to hear, 00:01:21.349 --> 00:01:24.560 right? We like to do what makes us happy, and 00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:26.319 I'm telling you today, that's what I want you 00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:28.459 to do. I want you to do what makes you happy. 00:01:29.540 --> 00:01:31.099 And some of you are saying, well, what's the 00:01:31.099 --> 00:01:34.700 catch? Well, I guess there is a little bit of 00:01:34.700 --> 00:01:38.280 a catch. I want to tell you the secret of being 00:01:38.280 --> 00:01:40.400 happy, which is also something that we want to 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:42.140 know in our world today, praise the Lord. We 00:01:42.140 --> 00:01:44.560 all want to be happy, and today I'm going to 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:48.840 tell you the secret of how to be happy, and then 00:01:48.840 --> 00:01:52.109 you can go do whatever makes you happy. Let's 00:01:52.109 --> 00:01:56.230 read Proverbs chapter 3, verses 13 and 14, then 00:01:56.230 --> 00:02:00.950 we'll pray and we'll jump into it. Happy is the 00:02:00.950 --> 00:02:04.810 man who finds wisdom and who acquires understanding, 00:02:05.170 --> 00:02:09.689 for she is more profitable than silver and her 00:02:09.689 --> 00:02:13.909 revenue is better than gold. Let's pray. God, 00:02:13.969 --> 00:02:15.509 we come to you today. We thank you for being 00:02:15.509 --> 00:02:17.650 good to us. I thank you for the love that's in 00:02:17.650 --> 00:02:20.689 this place that you show on us that we can share 00:02:20.689 --> 00:02:22.569 with one another. We thank you for the blessing 00:02:22.569 --> 00:02:24.229 and the freedom we have to come and worship. 00:02:24.490 --> 00:02:26.810 I thank you for the folks who come here and the 00:02:26.810 --> 00:02:29.409 folks who watch and listen online each week. 00:02:29.430 --> 00:02:31.669 I pray, God, that your Holy Spirit would bless 00:02:31.669 --> 00:02:35.849 us today, dear Lord. Our lives are full of stress 00:02:35.849 --> 00:02:39.610 and chaos and pain and just trouble sometimes, 00:02:39.909 --> 00:02:42.639 dear Lord. And maybe there are some today that 00:02:42.639 --> 00:02:44.979 are just searching for some peace and some joy 00:02:44.979 --> 00:02:47.939 and some happiness. And maybe they've tried a 00:02:47.939 --> 00:02:50.139 lot of things, dear Lord, but I pray that through 00:02:50.139 --> 00:02:53.680 your word today they can see the real secret, 00:02:53.860 --> 00:02:56.879 the real key to the things that... you call us 00:02:56.879 --> 00:02:59.280 to to bring joy and happiness in our life. And 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:01.120 I pray that you just bless these few minutes. 00:03:01.199 --> 00:03:03.539 Hide me behind the cross, dear Lord, that people 00:03:03.539 --> 00:03:05.620 won't see me, but that they would see you and 00:03:05.620 --> 00:03:07.939 that you would be glorified, God. Take away any 00:03:07.939 --> 00:03:10.520 fear or pride that's within me today that I may 00:03:10.520 --> 00:03:13.199 faithfully preach and teach your word. And I 00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:19.020 ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, Proverbs 00:03:19.020 --> 00:03:21.360 chapter 3 is a good chapter. We've covered most 00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:23.300 of the first few verses over the last couple 00:03:23.300 --> 00:03:25.580 of months. We've kind of gone back and forth 00:03:25.580 --> 00:03:27.740 and looked at some of those things. And we're 00:03:27.740 --> 00:03:30.879 just continuing on on the last verse in Proverbs 00:03:30.879 --> 00:03:33.539 we left off on and not really looking at the 00:03:33.539 --> 00:03:36.340 whole context of that passage of Scripture starting 00:03:36.340 --> 00:03:40.139 in verse 13. In the context, it's really talking 00:03:40.139 --> 00:03:43.020 a lot about wisdom. And we're introduced to that 00:03:43.020 --> 00:03:46.090 topic, that idea. in these verses that we looked 00:03:46.090 --> 00:03:48.389 at today. Now, we may get to those verses that 00:03:48.389 --> 00:03:51.069 follow in the weeks to come, but today we're 00:03:51.069 --> 00:03:53.270 going to just kind of pluck out that first little 00:03:53.270 --> 00:03:57.449 part and not talk too much about wisdom and understanding 00:03:57.449 --> 00:04:01.689 today, but really the topic that I shared with 00:04:01.689 --> 00:04:05.370 you before, and that is be happy. We want to 00:04:05.370 --> 00:04:07.569 be happy. Everybody wants to be happy. That's 00:04:07.569 --> 00:04:10.229 what we all want. That's a good feeling when 00:04:10.229 --> 00:04:13.060 you're happy. But sometimes it's hard for us 00:04:13.060 --> 00:04:16.220 to be happy. Life is tough and stressful, and 00:04:16.220 --> 00:04:19.180 there's all kind of stuff that goes on. And sometimes 00:04:19.180 --> 00:04:22.800 we just find ourselves just kind of being down 00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:25.980 and out and bummed. And maybe it's for a day 00:04:25.980 --> 00:04:28.259 or for a week or for a month, or maybe for some 00:04:28.259 --> 00:04:32.319 of us it's been years. And you're just not happy. 00:04:32.939 --> 00:04:36.220 And that wears on you, and that's really tough. 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:39.600 But praise the Lord, we have the Word of God. 00:04:40.379 --> 00:04:42.879 And the Word of God is so good if we would read 00:04:42.879 --> 00:04:46.959 it. There are so many things in the Word of God 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:49.839 that are good for us. And we need to read it. 00:04:49.860 --> 00:04:51.639 We don't just need to come on Sunday and hear 00:04:51.639 --> 00:04:53.800 it. Praise the Lord. I'm glad you're here. For 00:04:53.800 --> 00:04:55.759 those who go to Sunday school, I'm glad that 00:04:55.759 --> 00:04:57.920 you came. For those who listen online, it's great. 00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:00.920 But we don't want to just hear the Word of God 00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:03.139 at church. We want to be in the Word of God and 00:05:03.139 --> 00:05:05.240 read it ourself. And there are so many things 00:05:05.240 --> 00:05:10.579 in there that help us, that encourage us, Really 00:05:10.579 --> 00:05:14.100 show us the secret of success and of happiness. 