Happy - Part One - Poor in Spirit

well good morning to everyone and welcome to the well here at sts a my name is father Anthony it's a pleasure to have all of our friends and family on today friends and family day we're kicking off a new series as you see up there on the screen that's called happy and it's going to be based on a passage from Scripture called the Beatitudes passage you're probably familiar with it's eight statements that Jesus made about how to be blessed or how to be happy in life and what we're going to see week by week is the prescription that Jesus gives us might be different than what the world tells us and what maybe we grew up thinking or what maybe some of us are thinking right now now when it comes to the word happy every one of us I think you would agree with me if I did a survey on the street and I stopped a hundred people and I said tell me what it is that you want out of life I would predict and you would probably agree with me that probably nine out of ten probably ninety out of a hundred maybe even more than that would give some variation of I just want to be happy I just want to be happy I don't want problems I don't want trouble I just want to be happy I just wanna be content I just want peace I just want to be happy everyone would agree that that's what we want now how we define happiness is different so for some people happiness means like financial security or it means like a new job or means my boss stopped breathing down my neck for some people to be happy means a solution to a health problem or maybe a relational problem or maybe some kind of problem that's existed for years and years and years and it just likes looks like it's never ever gonna end or maybe other people would define happiness not as necessarily a solution to a problem a relational problem but just a relationship period and some people think that happiness is when I find the right one when I find mr. right or mrs. right or some people would say that when I find what my heart is looking for other people would say happiness will be when I finally get treated in that relationship how I need to be treated loved appreciated respected whatever it may be bottom line is all of us want to be happy there isn't a soul in here who I said who wants to be happy there isn't a soul in here that would disagree that you want to be happy and if you did you would not be an American because the most American thing it's as American apple-pie is that we believe in this country that every single one of us was bestowed with certain inalienable rights and those rights are life liberty and pursuit of happiness we wrote it into our Declaration of Independence in case we ever forgot we all want to be happy but here's the thing is there are two kinds of happiness there's the kind that lasts and the kind of doesn't last the short-term the long-term the inner versus the outer the short-term happiness you don't need me to preach to you about that we are experts at that society today has taught us and given us every opportunity to find short-term happiness and as many means as we desire this is why we overeat this is why we overspend this is why some of us drink a little is why some of us drink a lot this is why we do certain things like work and work and work and work because we think that ultimately it'll make us happy we're good at the short-term happiness I'm not sitting here preaching to you I mean you give me $3.99 send me over to CeCe's buffet and I'll show you happy but the problem with that kind of happiness is it doesn't last so we want to talk about in this series is can I find a long-term happiness does that even exist is that even like a possibility for me and for you and for us like a kind of happiness that like doesn't rise and fall based on the stock market but kind of happiness that even my boss and his worst mood can't take away the kind of happiness that can survive the inevitable hardships and storms the life is gonna blow our direction isn't that possible well I believe it is and I'm gonna take it based on what Jesus said in John chapter 15 verse 11 jesus said these things I've spoken to you that my joy may remain that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full as I said a minute ago in this series we're gonna do is when we look at the passage from scripture Matthew chapter 5 the Beatitudes eight statements where Jesus said beatitude means blessed okay would you said blessed are you if you do this blessed are the poor in spirit blessed are those who mourn blessed are those who hunger he's gonna give us eight statements of how to be blessed and I would say calling those that passes the Beatitudes totally fine it makes sense but I'll give you another description that you could easily use for that you can right at the top of that eight ways to be happy and I would I would argue that what Jesus is saying there is not just a life of blessing the way we think of but a life of happiness the word blessed okay in Greek is the word makarios okay the word makarios is translated blessed right there and that's a unique word it doesn't mean blessing necessarily the way we think of blessing what it means is an inner joy a self-sufficient joy that sustains itself doesn't need anything from the outside so this word Makarios in classical Greek would be used to describe the gods because the gods did not need anyone else to provide their sustenance so they were makarios in the sense that they possessed consummate bliss in themselves also if anyone here is Greek okay maybe travel to Greece there's an island in Greece Cyprus which is known colloquially as the happy Isle the happy ion the reason why it was called that is because again it is a self-sufficient island the idea is that once you make it to Cyprus you don't need to leave because you got everything that you need right there and there's never a reason to go outside of there it is self-sufficient and it is happiness provided that endures that's the kind of Makarios blessing happiness that Jesus is offering