“THE HIGHWAY TO HAPPINESS.”
TEXT: Isaiah 40:3-5
“Make straight [b]in the desert a highway for our God-Make a place Every VALLEY shall be exalted, And every MOUNTAIN and hill brought low. The CROOKED places shall be made [c]straight, and the ROUGH places smooth.”
What is something that most people in America are looking for? Acceptance, encouragement, kindness, joy, anointing, love, peace. Let’s go to the conclusion: HAPPINESS. All these things aid in producing happiness. Happiness doesn’t produce love, but love can produce happiness. Happiness doesn’t produce peace, but peace can produce happiness.
HAPPINESS IS THE ULTIMATE GOAL.. Happiness can come and go. Love stays, peace can stay, salvation stays, joy stays, ultimately…..peace can be a contributor to Happiness. When you lose your happiness, you don’t feel like you have peace. When you lose your happiness, you don’t feel loved. Ultimately…we want to get to the place that our feelings are a manifestation of our SPIRITUAL WALK.
We want to talk about how to go in that direction. No one will be happy all the time because Happiness is a human emotion. Human emotions on the best day are not stable. Often, not trustworthy and predictably finicky.
-Some people’s emotions are less stable than others, but everyone can become more stable. Hopefully, over the journey of life, we become more stable. Maybe not as STABLE as an ultra-stable person, but certainly more stable than the fragmented, unstable, disassociated person that I used to be.
There is a massive difference between EMOTIONS & feelings. Vs. Wisdom & Discernment.
–Heaven is going to be a happy place. No sickness, no sorrow, no crying.
What most people want is a little bit of heaven now, a little bit of the sweet by and by in the nasty now and now.
We would like to have some right now. That’s OK. Jesus didn’t say I will be, He said, “I AM.” The question usually isn’t – do you want to be happy?
There are always a few people who have decided not to be happy. They have made a decision to be oppressed, repressed, depressed, possessed all their life because that is where they get their identification. They have decided that’s where I want to live.
Most people would like to be happy. If that isn’t in your heart.
Then see John Earl Wells, after service, he can get you delivered from yourself.
The unholy trinity (ME-MYSELF AND I) is the worst thing to deal with.
“WAYS TO DEAL WITH SELF.”
HOW DO YOU MASTER HAPPINESS? You have to deal with self-
The scripture tells us, “He must increase, and I must decrease.” Luke 9:23
If we truly believe all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, then it’s very natural to embrace the concept that one of the primary principles of Christianity is “self-denial.”
It is difficult to embrace a healthy spirituality without denying yourself and dealing with emotional instability.
1. DEAL WITH SELF-EXALTATION. We lift ourselves up. The unchristian & very human way is to lift ourselves up in order to feel better about what we are, what we do, and who we are. Self-Exaltation has slid in under the gospel of “Who I am in Christ.” Being identified in Christ doesn’t mean that I think less of who I am, but it doesn’t mean we lift ourselves up to think they are better than others.
ILLUS.: “Who I am. I am this, I am that.” Unless you are in Christ unless you know Jesus unless you have your name written in the lamb’s book of life. Unless your sins are forgiven unless you are going to heaven. YOU ARE NOT SOMEBODY.
The record of our life and who we are will one day become non-existent as we stand before God. God wants us to become somebody. You can be in HIM.
Saying to yourself, 100’xs a day, “I am a good person.” Will not change your life. It may change your viewpoint, but it won’t change your life. FAITH WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE-Matthew 23:12
ILLUS.: Most people look back at the personal experience and say, ‘I humbled myself there, and it worked out.” “I didn’t realize what I was doing, but I guess I thought too highly of myself, and they told me to “shut up and sit down.”
-We have all thought, “This is really going to impress.” “You go into your diatribe, and people say, “WHO ARE YOU?” Why are you talking? We didn’t ask you to talk. Please be quiet. I have done both of those things.
When you are in the right spirit, you will usually say & do the right thing. When you are not in the right spirit…you will get all discombobulated. Yes that is a word. (CONFUSED)
ILLUS.: We have all thought things like: “I am better than this. God wants me to do more. How come people don’t recognize my gifts.” He must increase, and I must decrease. There are things that God must place you in. When you lift yourself up …..It’s you doing it…….rather than God…..