00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:18.699 And the answers are right before us in the pages 00:05:18.699 --> 00:05:21.220 of Scripture. And we need to make sure that we 00:05:21.220 --> 00:05:24.639 read those words. And here we see in Proverbs 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:30.240 3, verse 13, he says, Happy is the man who finds 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:35.759 wisdom and who acquires understanding. Now, when 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:38.199 I read this verse, I thought, man, there's... 00:05:38.759 --> 00:05:40.660 There's quite a few verses that talk about being 00:05:40.660 --> 00:05:43.639 happy, and that's kind of our theme today. And 00:05:43.639 --> 00:05:46.160 I thought, well, what is the key to happiness? 00:05:46.199 --> 00:05:48.980 According to Scripture, there's plenty of Scriptures 00:05:48.980 --> 00:05:52.519 that says, happy is the man who does blank, fill 00:05:52.519 --> 00:05:54.759 in the blank. Well, we don't get to fill in the 00:05:54.759 --> 00:05:58.079 blank ourselves. If we filled in the blank, we 00:05:58.079 --> 00:06:01.060 wouldn't do too good. Happy is the man who is 00:06:01.060 --> 00:06:03.639 wealthy. Happy is the man who is successful. 00:06:03.899 --> 00:06:06.839 Happy is the man who has the biggest house. Happy 00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:09.600 is the man who has the most beautiful wife. Happy 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:13.399 is the woman who has the strongest husband. Now, 00:06:13.399 --> 00:06:15.939 it's polar alert. The Bible doesn't say any of 00:06:15.939 --> 00:06:18.639 those. None of those happy hours are in the Bible. 00:06:18.720 --> 00:06:22.079 The things that the Bible says make us happy 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:25.600 are not the things that maybe come to our mind 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:29.129 first. may not be the things that we strive for. 00:06:29.209 --> 00:06:33.310 The Bible is so good in that way, that the things 00:06:33.310 --> 00:06:36.009 that we think are important to us or that we 00:06:36.009 --> 00:06:39.329 think are important to God, when we read Scripture 00:06:39.329 --> 00:06:42.850 just a little bit, we realize that maybe God's 00:06:42.850 --> 00:06:45.870 ideas of what's important to Him and what should 00:06:45.870 --> 00:06:48.610 be important to us are different than ours. And 00:06:48.610 --> 00:06:52.350 indeed, they almost always are. But it says here, 00:06:52.529 --> 00:06:56.019 Happy is the man who... finds wisdom and who 00:06:56.019 --> 00:06:59.740 acquires understanding. Okay, this is good. This 00:06:59.740 --> 00:07:02.579 is good. You say, I am unhappy. Alright, here's 00:07:02.579 --> 00:07:06.819 a test. Are you seeking wisdom and understanding 00:07:06.819 --> 00:07:09.500 in your life? Or do you just keep living in the 00:07:09.500 --> 00:07:13.279 same old foolishness? Now for many of us, if 00:07:13.279 --> 00:07:16.040 we're honest, we've just kept on making the same 00:07:16.040 --> 00:07:18.639 foolish decisions. And there's a part of us who 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:22.329 really know in our heart that it's foolish. We 00:07:22.329 --> 00:07:26.730 really know that it's not good, but we keep doing 00:07:26.730 --> 00:07:29.829 it. And you may say to yourself, okay, this is 00:07:29.829 --> 00:07:32.069 good. I want to be happy. The scripture says 00:07:32.069 --> 00:07:34.509 that I need to be one who finds wisdom, one who 00:07:34.509 --> 00:07:39.050 acquires understanding. Well, how do I do that? 00:07:39.189 --> 00:07:41.490 Well, I'm glad you asked because the scripture 00:07:41.490 --> 00:07:45.730 says in Proverbs 2, verse 6, for the Lord gives 00:07:45.730 --> 00:07:50.370 wisdom from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 00:07:51.610 --> 00:07:54.189 Okay, there's our starting point. So we say, 00:07:54.290 --> 00:07:56.569 I want to be happy. I want to start with what 00:07:56.569 --> 00:07:59.449 the Word of God says. It says I'm happy if I'm 00:07:59.449 --> 00:08:02.610 wise and I have some understanding. How do I 00:08:02.610 --> 00:08:06.569 find that? Well, we find it through the Lord. 00:08:06.930 --> 00:08:10.649 We find it through God's Word. God's Word is 00:08:10.649 --> 00:08:13.370 full of things, and it says this is a wise thing 00:08:13.370 --> 00:08:17.069 to do. It's a wise thing to do. Maybe not spend 00:08:17.069 --> 00:08:19.850 every penny you have. Maybe you don't want to 00:08:19.850 --> 00:08:22.000 go to the casino. Every week when you get your 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:25.100 paycheck and put it all on red. And some people 00:08:25.100 --> 00:08:27.579 do that. Maybe some in here. There's people that 00:08:27.579 --> 00:08:30.759 do that every week. And they lose their money 00:08:30.759 --> 00:08:33.440 every week. And they say, but one day it's going 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:36.740 to hit. Well, maybe it will. But guess what? 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:40.659 That's foolishness. Now what does the Bible say 00:08:40.659 --> 00:08:44.000 of wisdom? Well, maybe it's things that God blessed 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:47.120 us with. Maybe we need to be a little wiser with 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:50.909 it. Maybe we need to tuck a little back. Maybe 00:08:50.909 --> 00:08:54.009 we need to use it to help other people. Those 00:08:54.009 --> 00:08:56.269 are the types of things that God's Word says 00:08:56.269 --> 00:08:59.990 are wise. That's not what our fleshly desires 00:08:59.990 --> 00:09:04.250 may be. Our fleshly desires almost always want 00:09:04.250 --> 00:09:07.990 what's foolish. We don't have understanding. 