us as well the kind that is self-sufficient the kind that doesn't rely on your boss the kind that doesn't matter what happens in the newspaper the kind that can endure storms that can endure sickness that could endure layoffs that's what Jesus is promising to us and he gives us eight ways to find that kind of happiness the amplified version of the Bible because some versions of the Bible say blessed some say happy the amplified version of the Bible which gives the detailed meaning for that word Macarius says spiritually prosperous to be admired or happy so in this series I'm gonna use those two terms interchangeably happy or bless it and actually kind of like the word happy better because what is blessing mean like if you're a really church person blessing kind of gives the wrong implication because bless it means my life stinks my life is a disaster but then you know what I just kind of lift my hands and say thank you God and I just say I'm blessed even though I don't really feel it I just kind of say because it's the right thing to say I'm miserable I hate my life but it's unchristian to say that's why just say I'm blessed that's not the kind of blessing that Jesus is talking about her offering right here he's talking about the kind of blessing the kind of happiness that find satisfaction in the midst of real life so when I talk about happy in this series I'm not talking about a some overly spiritual eyes denial I'm talking about real joy in the midst of real life the kind of joy and the kind of happiness that I've seen in a mother who lost her husband and then lost two out of her three children all separate events and I see that mother suffering and say thank God I don't understand why but I still trust him I'll still serve from every single day of my life that's happiness in the midst of life I see it in the husband lost his job doesn't know how he's gonna put food on the table but say thank you God my wife my children my health everything you've given me I don't know why but I trust you and I'll never turn away from you that's the kind of happiness Mother Teresa said this true holiness mother Teresa true holiness consists of doing the will of God with a smile I love that true holiness is doing the will of God with a smile that's the kind of happy we're talking about here not a fake not a denial not a life is great when life stinks it's looking at the things that it got that God allows in my life the storms are life and being able to find within purpose meaning joy happiness that's the kind of life that Jesus is offering us 3,000 years ago the prophet Isaiah looked out at a group of people who were all longing just like me and you to be happy but they were looking for happiness in all the wrong places they thought that could find happiness and accomplishments and financial security in the pleasures of the night and Isaiah says to those people Isaiah chapter 55 verse 1 and 2 he says ho everyone who thirsts come to the waters you who have no money come by and eat yes come buy wine and milk without money and without price why do you spend money for what is not bread and your wages for what does not satisfied listen carefully to me and eat what is good and let your soul delight itself in abundance notice what Isaiah did not do either did not say you people are such fools you people are so mistaken what's wrong with you you need to repent he just stopped doing the funny things at night you need to stop seeking pleasures in this world you need to repent he didn't give him a Bible study he didn't give him a lecture he didn't yell at them he asked him a question and the question the same question I ask you are you getting what you want out of life is your life satisfying you do you have joy in your life is what the bread that you're eating filling you and satisfying you because if not why do you continue to eat it why do you continue to drink the water that keeps making your thirsty that's what Isaiah saying I think he'd say the same thing today I think of Isaiah was here today he would go downtown to all the bars and the clubs which I don't know what Street it isn't you should know what Street it is on either he would go downtown and he would say to them people are you getting what you want you just spent all kinds of hours and money in that place are you getting what you want are you satisfied you're good now then why do you keep drinking it if not he'd go to our dorms and our colleges and our universities and he would see the nightlife and he would say is this satisfying you this is filling you is making you happy let's forget about the dorms let's forget about the people downtown he would go to our work places and he would follow us around we who were 10-hour days plus an hour commute each way we spend a half of our day working that one day we will have made it and we'll reach that place will ultimately be happy and ultimately be satisfied he say you've been doing this for 10 15 20 years are you satisfied you got the house you got the car you got the phone you're satisfied if not why you keep drinking why you keep eating I think you'd ask it to each one of us who fill our lives not necessarily with bad things doesn't need to be bad things we fill our lives with all kinds of good things but the problem is we think those good things are gonna satisfy us and we think those things are gonna fill us and in the end we find ourselves like Isaiah right here talking these people still hungry still thirsty well thankfully for the people back then and thankfully for us Isaiah did not leave them without an answer and Jesus did not leave us without an answer Jesus gave us a prescription in the Beatitudes Matthew chapter 5 he gave us a prescription eight ways to how to find this true happiness this true joy this true blessing eight ways that you can be filled from the inside out not the outside in and the thing about these eight things we're not gonna look at all a we're gonna look at five over the coming weeks today plus four more thing about these eight