-When you try to exalt yourself because you think you are better than someone else, you create resentment in other people’s lives. It is fairly easy to discern when someone is detached. (Eye is the light of the body)
If you wait on the Lord, He will exalt you, but if you exalt yourself. God will humble you, and you will end up in places where you shouldn’t be. Many people have blamed others, family, pastors for their lack of promotion. The problem was you thought too highly of yourself, and shot yourself in the foot because you complained about others, and put them down, and people don’t like to be around negative complaining people.
LET GOD EXALT YOU – HIS WAY IS THE HIGHWAY OF HAPPINESS
2. DEAL WITH SELF-INDULGENCE. You can make yourself feel good at the expense of others. Matthew 23:25-26 You look like a Christian, you talk like a Christian, you smell like a Christian, but there is self-indulgence. I BELIEVE GOD WANTS us to be blessed. I believe that God wants us to have life and have it more abundantly. THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT HAVE ENTERED CHRISTIANITY THAT ARE DISTRACTIONS TO THE MESSAGE OF CHRIST.
- I have been concerned for some time about the “Over-Emphasis” of exalting personalities in the church, and the increasing demand of making of everyone comfortable in the body of Christ.
- I am concerned about the excess and opulence displayed in Christianity. There has been self-indulgence in the ministry-It sends a bad message.
- Manipulation of monies: I have never done this, and I never will. I truly don’t like to talk about money. It’s not really in me. We all know things take money. I TOLD THE LORD if the 51-highway property is God’s will, it’s his bill. (NOT TRITELY)
ILLUS.: “If you give this amount of money, God will give you a 10, 33, 100-fold return. I think the scripture deals with obedience rather than giving money. In your obedience, I will bless you. People do that because people who are needy are manipulatable and will often respond to certain appeals to try and catch the moment. Everyone wants to invest little but reap a lot. God will bless you, but that isn’t the way the kingdom works.
-The Kingdom of God #1 is about souls. Whatever we do for God, it is all about people coming to the saving knowledge of Jesus. “Marvel not, you must be born-again.”
-Jesus gives the Pharisees 7 Woes. He tells them about 7 judgments that would come to them – because they cared more about who they were, and what they were. They used people who were poor to get what they wanted. God keeps score of all that. I want us to treat each other with kindness, patience, and respect-That is God’s highway for happiness.
3. DEAL WITH SELF-PROMOTION. James 3:16
The Bible says where self-seeking exist, you will find confusion and disorder. When people try to make a place for themselves in the body of Christ where they haven’t been assigned, it always creates division. When people AIM for a target that God didn’t give them, it creates unnecessary movement away from God’s plan and purpose for someone’s life.
ILLUS.: Personally, I don’t care if I ever preach or teach at another Church. I happy fulfilling my calling right here at ROL. I am not needing to speak somewhere else to feel complete. It really isn’t important to me. I am the happiest and contented sitting in worship at ROL. I am blessed to be here, and I truly enjoy being here.
1. I would extend this thought to include being unnecessarily involved in someone’s life for the wrong reasons. People worry too much about what other people think. People worry too much about what other people say. Be careful trying to defend yourself or others at every turn. One of the hardest things to do is let your children walk on their own 2 feet and learn the hard lessons of life.
-Some people have a RESCUE MENTALITY, and they want to save everybody from everything. I tried that-it doesn’t work. There is only 1 savior, and we are not Him. Being involved with everyone in everything doesn’t make you more spiritual, it just makes you more involved.
2. In a day when everyone is looking for something new, exciting, easy, and uncomplicated. -I would encourage you to be careful. Whenever people get away from the vision of the local church, you will find that there are practices and beliefs that create confusion, questions, and misinformation. Beware of the false. How will you know? Matthew 7:15 – By the fruit. If they talk about themselves more than God…….there is a problem. If they about everyone else, there is a problem.
LET GOD TEACH YOU ABOUT YOU, AND FIND GOD’S HIGHWAY OF HAPPINESS.
4. DEAL WITH SELF-IMPOSEMENT. People force things. People try to make things happen. People force the issue.
Forcing an issue will make the answer NO. Creating chaos or manipulating relationships for the sake of an opinion will create animosity. -I have forced things…and it is not good. II Peter 2:10
-Being Self-Willed is so detrimental to Effective Ministry: “Obstinately doing what one wants in spite of the wishes or orders of others.” How many have self-willed children? Grandchildren.