00:09:08.330 --> 00:09:10.070 We don't understand, why does this go on? Why 00:09:10.070 --> 00:09:12.549 does that go on? Well, you know, when we begin 00:09:12.549 --> 00:09:15.470 to read the Word of God, we begin to have a lot 00:09:15.470 --> 00:09:19.240 better understanding of things. Not fully. Certainly 00:09:19.240 --> 00:09:21.159 there are things that happen in our life or in 00:09:21.159 --> 00:09:24.299 our world that maybe even those who walk with 00:09:24.299 --> 00:09:27.019 the Lord would say, I don't understand why the 00:09:27.019 --> 00:09:29.480 Lord does that. But there are a lot of things 00:09:29.480 --> 00:09:31.580 in Scripture that as we begin to read the Word 00:09:31.580 --> 00:09:35.240 of God, we begin to get a whole different understanding 00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:40.679 of, let's say, what love is. Now our world understands 00:09:40.679 --> 00:09:44.100 love to some degree, but a lot of times it's 00:09:44.100 --> 00:09:47.679 in a fleshly way. What the world called love 00:09:47.679 --> 00:09:51.500 is not really love. But then we begin to read 00:09:51.500 --> 00:09:55.500 God's word. We begin to see that we're sinners. 00:09:56.240 --> 00:09:58.899 And then we begin to see that Jesus died for 00:09:58.899 --> 00:10:03.580 sinners. That he was nailed to a cross. That 00:10:03.580 --> 00:10:07.159 he suffered greatly. And you say, why would a 00:10:07.159 --> 00:10:09.639 man do that? Well, the scripture tells us that 00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:14.980 that's love. That what love is, it's not... Just 00:10:14.980 --> 00:10:18.159 a word that we say, but it's an action. It's 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:21.519 shown in how we treat people. And so we have 00:10:21.519 --> 00:10:24.620 understanding of, okay, well, God calls me to 00:10:24.620 --> 00:10:28.340 love. He calls me to love him. He calls me to 00:10:28.340 --> 00:10:30.700 love those that I encounter. We talked about 00:10:30.700 --> 00:10:32.620 a lot of that in Sunday school this morning. 00:10:32.779 --> 00:10:36.059 What does love look like according to Jesus? 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:39.299 It looks like helping our neighbors, feeding 00:10:39.299 --> 00:10:42.059 those who are hungry, clothing those who are 00:10:42.059 --> 00:10:45.000 naked. visiting those who are sick and those 00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:47.740 who are in prison. Like, these are the things 00:10:47.740 --> 00:10:50.639 that God's Word puts kind of at the forefront. 00:10:51.299 --> 00:10:55.720 And so the more we read God's Word, the more 00:10:55.720 --> 00:10:58.340 we have understanding. Okay, so happy is the 00:10:58.340 --> 00:11:02.259 one who finds wisdom and who acquires understanding. 00:11:02.820 --> 00:11:05.179 Well, praise the Lord that Scripture tells us 00:11:05.179 --> 00:11:09.840 that, that if we continually seek God, that's 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:12.730 where we're going to really learn. The things 00:11:12.730 --> 00:11:14.850 that are wise. And we're going to be able to 00:11:14.850 --> 00:11:18.330 understand a little more. What's wisdom? The 00:11:18.330 --> 00:11:21.490 greatest wisdom in all of Scripture? We see it 00:11:21.490 --> 00:11:25.529 in 1 Corinthians chapter 1. It's Jesus Christ 00:11:25.529 --> 00:11:30.669 crucified and resurrected. That is wisdom. That's 00:11:30.669 --> 00:11:33.769 wisdom. Now until we have started with Jesus 00:11:33.769 --> 00:11:36.970 Christ, until we have trusted in Jesus Christ, 00:11:37.029 --> 00:11:40.649 then we really... haven't fully understood wisdom, 00:11:40.730 --> 00:11:42.850 but the moment that we acknowledge our sinfulness 00:11:42.850 --> 00:11:47.049 and repent and we trust Jesus Christ, we have 00:11:47.049 --> 00:11:50.929 instantly obtained the source of wisdom. We've 00:11:50.929 --> 00:11:54.210 come to the source of wisdom. And the more we 00:11:54.210 --> 00:11:56.769 seek Him and His ways, and the more we seek God's 00:11:56.769 --> 00:12:00.029 instructions in our life, the more we gain understanding, 00:12:00.330 --> 00:12:03.250 and the more we walk according to those ways, 00:12:03.330 --> 00:12:06.090 guess what that brings in our life? It brings 00:12:06.090 --> 00:12:10.750 about... Happiness. Okay, there's our first verse. 00:12:10.970 --> 00:12:14.429 If you're not happy today, here's something you 00:12:14.429 --> 00:12:18.649 need to try. Try to find wisdom and try to acquire 00:12:18.649 --> 00:12:21.409 understanding. That comes through Jesus Christ. 00:12:21.529 --> 00:12:24.830 It comes through the Word of God. Here's another 00:12:24.830 --> 00:12:29.009 scripture for you to consider today. Psalm 84, 00:12:29.250 --> 00:12:33.750 verse 12. Happy is the person who trusts in you, 00:12:33.889 --> 00:12:39.009 Lord of hosts. Okay. Praise the Lord. That's 00:12:39.009 --> 00:12:41.769 pretty easy. Happy is the one who trusts in the 00:12:41.769 --> 00:12:45.929 Lord. Here's a test you can take. One question 00:12:45.929 --> 00:12:48.129 test. Let's see if you pass or fail. Don't answer 00:12:48.129 --> 00:12:50.750 out loud. Answer to yourself. Do you trust the 00:12:50.750 --> 00:12:55.590 Lord? Easy question. Now we probably, because 00:12:55.590 --> 00:12:57.830 we're in church, we say to ourselves, of course 00:12:57.830 --> 00:13:00.669 I trust the Lord. That's the church answer. But 00:13:00.669 --> 00:13:02.830 really, when we look at our life, really who 00:13:02.830 --> 00:13:06.919 do we trust? When hard times hit in our life, 00:13:07.059 --> 00:13:10.639 do we immediately go to the Lord and really seek 00:13:10.639 --> 00:13:14.139 him and leave it in his hands and say, okay, 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:16.440 God, I'm going to trust you. And I don't know 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:18.639 what's going on. It's tough. I don't understand 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:21.299 necessarily what's going on. But God, I'm going 00:13:21.299 --> 00:13:24.360 to trust you. So God, please, please answer my 00:13:24.360 --> 00:13:26.820 prayer and help me. Okay, that's a good place 00:13:26.820 --> 00:13:30.860 to start. but how many times do we pray such 00:13:30.860 --> 00:13:33.080 prayers? And then five minutes later, it's like, 00:13:33.139 --> 00:13:35.000 well, God, I guess you didn't want to answer 00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:36.879 it. And then we start figuring out how we're 00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:39.899 going to solve the problem. What can I do to 00:13:39.899 --> 00:13:41.700 solve the problem? And that's not to say that 00:13:41.700 --> 00:13:44.580 there may not be things that we need to do in 00:13:44.580 --> 00:13:47.700 situations in our life, but sometimes we kind 00:13:47.700 --> 00:13:49.960 of try to take the ball out of God's court and 00:13:49.960 --> 00:13:52.220 just kind of, even though we may not say it, 00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:54.940 what we're really saying by our actions is, okay, 00:13:54.980 --> 00:13:57.039 Lord, you didn't answer, so I'll take care of 00:13:57.039 --> 00:13:59.850 this. And sometimes we try to take care of our 00:13:59.850 --> 00:14:03.110 own problems instead of trusting in the Lord. 00:14:03.450 --> 00:14:06.690 And guess what happens when we do that? It leaves 00:14:06.690 --> 00:14:10.269 us unhappy because we can't take care of our 00:14:10.269 --> 00:14:13.889 own problems. We cannot take care of anything. 00:14:13.990 --> 00:14:15.629 We don't have the strength. We don't have the 00:14:15.629 --> 00:14:19.190 ability on our own. It's only through the Lord 00:14:19.190 --> 00:14:22.960 that He can bring about peace. He can bring about 00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:26.659 solutions in those situations. Even if our situation 00:14:26.659 --> 00:14:30.700 continues to be difficult, there's a certain 00:14:30.700 --> 00:14:35.379 happiness that comes from trusting in the Lord. 00:14:35.519 --> 00:14:37.799 So happy is the person who trusts in the Lord, 00:14:37.860 --> 00:14:39.779 or blessed is the person who trusts in the Lord. 00:14:39.980 --> 00:14:42.039 Some of your translations may say happy, some 00:14:42.039 --> 00:14:44.440 may say blessed in some of these verses, but 00:14:44.440 --> 00:14:47.840 it's the same idea. Okay, so if you're unhappy 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:50.620 today, Are you seeking wisdom and understanding? 00:14:50.919 --> 00:14:54.440 Are you trusting in the Lord? If the answer to 00:14:54.440 --> 00:14:58.679 those questions is no, then that may be why you're 00:14:58.679 --> 00:15:03.059 unhappy. Let's look at another scripture. Psalm 00:15:03.059 --> 00:15:07.799 119 verse 2. Happy are those who keep his decrees 00:15:07.799 --> 00:15:12.779 and seek him with all their heart. Again, here's 00:15:12.779 --> 00:15:15.139 a question. Are we keeping the Lord's decrees? 00:15:15.179 --> 00:15:18.779 Are we following the Lord's instructions? Okay, 00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:22.039 we read God's Word, and He gives us lots of instructions 00:15:22.039 --> 00:15:24.559 of, you know, hey, you need to love people, you 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:26.539 need to even love your enemies, you need to help 00:15:26.539 --> 00:15:29.200 people, those kind of instructions. He gives 00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:32.159 us all kind of instructions. He says there are 00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:34.200 some things you probably need to avoid, some 00:15:34.200 --> 00:15:37.720 sinful things that aren't good for you. How do 00:15:37.720 --> 00:15:40.240 we know the instructions of God? Well, you have 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:43.399 to read the Word of God. And I think we continually 00:15:43.399 --> 00:15:45.559 have to read the Word of God. It's a lot in there. 00:15:46.110 --> 00:15:49.110 Maybe it's just me or maybe not. I can't remember 00:15:49.110 --> 00:15:50.950 some of those things. I'll read something and 00:15:50.950 --> 00:15:53.110 then I'll go for a while and not read a scripture 00:15:53.110 --> 00:15:55.009 and read it a couple of years later and be like, 00:15:55.070 --> 00:15:57.710 oh yeah, I forgot about that scripture. I think 00:15:57.710 --> 00:15:59.990 as humans we just need to constantly be reminded 00:15:59.990 --> 00:16:02.450 of the word of God and the instructions of God 00:16:02.450 --> 00:16:05.830 so that we can stay sharp and so we can say, 00:16:05.870 --> 00:16:08.389 okay God, I'm really striving to do what your 00:16:08.389 --> 00:16:12.230 word calls me to do. I want to follow your instructions. 00:16:13.309 --> 00:16:16.730 There you go. Happy is the person. Excuse me, 00:16:16.769 --> 00:16:19.710 happy are those who keep the decrees and seek 00:16:19.710 --> 00:16:21.710 him with all their heart. Are you seeking God 00:16:21.710 --> 00:16:25.370 with all your heart? Maybe you're seeking God 00:16:25.370 --> 00:16:26.870 with part of your heart. Well, that's a good 00:16:26.870 --> 00:16:29.029 place to start. But what God really wants is 00:16:29.029 --> 00:16:32.929 for us to seek him with everything in us. Say, 00:16:32.990 --> 00:16:37.029 okay, God, I'm not seeking others for help. I'm 00:16:37.029 --> 00:16:40.330 not seeking my own strength or ability. I'm not 00:16:40.330 --> 00:16:42.970 trusting in my own wealth or any of those things. 00:16:43.009 --> 00:16:46.850 God, I'm really seeking you. With all my heart. 00:16:47.289 --> 00:16:50.990 And what's the scripture say? Hey. You're happy 00:16:50.990 --> 00:16:54.789 if you follow the instructions of God. And you 00:16:54.789 --> 00:16:57.629 seek God with all your heart. The result of that 00:16:57.629 --> 00:17:00.889 in our life. Is happiness. Here's another good 00:17:00.889 --> 00:17:06.069 scripture. Psalm chapter 1 verses 1 and 2. How 00:17:06.069 --> 00:17:08.809 happy is the man who does not follow the advice 00:17:08.809 --> 00:17:13.009 of the wicked. Or take the path of sinners. Or 00:17:13.009 --> 00:17:16.839 join a group of mockers. Instead, his delight 00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:19.579 is in the Lord's instruction and he meditates 00:17:19.579 --> 00:17:24.779 on it day and night. Okay, this is a real simple 00:17:24.779 --> 00:17:28.220 instruction. Happy is the man who does not follow 00:17:28.220 --> 00:17:33.680 the advice of the wicked. Easy enough. Now, if 00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:36.160 you're unhappy today, you need to answer this 00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:39.779 question. Are you following the path of the wicked? 