prescription that he gave to us is every one of them is what I call upside down living every one of them is upside down happiness every one of them is the opposite of what we may be naturally inclined to think so Jesus for example says you won't find happiness and pleasure or in riches or in comfort or in Fame you think you will but you won't you'll find happiness actually not in riches but being poor poor in spirit you'll find riches not when everything is around yous peachy keen but actually when you learn to mourn you'll find riches not when you're filled but when you're hungry you're not riches right you'll find joy not when you're when you're filled but when you're hungry you will find pleasure not when you experience the pleasures of this world but when you find purity purity of heart he flips everything upside down as was especially to do we're gonna see eight simple statements each one of them is so simple well a six-year-old can understand it but each one is so profound that you could spend the rest of your life and never discovered the depth of what it does for you in life so with that as our introduction y'all ready to jump in eight ways to be happy eight prescriptions for how to live a true life a blessed we're gonna see the first one today and the first one sets the tone for all the rest of them it's upside down living at its best whoops that's not the verse that I thought was gonna be next okay so let's go with this verse oh no we lost it oh no I'm going the wrong direction I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry there's the one I wanted right there was that on the screen the whole time but I clicked it oh I must've click to by accident I'm sorry best was just seen if you're awake Matthew chapter 5 verse 3 blessed or happy we'll use the two interchangeably alright setting was translations Bible bless it are let's read it all together okay all together one two three blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven Jesus says blessed are the poor in spirit at our first one and for some of us especially maybe some of our college students or maybe our residents who just got out of medical school we wish the word in spirit wasn't there because if it just said blessed are the poor we'd be like yes that's me okay I got nothing and we'd say this is great but that's not the kind of poor that Jesus is talking about right here if it was some of us would be very happy people but that's not what it's talking about he's talking about blessed are you the poor in spirit not poor financially there's two words for poor in the Greek language two words for poor the first word for poor means poor but not destitute it means like struggling but getting by but like barely getting by like paycheck to paycheck some of you were like yeah like normal life that's out that's how I live so that's that first word for poor there's a second word for poor and the second word for poor means abject poverty utterly poor utterly helpless and can do nothing about it Joe I show you the difference between the two think of two men who both oh one million dollars two men who have a debt of 1 million dollars one man owes a million dollars but he has four hundred thousand dollars in the bank account so he has four hundred thousand but he owes a million so he's kind of poor the other guy has two nickels and a dime they're both poor in the sense that they can't really pay back the debt but they're not the same kind of poor like this guy's poor this guy's poor this guy has struggles this guy has abject poverty when Jesus said blessed are the poor in spirit he did not use this word he used this word he was the word to say blessed are those were utterly helpless who can do nothing on their own who need lots and lots of help that's the verse that I wanted to show you a minute ago that popped up John chapter 5 verse 30 this is Jesus saying I can of myself do nothing Jesus I can of myself do nothing well con water turn water into wine five loaves two fish raised the dead raised himself while he's dead while he's at it Jesus I can have myself do nothing if Jesus says that what should we say if Jesus says that what should you and I say there's nothing more pathetic you agree with this statement there's nothing more pathetic nothing more sorry let me see somebody in great need and not realizing someone who's in desperate need and think everything is okay wives all over the place are saying yeah like my husband when he want us for directions exactly exact think exactly like that okay somebody who's just driving himself into oblivion but thinks he's got it all under control I usually don't like to share too many stories about my my my children ever since they got older I try not to share too many stories about them but Lizzie will allow me to share this one story because she thinks it's a cool story Lizzie from when she was very young my daughter who's now 12 years old but when she was very young her favorite sentence was by myself by myself okay and she would say with little by myself okay like that by myself you go to ask like she's trying to like let's say peel an orange okay and she's like you know 2 3 whatever it is and you say Lizzie I'll help you by myself by myself do you want any help with anything like tiny learn how to tie your shoes by myself by myself but Kate she's loved everything by myself and I'm saying it's funny and it's cute when it's like three year old 2 year old I think we do the same thing to God I think God laughs at us the same way how many of us that one asked for a show of hands but it's everyone everyone would raise their hand how many of us have something in our life which we try and we try and we try and we like no we got it under control we just need to try a little harder new strategy some like that and we try we try and we fail we fail we fail how many of us eat more than we want to eat and ever you say we're not gonna eat that again I'm not gonna eat that are gonna bug eat and then we eat that again by myself by myself how