**I have been greatly concerned with the over-pre-occupation of the church’s preponderance with non-biblical issues. **We have to be careful about being connected to things that have nothing to do with the Cross, the Bible, or the Blessed Hope. When people impose themselves, they interject themselves into a situation because that is what they want.
ILLUS.: You’re talking to somebody and they are not respecting the social distance. Some people impose themselves into your face. You have crossed the line, back up bro. When I can count your nose-hairs, and smell what you had for lunch, you’re too close.
*If someone doesn’t want to talk, just leave them alone. Don’t take a hammer and hit a nuclear warhead, just to see if it still works. People are different. Let the Holy Spirit deal with things. Who cares that someone is different than you, that’s the uniqueness of the body of Christ.
ILLUS.: I love the differences in the body of Christ. I am traditional in my soul. If it was up to me, I would probably buy 15 pairs of the same slacks (odd word) 15 of the same shirts. 15 of the same shoes and wear the same thing every day. (Is anybody else with me?) It just isn’t important. Why? It’s easier. It takes less brainpower.
ILLUS.: I told Bonnie this yesterday. She said just remember that PEE-WEE Herman wears the same stuff every day. I said, “So did Albert Einstein. Just call me Albert. Well, you do have white hair.
-Be yourself. Don’t push yourself onto others. Allow God to graft you into the body of Christ. Everyone is uniquely you.
Galatians 5:22-23
5. DEAL WITH SELF-PUNISHMENT. This goes to the heart of a lot of issues. Some people sinned 40 years ago, and they still won’t get over it. Colossian 2:21-23
Q- Anybody ever been really really sick and you told God that you would stop drinking coffee and Diet Pepsi? OK, God, I won’t watch CNN
-Some people try to get God to like them by doing Penance again and again. God already likes you, in fact, He loves you. Romans 10:9-10
-People have fasted to impress God rather than get close to God. People will ask other people to forgive them 20x’s. Why? They can’t forgive themselves Usually, if you can forgive yourself, you can forgive others. Guilt does not bring you into an encounter with GRACE. Godly sorrow does. Guilt brings you to the place where you just HATE YOURSELF.
-I can tell you that many people struggle with forgiving themselves. Once you decide that you’re not God, then you can forgive yourself. To not forgive yourself is to commit the same sin as Eve in the garden when she ate of the forbidden FRUIT.
-YOU CANNOT MAKE YOUR WILL EQUAL TO GOD’S WILL.
If God says you are forgiven, then you must forgive yourself. Accept God’s grace, move on and find God’s highway of happiness. GUILT DOES NOT PRODUCE FORGIVENESS.
WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT
-SELF……..EXALTATION, -INDULGENCE, -PROMOTION, -IMPOSEMENT, -PUNISHMENT. What does that have to do with Happiness? A lot of things. This next one is the key to CONTROLLING THE other 5.
6. DEAL WITH THE LACK OF SELF-CONTROL. Self-control is a FRUIT of the Spirit. Learn to control yourself. “Well, my control mechanism doesn’t match my temptation fact test. Some can control themselves in 1 area, and they can’t in another. I don’t have a lot of self-control when it comes to chips. I love eating salty things at night. A big bag of RUFFLES…, sour cream dip, nacho cheese. Why? – “Because these are the Lord’s chips.” If there is a bag of chips in my pantry, I promise you I will find it. That is not right.
ILLUS.: “Hot” sign, at Crispy Kreme, you don’t have to turn in. Your car can find the entrance. No one has self-control in every area. It is a maturity issue.
- EXALT SELF-FRUIT ISSUE. 2. INDULGE SELF-FRUIT ISSUE
- PROMOTE SELF-FRUIT ISSUE. 4. MPOSE SELF-FRUIT ISSUE
- PUNISH SELF- FRUIT ISSUE
SELF-CONTROL IS A FRUIT-THIS ONE- THERE IS NO LIMIT. If you want to experience the highway to Happiness. You will need some SELF-CONTROL in YOUR JOURNEY. Everyone in this room has a handicap. If you focus on your handicap, you will use all your energy to focus on what you can’t do rather than pursuing an answer.