00:17:39.880 --> 00:17:42.160 Are you listening to the advice of the wicked? 00:17:42.680 --> 00:17:46.569 And if the answer to that is yes, Well, there's 00:17:46.569 --> 00:17:49.089 a good chance that your unhappiness is coming 00:17:49.089 --> 00:17:53.049 from that. It's hard for us to be happy when 00:17:53.049 --> 00:17:56.049 we are in the midst of wickedness, when we do 00:17:56.049 --> 00:17:58.970 sinful things that God tells us not to do. It's 00:17:58.970 --> 00:18:01.549 hard for us to be happy doing that. We can have 00:18:01.549 --> 00:18:05.809 a semblance of happiness for a moment. There 00:18:05.809 --> 00:18:07.829 are things that are evil, that are sinful, that 00:18:07.829 --> 00:18:10.289 are wicked, that they are so enticing and they 00:18:10.289 --> 00:18:13.609 seem good and they feel really good in the moment. 00:18:14.410 --> 00:18:16.630 But you know as well as I do, that does not last 00:18:16.630 --> 00:18:19.430 very long. You think you're happy, but it's a 00:18:19.430 --> 00:18:23.869 lie. It's a false happiness. There's no joy in 00:18:23.869 --> 00:18:28.569 doing what's wicked. There's no joy in getting 00:18:28.569 --> 00:18:32.329 back at your enemy and getting vengeance on them 00:18:32.329 --> 00:18:36.289 in the moment it feels good. There's no joy in 00:18:36.289 --> 00:18:38.970 stealing from someone else in the moment. Man, 00:18:39.029 --> 00:18:41.509 it may feel good. I stole that money and I used 00:18:41.509 --> 00:18:43.269 it to buy or get something that I wanted. And 00:18:43.269 --> 00:18:45.210 in a moment, you think that's going to make you 00:18:45.210 --> 00:18:49.589 happy, but it doesn't. And you don't even realize 00:18:49.589 --> 00:18:53.049 that that's the source of your unhappiness. But 00:18:53.049 --> 00:18:56.730 it is because we can never be happy when we are 00:18:56.730 --> 00:19:01.289 living in the midst of wickedness and doing wickedness 00:19:01.289 --> 00:19:04.789 and following those who do wickedness. And so 00:19:04.789 --> 00:19:08.049 happy is the man who doesn't do that. The one 00:19:08.049 --> 00:19:11.690 who doesn't follow those evil ways of the wicked, 00:19:11.730 --> 00:19:15.170 but the one who follows the Lord's instructions 00:19:15.170 --> 00:19:18.750 like we just talked about. And it says, and he 00:19:18.750 --> 00:19:21.990 meditates on it day and night. Now, how often 00:19:21.990 --> 00:19:26.309 do we meditate on God's instruction? I mean, 00:19:26.329 --> 00:19:28.009 there's probably a lot of things that we meditate 00:19:28.009 --> 00:19:32.740 on. We may meditate on our job. meditate on our 00:19:32.740 --> 00:19:34.799 hobby, how many fish we're going to catch or 00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:37.119 how good we're going to play at the golf course 00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:39.799 tomorrow or whatever it may be. There's a lot 00:19:39.799 --> 00:19:42.160 of things that we meditate on. I've been doing 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:44.460 that a lot, too much lately because I've been 00:19:44.460 --> 00:19:46.759 kind of getting back into golf and I'm so horrible. 00:19:46.859 --> 00:19:50.880 It is so bad. I'm so horrible. And so I've been 00:19:50.880 --> 00:19:52.539 practicing a lot and I'm thinking about it a 00:19:52.539 --> 00:19:55.940 lot and I'm listening to YouTube videos. FYI, 00:19:55.960 --> 00:19:58.460 you can listen and watch a lot of YouTube videos 00:19:58.460 --> 00:20:00.720 for a week. and they don't make your golf game 00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:04.420 any better. But that's what I've been meditating 00:20:04.420 --> 00:20:07.099 on, right? We meditate on what's important to 00:20:07.099 --> 00:20:09.339 us. Now, I'm not saying it's wrong to have a 00:20:09.339 --> 00:20:12.140 hobby and to be invested in that to some degree, 00:20:12.319 --> 00:20:15.440 but maybe you've got something that you meditate 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:17.859 on that's just on your mind every week. You just 00:20:17.859 --> 00:20:19.839 think about it all the time, all the time, all 00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:25.039 the time. Well, we need to replace those worldly 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:28.549 things. And we need to start to meditate on the 00:20:28.549 --> 00:20:31.150 word of God. One of you just sit down with the 00:20:31.150 --> 00:20:34.170 scripture, maybe looking at scriptures similar 00:20:34.170 --> 00:20:36.769 to these we look at today, and not just read 00:20:36.769 --> 00:20:38.990 through and say, okay, there's a scripture. Thank 00:20:38.990 --> 00:20:41.410 you, God. Close the Bible. But really just take 00:20:41.410 --> 00:20:45.769 a passage and just meditate on it. Like you might 00:20:45.769 --> 00:20:47.750 open your Bible and read like one verse, and 00:20:47.750 --> 00:20:49.170 you're like, whoa, what does that even mean? 00:20:49.250 --> 00:20:51.269 Like I got to think about that for a second. 00:20:51.789 --> 00:20:54.559 Well, that's good. Don't just sit there in the 00:20:54.559 --> 00:20:58.019 silence with the Word of God and just think about 00:20:58.019 --> 00:21:00.700 it. Kind of think about it when you go to work. 00:21:00.740 --> 00:21:03.559 Turn the radio off for a minute and let it kind 00:21:03.559 --> 00:21:07.200 of simmer. Just think about it. Meditate on it. 00:21:07.220 --> 00:21:09.220 When's the last time that you've meditated on 00:21:09.220 --> 00:21:14.759 the Word of God? Well, maybe you should. If you're 00:21:14.759 --> 00:21:17.539 unhappy in life and you're spending a lot of 00:21:17.539 --> 00:21:20.200 time meditating on the wicked but not on the 00:21:20.200 --> 00:21:24.279 ways of God, There's a source of your unhappiness. 00:21:24.359 --> 00:21:27.220 These things that the scripture calls us to are 00:21:27.220 --> 00:21:31.400 very easy for us to understand. That happiness 00:21:31.400 --> 00:21:34.059 comes from wisdom. It comes from understanding. 