many of us stay up late when we know we should go to bed how many of us stay at the office longer than we promised we would how many of us make a commitment make a commitment knowing full well we're not gonna keep that commitment knowing full well when we say yes how many of us our tongue a little sharp we want to control it say we're gonna control it we think it's under our control but we never actually do we control a lot less than we realize and the by myself attitude is something I don't think is just our children and if it is our children we know where they learned it from and what I say today based on what Jesus said blessed are the poor in spirit the first step to happiness true happiness the kind that lasts is realizing Who I am and my great need for God we're gonna see three ways that we can practice this practically three ways that we can practice what it means to be poor in spirit that we can acknowledge our dependence on God and not on ourselves the first way as I must humbly admit that I need help humbly admit that I need help I must look in the mirror and say even though it pains me to say I'm not Superman I look like Superman a little bit but I'm not Superman but I need help but I can't do it by myself now I know today 21st century DC metropolitan area young people whatever it may be it's not cool to say I need help from God the cool thing to say is the opposite the cool thing to say is you know I got it on my own I got it covered I'm independent religion is for like the dumb people or the suckers or the people who are weak and they just need that as a crutch that's the cool thing to say and just so you know those who study kind of history okay or kind of go back that's a very recent thing this whole idea that I can get by life without God that's a very recent thing go for thousands and thousands of years and you will see even people had no clue about God realize that they needed God and they thought maybe the son was a God we need to pray to the Sun or the moon or the river of the cows or whatever maybe they may make up a God but this idea that I can live on my own without a god that's a very recent concept and I would say that we as society need to look at the results because if we just look her out I got it on my own that I'm independent that I don't need help depression never been hired suicide never been hired addiction never been higher more broken homes more murders more crime more unhappiness we must acknowledge that I can't do it on my own I can't handle it on my own on my own doesn't work yes we as a society we have more knowledge than ever before but I would say we have less wisdom than ever before I would say that we have more money as people okay as individuals we are more money we have less contentment than we ever have before I would say we have more pleasure but less peace in our lives it's time to admit that on my own doesn't work that I need help that I need someone outside of me I can't do this on my own James chapter 4 verse 6 says God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble humble would be like poor in spirit God gives grace to the humble you know what humility does you know what poverty and spirit does you know what's saying I'm the poor guy with the two dimes in a nickel you know what doing that you know what what happens when you do that you open a door a door is now open you plug in you connect to this big you know the big tanks watered up all up in the up in the sky like those big tanks of water you take a pipe a big pipe and you plug into that and what's in there is not water but it's the grace and the power of God that's why Jesus said blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven because when I'm poor and when I'm helpless and when I say I can't do it on myself then a door to heaven opens and now all of a sudden my life I get the power of heaven and those who are a little bit humble a little bit poor in spirit they have a pipeline like this those who say I got nothing without you they get a big pipeline of grace and power in heaven and the power that comes with it in their lives but you will never find that without being humbled you will never find that without admitting just like you'll never find healing from a doctor unless you say doctor I'm sick you imagine go to a doctrine doctor say what's wrong and be like nothing you guess I'm fine well some of us that way with God pretending like everything is okay and we can do it on our own or we can go around pretending pretending pretending pretending we never find healing poverty and spirit admitting is like a shock back to the doctor analogy a shot kind of stings and no one likes it but in the end it brings healing and we need the same thing we need to admit that we need help we need to admit the life is out of my control I need to admit that like let's be honest I've tried and tried and tried to fix this and I haven't been successful we need to admit that there's certain things that are outside of my control we need to admit when we don't know where we're going and we don't know how to get even if we did know we wouldn't know how to get there and we need to stop it'll always be easier to pretend everything's fine it'll be easier to say I just need to work harder always be easier to say if I just had a better plan or a better strategy it'll always be easier I told y'all this story one time I almost got my family eaten by bears one time when we were taking a hike because I was unwilling to admit that I had no idea what we were going cuz I had no I got her under control whatever it was and we almost got eaten by bears one time it'll always be easier to I'll tell you the story another time it'll always be easier okay to pretend it'll always be better to admit and open the door to healing and power of God in your life and that takes us to our second not number one was to admit that we're sick number two is to humbly ask God for help and if you do number one without number two you didn't really get anywhere to admit to say I'm