View from the Pew – The Truth About Happiness, Part Two

Sermon Summary

Q1: What must we stop doing to have happiness?

Q2: What must we start doing to have happiness?

Q3: What is true happiness?

Q4: Can you have a relationship with God and not want to obey Him?

Q5: Can you have a real relationship with God and fail to obey Him?

Q6: Is obeying God the greatest desire of your heart?

Q7: Do you know how to get the greatest desire of your heart to be “delighting” in his laws?

Sermon Summary & Answers

Nathan Ross brought us to part two of his sermon series, The Truth About Happiness. You can read the first sermon summary here from November. He recapped his previous focus on the word “blessed” in Psalm 1:1, which in Hebrew means, “happy is the man.” So, happiness is possible in this life, yes, but how does God say it is possible? Verse one tells us first how NOT to do it. Then verse two, our focus today, tells us how it IS possible to get it.

“Negative goodness is not sufficient to entitle us to heaven. To be no scorner is good—but it is not enough.”

Thomas Watson, a 17th-century Puritan preacher

Are you more known for what you won’t do as a Christian rather than what you will do? If so, then you need to shift gears and be known for what God calls “blessed” and “delighted.” What have you done with all the grace God has given you? Do people see it, feel it…..is it obvious?

Psalm 1
1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.

To be happy, we must stop doing the things God says are bad for us (turn from the world) and start meditating (reading and deeply thinking) about what God tells us to do in scripture. If we are genuinely saved, we will want to do what He tells us to do. It will be the greatest desire of our hearts. Then we will have delight (happiness) that isn’t based on where we are or what we get in life. It will be a real heart/soul connection we have with God as we seek after what is good and pure in His sight.

“It’s hard to have a relationship with God without delighting in his law, his instructions, and his truth. Verse one and two are simply a good way of describing what repentance and faith look like.”

Nathan Ross

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Melissa Strautman

Did you find this quiz and sermon summary helpful? Log on to gccbg.com/blog each week for the latest sermon study guide. Jessica will send the link out in the Midweek church emails. I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Please email me at thepew@gccbg.com.


Answers:

  1. Walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
  2. Meditates day and night on His word
  3. Delight in the law of the Lord
  4. NO
  5. Yes, saved people fail. They feel terrible for what they’ve done and fall to their knees in grief over having sinned against a holy God. God then restores them with forgiveness, and the saint/sinner prays for the Lord to “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
  6. Only you can answer that.
  7. Two ways: pray and ask God to increase your desire for Him and talk to one of our elders today. Set up a meeting. They can and will walk you through this.