00:21:34.200 --> 00:21:37.819 It comes from following God. It comes from avoiding 00:21:37.819 --> 00:21:40.619 sin. This is where our happiness comes from. 00:21:40.740 --> 00:21:44.339 If you want to be happy today, God lays it out 00:21:44.339 --> 00:21:46.500 for us. Right there in black and white in the 00:21:46.500 --> 00:21:50.099 scripture, here's the source of happiness. Let's 00:21:50.099 --> 00:21:57.460 read another verse. Psalm 128. Psalm 128, verses 00:21:57.460 --> 00:22:04.680 1 through 4. It says, How happy is everyone who 00:22:04.680 --> 00:22:09.019 fears the Lord, who walks in His ways. You will 00:22:09.019 --> 00:22:12.220 surely eat what your hands have worked for. You 00:22:12.220 --> 00:22:15.920 will be happy, and it will go well for you. Your 00:22:15.920 --> 00:22:18.299 wife will be like a fruitful vine within your 00:22:18.299 --> 00:22:22.160 house. Your sons like young olive trees around 00:22:22.160 --> 00:22:26.480 your table. In this very way, the man who fears 00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:30.720 the Lord will be blessed. Okay, that's pretty 00:22:30.720 --> 00:22:33.940 simple instruction right there. Who is the happy 00:22:33.940 --> 00:22:37.440 man? The happy man is the one who fears the Lord. 00:22:37.980 --> 00:22:39.980 Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. 00:22:40.200 --> 00:22:43.420 Happy is the man who finds wisdom. Isn't it beautiful 00:22:43.420 --> 00:22:45.619 how God's word just kind of, it just kind of 00:22:45.619 --> 00:22:49.150 all ties together? Okay. Happy is the man who 00:22:49.150 --> 00:22:51.309 fears the Lord. Simple question. Do you fear 00:22:51.309 --> 00:22:55.049 the Lord? You may say, I don't know. Well, you 00:22:55.049 --> 00:22:56.710 can measure how much you fear the Lord by how 00:22:56.710 --> 00:22:58.490 long it takes you to quit doing the sin that 00:22:58.490 --> 00:23:00.670 you're doing. If you're just keeping on in sin, 00:23:00.769 --> 00:23:02.809 keeping on in sin, keeping on in sin, knowing 00:23:02.809 --> 00:23:06.170 that God's word says it's sin, then bad news 00:23:06.170 --> 00:23:08.190 for us is that we don't fear the Lord that much. 00:23:09.049 --> 00:23:11.230 If we see that there are things in our life that 00:23:11.230 --> 00:23:13.309 shouldn't be there that God does not desire that 00:23:13.309 --> 00:23:15.960 are wrong and that are sinful, And we don't like 00:23:15.960 --> 00:23:18.099 that and we repent and say, God, forgive me. 00:23:18.359 --> 00:23:20.460 And we turn from that sinfulness and we do that 00:23:20.460 --> 00:23:22.400 pretty quickly. Well, that's a good indicator 00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:25.359 that we probably fear the Lord. Now, that's not 00:23:25.359 --> 00:23:30.500 to say that we won't sin again. We may. But are 00:23:30.500 --> 00:23:33.720 we content just to live in sin? I hope not. Maybe 00:23:33.720 --> 00:23:35.440 we are, though. That's not a good place for us 00:23:35.440 --> 00:23:37.640 to be when we are just content to live in sin. 00:23:38.420 --> 00:23:43.680 That's not good. There's no joy in that. If you're 00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:47.339 in that position now, you're unhappy. So happy 00:23:47.339 --> 00:23:50.779 is the man who fears the Lord. You will surely 00:23:50.779 --> 00:23:53.640 eat what your hands have worked for. You'll be 00:23:53.640 --> 00:23:57.160 happy. Okay, work hard. You want to be happy, 00:23:57.319 --> 00:24:00.380 work hard. You feel a lot better when you work 00:24:00.380 --> 00:24:02.779 hard and you've really put in a good day's work. 00:24:03.559 --> 00:24:06.779 You feel a lot happier when you've contributed 00:24:06.779 --> 00:24:09.839 something to society, when you've done your part. 00:24:10.539 --> 00:24:13.440 You feel a lot better when you planted the garden 00:24:13.440 --> 00:24:15.339 and you worked the garden and you ate from the 00:24:15.339 --> 00:24:18.019 garden. You're a lot happier when you've done 00:24:18.019 --> 00:24:20.519 the work. You can go steal from somebody else's 00:24:20.519 --> 00:24:22.099 garden without them knowing and eating, but it 00:24:22.099 --> 00:24:24.779 won't taste as good as when you do the work. 00:24:24.859 --> 00:24:27.519 Happy is the man who works hard. You fear the 00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:30.500 Lord, you work hard. Happy is the man who has 00:24:30.500 --> 00:24:32.440 a good wife. What does it talk about here? It 00:24:32.440 --> 00:24:35.019 talks about having a wife that's a fruitful vine 00:24:35.019 --> 00:24:38.069 and children who are like an olive tree. That 00:24:38.069 --> 00:24:39.910 is children who are going to continue to grow 00:24:39.910 --> 00:24:43.410 and thrive. That's happiness, the scripture says. 00:24:44.349 --> 00:24:47.150 In this very way, the man who fears the Lord 00:24:47.150 --> 00:24:52.069 will be blessed. Now notice that all of these 00:24:52.069 --> 00:24:55.190 things that we've looked at so far, they don't 00:24:55.190 --> 00:24:57.509 really talk about most of the stuff that the 00:24:57.509 --> 00:25:00.200 world says will make you happy. I mean, it's 00:25:00.200 --> 00:25:02.880 not talking about wealth and riches and fame. 00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:04.960 It's not talking about any of that stuff. And 00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:07.299 we think, man, if I just had this, if I could 00:25:07.299 --> 00:25:09.619 just be this way, if I could just do that, I'd 00:25:09.619 --> 00:25:12.339 be happy. But those are not the things that the 00:25:12.339 --> 00:25:15.960 Bible says make us happy. The Bible says fear 00:25:15.960 --> 00:25:17.880 God, work hard, raise your family, be a good 00:25:17.880 --> 00:25:20.119 husband, have a lot of kids. You'll be happy. 00:25:21.279 --> 00:25:26.569 Man, that's good advice. The Bible is full of 00:25:26.569 --> 00:25:28.549 these passages. We're not going to look at every 00:25:28.549 --> 00:25:30.470 happy passage today. Some of you are saying, 00:25:30.509 --> 00:25:33.430 praise the Lord. There's a lot of passages in 00:25:33.430 --> 00:25:35.690 here. But we're hitting the high notes. We're 00:25:35.690 --> 00:25:40.170 kind of starting to see a pattern of what makes 00:25:40.170 --> 00:25:44.170 us happy. Listen to the next verse, Psalm 41, 00:25:44.390 --> 00:25:48.150 verse 1. Happy is the one who cares for the poor. 00:25:48.789 --> 00:25:51.910 The Lord will save him in a day of adversity. 