lost I don't know what I'm doing and then just stop right there I mean that's gonna that's a depressing sermon Jesus didn't come to make us depressed he came to tell us that we're lost and then show us the solution to our lostness he came to say you don't know where you're going and then to say I do know where you're going so come follow me and the second step is to ask God for help one of the most encouraging passages in all of Scripture is a passage from second Corinthians chapter 1 where st. Paul talks about some of his toughest days on this earth where he had some serious struggles inner struggles as well as outer struggles and he says this 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 verse 8 he says we do not want you to be ignorant brethren our trouble which came upon us in Asia that we were burdened beyond measure then Paul was a tough guy for him to say this must have been serious we were burning beyond measure above strength so that we had despaired even of life yes we had the sentence of death in ourselves I don't know about you I find great encouragement hearing st. Paul say this I know that's kind of like a rude thing to say like he was struggling and I'm like yes thank you for struggling but because I know he made it me it's okay but I feel like you know what when I see sin like st. Paul was a strong guy st. Paul one time st. Paul was so strong one time he was stoned to death or at least what they thought was stoned to death the people threw rocks at him and they stopped throwing rocks at him you know why because they thought he was dead they said it's not worth wasting another Rock on a dead guy and they stopped throwing the rocks he lay there dead they went home Saint Paul got up a few minutes later hours later when everyone's shook it off went back into the same sitting did the very thing they told him to stop doing preaching the gospel st. Paul was strong but there was a time where st. Paul said you know what it was above even my strength beyond measure we were burdened had the sentence of death meaning I thought about calling it quits on this life I thought about giving up but next verse we had the sentence of death in ourselves why that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead who delivered us from so great a death and does deliver us and in whom we trust that he will still deliver us past present future who did deliver who still does deliver and we trust that he will continue to deliver st. Paul says we had a sentence of death in ourselves we couldn't do anything about finally that I can't anymore I need help and then I looked up at God when I looked up at God he opened the door he unleashed the Grace and the power of the kingdom of God was unleashed in my life so that God who raises the dead delivered me from death so you can say it this way st. Paul would say to you and I would say to you and you should say to yourself if God can raise the dead if God can raise the dead God can fix my marriage if God can raise a dead person God can raise a dead marriage if God can raise it that person God can raise a dead career if God can raise it that person he can raise a dead dream that's the kingdom of heaven that's the power of God that's the grace of God anyone can bring good from good but the power of God is to bring good from bad and when we are poor in spirit and we admit I need help and then we turn to number 2 and ask God for help and unleashes his power in our life but we must ask now I'll give you a verse say that you can take away and you can walk away with this verse and hold tightly to this verse especially if you're going through a rough time therefore 1st Peter chapter 5 verse 6 and 7 therefore humble yourselves poor in spirit humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that's admit that you need help that he may exalt you in due time casting all your care upon him for he cares for you that's ask God for help all your care if you're taking notes you circle you highlight you bold all all your care all your care means nothing is outside of what you bring to God can you ask God for help with your finances yes can you ask for your health yes can you ask for your relationships yes can you ask for the dumbest of dumbest things well is it what part of all then yes anything no matter how trivial find me anything that's outside of all and I'll flip it the other way around I'll flip it the other way around I'll say this that when you don't pray about those things you don't ask God and basically what you're telling God is do not bother me in this area when I don't prayed about my finances I shut the door for God to work in that area when I don't pray about that little sin that's bothering me then I shut the door forgot to work in that area but I don't pray about why do I feel this resentful inside why does that bother me so much why don't lose my cool when I don't pray about it what I'm saying is God I got this one on my own I will handle this I do not want your help I do not need your help and all the power of heaven is left outside of that area of your problem I think of Jesus with the five loaves and two fish story we all know little boy brought five loaves and two fish to Jesus put in his hand he blessed he broke and he fed 5,000 people Jesus was only going to bless what the boy put in his hands if the boy came with sandwiches in his pockets no blessing if the boy would have hidden it if the boy would have given him like okay here's two but I'm holding on to these other ones no Jesus only blesses what we put in his hand so I ask you what is it in your life hey you're pretending is not a problem and B you're not praying about you're not asking God for help for I'll even take a bigger step have you ever gotten the point in your life have you ever taken the step don't assume you have cuz you may have but you may not have don't assume a lot of people have but a lot of people have and don't assume you ever done the point your life what you said to God you know what God everything I have is in your hands you ever said that you ever prayed that the god I'm gonna hold on anything everything in my life is in your hands you want my career put my career in your hands you lead i phone my relationships i really wanted to be this way like I'm kind of holding on and it should change and heats and change there she should stop and hitch and stop but I put it in your hands you ever done that if not as your friend as your friend I'm telling you that you're limiting your happiness in life not the short-term happiness because when I'm saying actually short-term make you unhappy but it'll give you that happiness within the Jesus offering us they say there's two ways to make a change in life there's two ways to change you either see the light or you feel the heat and a lot of us my advice don't wait for don't wait for the heat to be turned up you know again the expression is sometimes God got to knock you on your back and get you to look up my advice cuz I love you don't wait to get knocked on your back don't wait for the heat to get turned up realize you're the one million debt you got two dimes and a nickel are you utterly helpless without God admit you need help ask God humbly for help and then number three humbly accept help from others this might be the hardest one it's up till now it was like me in my room admit God and I need you God and whatever and I'm saying is open that door and be willing to receive the help of the godsend and the help that God sends is usually from others it's kind of like when people say how come God doesn't heal anymore like Jesus used to heal used to heal he used to heal there's so many healings you know jesus heals just as much as season before called doctors call medicine that's the healing of God and yes before when there was no doctors and there was no medicine then Jesus was the first Doctor Jesus was the first physician and he used to heal now he's like okay the doctors caught up you know I mean I gave them some not they caught up to God but and since then he gave them he's okay I'll let you guys do what I you know what I mean like my hands will get like you guys okay and in the same way that we pray and we say god help us and God we need you did you realize the 9 out of 10 times God will send the healing in the form of another person because we are made in the image of God and God is not in independent god is Trinity God is relationship he's Father Son and Holy Spirit and because we are made in the image of God you and I are not independent of one another we are not we are all connected we're all part of each other part of this thing called a human race and in order for us to find healing we need each other and you say father Anthony I don't want help from anyone else I don't want to admit nothing I don't want nothing from anyone else I say to you I didn't make the rules but my job to make the rules my job to abide by them I'm not I'm not saying that I wired you that way I'm saying God wired us that way and you either abide by the principles God has wired into us or you suffer the consequences but there's no other option st. Paul said there's a verse I didn't put it up on the screen but he said that we being many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another we being many are individually are one body in Christ we are members individually okay but we are members of one another in one body what that means is we don't live in a vacuum the majority of our problems are relational so the majority of the solution is relational as well go back to the Garden of Eden when Adam when everything was good in the Garden of Eden what did Adam say about his wife when everything was good before there was sin what do you say about his wife this is now flesh of my flesh bone of my bones like yeah Romeo that's good stuff flesh of my flesh and bone of my bones and like what's the best nothing better than that after sin entered what'd he say the woman you gave me I see what he did see what sin does disconnect no sin we're one one flesh one body soonest in enters separation her fall not mine individual put a box around me put walls around me she's one who messed things up look what James says in James chapter 5 verse 16 says confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed you know a lot of times we look at this verse and we think it talks about the sacrament of confession and it of course it refers to it in some sense but that's actually not not that not that the essential meaning of it is not talking about confessing to a priest here it's talking about living a lifestyle of accountability and openness and vulnerability with one another it's talking about remove the walls but down the walls the one who wants to find see there's ever seen forgiveness and healing okay you may be able to find forgiveness in your room with your door closed you praying to God are you going the sacrament of confession okay you can find forgiveness but this is not offering forgiveness only the goal is not just to be forgiven the goal is to be heal remember the goal is happy the goal is blessing the goal is joy the only way to find that take down the walls man take down the walls and allow yourself to be ministered to by somebody else yes we need God but God like I said with the doctor example God works through others you say I don't want others that's embarrassing why should I and I'm telling you that's exactly what the devil is gonna tell you he's gonna try to convince you he's going to try to convince you by the way if you say I don't want to talk to others that's embarrassing that's the opposite of foreign spirit okay it's exactly the opposite principle that we're talking about here's humble and poor in spirit he's going to try to convince you that this right here this is not a church this is a courtroom that's what is gonna try to convince you that this is not a hospital but this is a courtroom and if you let down your guard people are gonna judge you he's gonna try to convince you that if you go to your wife or your husband and you