00:25:53.480 --> 00:25:56.779 Man, that's pretty good. Happy is the one who 00:25:56.779 --> 00:26:00.720 cares for the poor. Have you done that lately? 00:26:01.519 --> 00:26:03.299 When's the last time you've helped somebody? 00:26:03.980 --> 00:26:07.240 Like just helped somebody in need. Maybe you 00:26:07.240 --> 00:26:10.079 bought somebody a meal. Maybe you did something 00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:11.940 for them when they were struggling. Maybe it's 00:26:11.940 --> 00:26:13.920 somebody you know. Maybe it's somebody you met 00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:17.819 on the street. When is the last time that you 00:26:17.819 --> 00:26:21.920 have really been broken? and just saw somebody 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:25.400 in need and said, I just want to help that person. 00:26:26.539 --> 00:26:29.440 No matter how little or how much, whatever way 00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:32.880 it may be, when is the last time that you took 00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:36.880 from what God has given you and you've used it 00:26:36.880 --> 00:26:40.420 to help others? Maybe you do it every day, praise 00:26:40.420 --> 00:26:44.680 the Lord. Maybe you don't ever do it. Well, if 00:26:44.680 --> 00:26:48.630 you're unhappy today, maybe that's why. Maybe 00:26:48.630 --> 00:26:50.710 that's the reason why. Maybe it's because you're 00:26:50.710 --> 00:26:54.730 not helping people. Because when we don't help 00:26:54.730 --> 00:26:57.710 people, it probably stems at least a little bit 00:26:57.710 --> 00:27:01.990 from maybe some greediness in our own life. That 00:27:01.990 --> 00:27:05.609 we want to keep what we have. Maybe even we become 00:27:05.609 --> 00:27:08.329 a little judgmental. And we begin to say, well, 00:27:08.529 --> 00:27:10.450 they should have worked for theirs. I'll work 00:27:10.450 --> 00:27:13.640 for mine. And I ain't giving a mind, and there 00:27:13.640 --> 00:27:16.119 becomes a heart of judgment, and there becomes 00:27:16.119 --> 00:27:19.779 a heart of greed. And guess what those things 00:27:19.779 --> 00:27:23.140 do for you? They make you unhappy. You may not 00:27:23.140 --> 00:27:25.819 even realize that. See, that's the thing with 00:27:25.819 --> 00:27:28.759 the things we do. The things that make us unhappy, 00:27:28.960 --> 00:27:32.539 we don't realize they make us unhappy. We know 00:27:32.539 --> 00:27:34.960 we're unhappy, and we just don't have a clue 00:27:34.960 --> 00:27:38.819 why. Because we're denying the word of God. We're 00:27:38.819 --> 00:27:41.160 not living for him. We're living foolishly every 00:27:41.160 --> 00:27:43.380 day. We're living in sin every day. We're not 00:27:43.380 --> 00:27:46.140 caring for our families. We're not helping people 00:27:46.140 --> 00:27:48.539 in need. And we're just miserable. And we say, 00:27:48.599 --> 00:27:51.059 I just don't know why I'm miserable. And we go 00:27:51.059 --> 00:27:53.359 and we pay counselors hundreds of dollars an 00:27:53.359 --> 00:27:56.119 hour to listen to us talk about our life and 00:27:56.119 --> 00:27:57.960 say, I just don't know why I can't be happy. 00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:02.059 Well, I know why you can't be happy. Because 00:28:02.059 --> 00:28:04.240 we're not doing the things that God's Word says. 00:28:04.519 --> 00:28:08.960 That's why we can't be happy. You say, well, 00:28:08.980 --> 00:28:12.859 that stuff don't work. Well, try it. Try it. 00:28:13.660 --> 00:28:16.420 Read God's Word, and you see what God's Word 00:28:16.420 --> 00:28:19.519 says makes you happy, and you really give it 00:28:19.519 --> 00:28:22.140 an effort to try to do what God's Word says. 00:28:22.220 --> 00:28:26.000 Try it for a month. And see if you're happier. 00:28:27.799 --> 00:28:32.210 Help somebody in need. Take some of the money 00:28:32.210 --> 00:28:35.710 that you've got maybe an abundance of and give 00:28:35.710 --> 00:28:39.349 it to somebody. And tell me if you're not happier 00:28:39.349 --> 00:28:42.589 giving that money than you are getting it. As 00:28:42.589 --> 00:28:45.130 hard as it may be to let it go, I can just about 00:28:45.130 --> 00:28:47.549 guarantee you that if you do it with the right 00:28:47.549 --> 00:28:50.890 heart, you're going to be happier. You're going 00:28:50.890 --> 00:28:54.230 to find joy. In these scriptures that we looked 00:28:54.230 --> 00:28:59.430 at, it's just the tip of the iceberg. But it 00:28:59.430 --> 00:29:02.470 really shows us what's important to God. These 00:29:02.470 --> 00:29:05.430 scriptures show us what is important in the word 00:29:05.430 --> 00:29:07.769 of God. You know, I'm ashamed to say that I was 00:29:07.769 --> 00:29:12.690 pretty old before I think I figured out and really 00:29:12.690 --> 00:29:15.329 understood God's word. I said I think. You could 00:29:15.329 --> 00:29:19.130 disagree with what I'm going to say. But at some 00:29:19.130 --> 00:29:22.910 point in my life, something clicked. And I said 00:29:22.910 --> 00:29:28.599 I think I understand God's word now. And it wasn't 00:29:28.599 --> 00:29:31.660 as complex and it wasn't as difficult maybe as 00:29:31.660 --> 00:29:35.400 I thought. And I began to read God's Word and 00:29:35.400 --> 00:29:39.059 I began to see certain things repeated. And here's 00:29:39.059 --> 00:29:41.799 the conclusion that I came to. And I could be 00:29:41.799 --> 00:29:44.700 wrong about this, but I think that here's what 00:29:44.700 --> 00:29:48.759 matters and is important to God according to 00:29:48.759 --> 00:29:53.460 His Word. Is that we fear Him and we keep His 00:29:53.460 --> 00:29:58.549 commands. That we love one another. And we take 00:29:58.549 --> 00:30:02.569 care of one another. That we're a good husband 00:30:02.569 --> 00:30:04.890 to our wife, a good wife to our husband, good 00:30:04.890 --> 00:30:08.569 parents to our children. That we provide for 00:30:08.569 --> 00:30:10.890 them and raise them up in the way of the Lord. 00:30:12.349 --> 00:30:15.470 That we trust in God. That we love our neighbor 00:30:15.470 --> 00:30:19.809 as ourself. Help those in need. I think that's 00:30:19.809 --> 00:30:22.509 it. I think that's the word of God. I think that's 00:30:22.509 --> 00:30:25.329 what we see from the Old Testament to the New 00:30:25.329 --> 00:30:28.140 Testament. That's what God wants. There are so 00:30:28.140 --> 00:30:31.420 many other things that we get caught up in. But 00:30:31.420 --> 00:30:33.119 I think those things are the most important. 