are honest and vulnerable if you go to your friends if you go to your parents if you turn to your sister if you do that maybe will judge you do a little mock you people will reject you they will leave you or you know what he may tell you he may tell you might even not even me about others sometimes it's about ourselves he'd say you can't handle opening the door to yourself cuz you emotions in you it's like ah it's like ya don't open that door you won't be able to handle what's gonna come out keep that door shut and I'm telling you all you're doing is locking yourself into a prison of not being happy for the rest of your life Church not a courtroom Kurt churches the hospital Church here not take in the way that a doctor doesn't yell at a sick person what's wrong with you is nobody in the church yells at the sick person we embrace the sick person and we see how we can serve and heal that person that's how God made us so happiness blessing blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven the first rule of the law of happiness Jesus said it's poor in spirit I gave you three ways that you can practice it starting today number one admit that you need help number two ask God for that help number three humbly accept that help when God sends it in the form of other people that's the process and the same way that a sick person will never find healing without admitting without asking and then accepting help a spiritually sick just all of us will also never find healing unless we learn to do those same three steps last thing I'll say and if I can be a little bit blunt I'd be a little bit blunt no choice but a little bit blunt and I say this in love you know that problem that you have that you can't shake you know what it is I can say it if you want but you know what it is you know what the problem is but maybe that habit may be kind of like an addiction but you're gonna want to use the word addictions you say have it maybe that fear maybe that like can't control my tongue that lack of self cannot problem that you have that I can't let go if you know that problem can I be blunt you're never going to get rid of it by yourself sorry you're never gonna get rid of it by yourself and you know that because as the wise saying is if you could have you would have can't so you won't could have you would have can't so you won't at least not on your own but that doesn't mean there isn't a solution the solution is porn spirit the solution is blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the power and the Kingdom of Heaven every one of us today need to go and look at ourselves and be honest I say I'm not Superman I can't do it alone I need help I've been trying I've been pretending I've been acting willpower I can no more I can't then number two I need to open the door for God to work in that area by saying god I know this thing is so dumb and I know I should have solved this by now and I really I really wanted to come to you and say look god I fixed it I told you I'd fix it and look I fixed it I really wanted that by God I can't I need your help and then number three we need to open the door for other people to minister to us and for God's healing to come in the form could be the person sitting right next to you right now could be the person in your house could be the person in your office could be the person up on this stage could be the person sitting behind you doesn't know don't know who's gonna be we need to open the door to God's healing in our lives to other people and that ladies and gentlemen is the first step to happiness and I believe nothing encompasses God's will for your life more than this issue of happy again defining happy the right way if you walked in late and you don't even hear me define happiness you could get messed up I'm talking about the kind of happiness that Jesus spoke about the blessing that long-term happiness CS Lewis believed in it so much it's CS Lewis said that joy is the serious business of heaven I agree with that but Jesus didn't come to watch us go from short-term happy to short-term happy to short-term happy to short-term happy he came do away with all that and say let me give you the water you never thirst again the food that you never hungered will go back to the verse that I showed you in the beginning and I'll leave you with this John 15 verse 11 these things these things that you heard here today these things I have spoken to you but my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full I trust my hope do as well that if we follow what Jesus commanded us we will receive what jesus promised us if we follow what Jesus commanded us poor in spirit will receive what jesus promised us joy that remains let's stand together for a prayer in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit one God amen Heavenly Father we thank you Lord that you haven't left us alone and you don't just watch us kind of butter heads against the wall trying to find happy and joy but you give us a pact not an easy path Lord but a path that you were prescribed and I prayed that you would help me and all my brothers and sisters truly understand what it means to be poor in spirit to stop thinking that we can do it on our own relying on ourselves but to come to you Lord admit we need help ask you for that help and then to be ready to accept that help from whoever you send it you pray Lord that in this series that you would heal us and that you would allow us to find the kind of happiness and joy that you desire for each and every single one of us we ask these things in the mighty name of your son but the prayers of all your saints here says we pray thankfully our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us but deliver us from the evil one in Christ Jesus our Lord for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever amen

Channel: STSA Church

Views: 9,541

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Id: fhOrBcTPMK4

Length: 43min 55sec (2635 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 02 2019