00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:35.640 And those are the things that we looked at today. 00:30:35.720 --> 00:30:39.000 Those are the things that God says makes you 00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:42.720 happy. Trust me, fear me, listen to me, follow 00:30:42.720 --> 00:30:48.000 me. Work hard, raise your family. Help other 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:52.519 people. That's where happiness comes from. If 00:30:52.519 --> 00:30:55.750 you're unhappy today, Are you doing those things? 00:30:55.849 --> 00:30:57.390 Maybe you're doing some of them. Maybe you're 00:30:57.390 --> 00:30:58.849 doing all of them. Maybe you're not doing any 00:30:58.849 --> 00:31:02.450 of them. But if you're not doing any of them 00:31:02.450 --> 00:31:05.250 today, and you feel kind of bad about it, and 00:31:05.250 --> 00:31:09.690 you feel convicted, then praise the Lord. Because 00:31:09.690 --> 00:31:11.970 the Bible says that's going to make you happy. 00:31:12.069 --> 00:31:14.950 Listen to what the Scripture says in Job 5 .17. 00:31:15.509 --> 00:31:19.549 See how happy the man is God corrects. So do 00:31:19.549 --> 00:31:22.750 not reject the discipline of the Almighty. You 00:31:22.750 --> 00:31:24.549 say, man, I hadn't been doing any of these things. 00:31:24.609 --> 00:31:26.789 That's why I'm so unhappy, God. I feel so bad, 00:31:26.970 --> 00:31:29.690 God. I just, I feel convicted. Well, happy is 00:31:29.690 --> 00:31:33.650 the man that the Lord corrects. Is the Lord trying 00:31:33.650 --> 00:31:35.650 to correct you today? Is the Lord trying to get 00:31:35.650 --> 00:31:38.349 your attention today? Does the Lord want you 00:31:38.349 --> 00:31:40.390 to repent today? He does. If we're living in 00:31:40.390 --> 00:31:43.730 sin, if we're living for ourself, if you're unhappy 00:31:43.730 --> 00:31:46.049 today, then listen to the Word of God. God says, 00:31:46.130 --> 00:31:50.319 look, I correct you because I love you. I tell 00:31:50.319 --> 00:31:52.319 you these things that I want you to do because 00:31:52.319 --> 00:31:54.240 they're good for you. I tell you these things 00:31:54.240 --> 00:31:56.079 that I don't want you to do because they're not 00:31:56.079 --> 00:32:03.680 good for you. So today I tell you, do what makes 00:32:03.680 --> 00:32:09.259 you happy. But I also tell you, what makes you 00:32:09.259 --> 00:32:11.980 happy is not going to be what the world says 00:32:11.980 --> 00:32:15.180 makes you happy. What's going to make you happy 00:32:15.180 --> 00:32:18.680 is what the Word of God says will make you happy. 00:32:19.240 --> 00:32:22.579 That's the secret to happiness. We just looked 00:32:22.579 --> 00:32:27.259 at just these few verses today, and we have unlocked 00:32:27.259 --> 00:32:31.880 the secret to happiness. It comes through wisdom. 00:32:32.200 --> 00:32:35.240 It comes through understanding. It comes through 00:32:35.240 --> 00:32:40.180 the fear of the Lord. It comes through Jesus 00:32:40.180 --> 00:32:45.400 Christ. He's our source of wisdom. He's our source 00:32:45.400 --> 00:32:49.940 of truth. He is the light for us today. And when 00:32:49.940 --> 00:32:51.759 you trust in Him and you seek Him and you live 00:32:51.759 --> 00:32:56.059 for Him, I can guarantee you your life is going 00:32:56.059 --> 00:32:59.339 to be so much better. If you live for God and 00:32:59.339 --> 00:33:01.579 seek Him and follow His commands and love others, 00:33:01.799 --> 00:33:06.119 I can just about guarantee you that you're going 00:33:06.119 --> 00:33:09.180 to be happier tomorrow than you were today. And 00:33:09.180 --> 00:33:12.140 every day that we walk with the Lord will bring 00:33:12.140 --> 00:33:16.799 happiness. And every day that we do not walk 00:33:16.799 --> 00:33:20.299 with the Lord, Will leave us unhappy. Don't leave 00:33:20.299 --> 00:33:23.779 unhappy today. Find joy in Jesus Christ. Let's 00:33:23.779 --> 00:33:26.579 pray. God we come to you. We thank you for your 00:33:26.579 --> 00:33:29.420 good word. I pray dear Lord that you be with 00:33:29.420 --> 00:33:32.019 us today. Maybe for some listening. And some 00:33:32.019 --> 00:33:35.220 online. And some here today dear Lord. There's 00:33:35.220 --> 00:33:37.740 just some unhappiness in their life. And life 00:33:37.740 --> 00:33:40.920 is tough. And it's hard to always be happy dear 00:33:40.920 --> 00:33:42.759 Lord. There's going to be tough days and sad 00:33:42.759 --> 00:33:46.039 days for us dear Lord. We get that. But what 00:33:46.039 --> 00:33:49.509 we really want God is. is a deep, deep happiness, 00:33:49.569 --> 00:33:51.630 deep within us, God. And I pray that we would 00:33:51.630 --> 00:33:53.710 find that today. And that can only be found through 00:33:53.710 --> 00:33:56.589 Jesus Christ. And through your word, dear Lord, 00:33:56.789 --> 00:33:58.970 that we would live in obedience to it. That's 00:33:58.970 --> 00:34:01.289 where the source of happiness. So God, if there 00:34:01.289 --> 00:34:03.269 are some who are unhappy today, maybe there are 00:34:03.269 --> 00:34:05.250 some things in these verses that they realize 00:34:05.250 --> 00:34:07.829 that they haven't been doing right. I pray that 00:34:07.829 --> 00:34:09.510 they would repent, dear Lord. If they feel your 00:34:09.510 --> 00:34:11.889 conviction today, that they would repent and 00:34:11.889 --> 00:34:14.230 trust in you, dear Lord, to find the source. 00:34:14.710 --> 00:34:16.929 of happiness. And I ask these things in Jesus' 00:34:17.090 --> 00:34:18.489 name. Amen.