Are you Happy? ( Bible Study) why me Lord https://youtube/watch?v=mBADk6dmGMI Hold On https://youtube/watch?v=Le-3MIBxQTw seven angels https://youtube/watch?v=x8A9Y1Dq_cQ Soul Singing https://youtube/watch?v=x8A9Y1Dq_cQ Please read the Word of God. Ecclesiastes 3 Amplified Bible (AMP) 3 To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven: 2 A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted, 3 A time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build up, 4 A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, 6 A time to get and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away, 7 A time to rend and a time to sew, a time to keep silence and a time to speak, 8 A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. 9 What profit remains for the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the painful labor and exertion and miserable business which God has given to the sons of men with which to exercise and busy themselves. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy], yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to be glad and to get and do good as long as they live; 13 And also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God. 14 I know that whatever God does, it endures forever; nothing can be added to it nor anything taken from it. And God does it so that men will [reverently] fear Him [revere and worship Him, knowing that He is]. 15 That which is now already has been, and that which is to be already has been; and God seeks that which has passed by [so that history repeats itself]. 16 Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice there was wickedness, and that in the place of righteousness wickedness was there also. 17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time [appointed] for every matter and purpose and for every work. 18 I said in my heart regarding the subject of the sons of men, God is trying (separating and sifting) them, that they may see that by themselves [under the sun, without God] they are but like beasts. 19 For that which befalls the sons of men befalls beasts; even [in the end] one thing befalls them both. As the one dies, so dies the other. Yes, they all have one breath and spirit, so that a [a]man has no preeminence over a beast; for all is vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility)! 20 All go to one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. 21 Who knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the beast, whether it goes downward to the earth? 22 So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his portion. For who shall bring him back to see what will happen after he is gone? Good evening, I was moved to give a Bible study about happiness. And as lighthearted as this may sound, happiness is very much important, to each and everyone of our lives. For example; people who suffer from depression can spend their entire lives chasing happiness. I have been told repeatedly, over the past few days, that wealth and the possession of things, beings happiness. Yet recent studies show, that it is the lower classes that are happier than the upper classes. What is this happiness that we chase? Do we chase it? Does it simply come? Is it just a state of being? Some do chase it, sadly these are the ones, that miss the point of happiness. With the people that chase it there is always something else to be done. Kind of like earning your Grace, there is always another work to be done. And it can be said of both, you are either happy, youre either in Grace or youre not. And nothing you can do can change that. What did you think of the songs tonight? Those that cared to listen. I picked them very specifically, I opened with; Why Me Lord does that song sound happy? Or does it sound in disbelief? Kind of like happiness, what you need can be right there given to you, but you are living in disbelief of it because of your past. So you cannot accept Grace and you cannot accept happiness. When youre living in yesterday. I would surmise this is why the Christ said, no man worthy of the kingdom, puts his hand to the plow and looks back. Lets look at the next song, what does it say? Hold on. Well what are you holding on too? God does not call you to hold on to sadness. God does not call you to hold on to what you can do yourself. If had listened to the song, you would know you are holding on for a better day. A happy day. Why isnt today happy? Did you read the verses? Theres a season for everything. If your not in the season of happiness, then hold on, as fall goes into winter as winter goes into spring, its coming. So the seasons are going to roll whether you recognize it or not. Now you can stay in fall your entire life, wishing spring would come, but you have to move forward to get to spring. Thats happiness. Now preacher man, how is that happiness? Did you read what I just said? We move forward, happiness like sadness is an emotion. The wise man controls his emotions, no matter the season. The wise man, is happy in days of plenty and in days of need. Now you may ask me, how is this? Ive already explained this, happy and sad is your emotion, the ways of the world will come and go with the seasons. Last night, the Ole Miss Rebels had a great football victory. I was happy. Could not I have been just as happy without football? Sure. A football game triggered an emotion. And the win and the loss of a football team, is just a season. My mind, used this football game, to induce happy! Thus the emotion, God tells us, our emotions betray us. All to often we make decisions on emotion. This is how humans work. Yesterday, I was researching the best course of events on a new phone plan. Now in my research I came up with a deal and all I had to do is pay the sales tax on Galaxy S5s for the family, very nice phones. That made me happy, but the sales tax on three phones, even though we had the money to pay it, was a foolish expense to pay off the cuff. Yall know Im a conservative. It may not be a lot to a lot of people, but I dont care how happy I was, you tell me to drop 180 unexpected dollars, even though I have it, Im not gonna do it until I budget it. And Im happy. Now the stuff chasers would have bought them damn phones. And on Wednesday morning, when their battery went down in their car and they couldnt get to work, theyd have a nice phone, buying a new battery and no lunch for two weeks and unhappy with their new phone, cause their ass is hungry. Now I can be happy with a phone or I can be happy with budgeting the phone. The seasons of life are coming and going, no matter which one I pick. Thats real right there, yall, thats God. God tells you not to be foolish, God tells you, good times are gonna come and go. God tells you to be stable through it all, cause He is with you. So as we can see, it doesnt matter what Jimmy Jane says, doesnt matter how much stuff we have, doesnt matter how much money we have, we are seasoned in season and out. Now this is a strange teaching to the world. In fact it is so odd, if you dont have the Holy Spirit, youre not gonna get a word I said. But I promise you, every word I said, you can find in your Bible. In closing, people will attack you. Stuff will attack you. Money will attack you. None of that matters, the happiest person on earth worries not for any of those three things. It was once said, if they your friend, it doesnt matter what you drive or what kind of shoes you wear. Now Im gonna be honest, Im a simple kind of man. If I won the lottery tomorrow, the only thing that would change would be the bottom line of my check book and my address. My address would only change as I want to live on the land that I hunt on. Id still have beans and cornbread for supper. Id still think grilling pork chops was a great event. And come Thanksgiving, I would still smoke one ham and one turkey breast. Because Im happy. Im happy if the money is earned or won. The seasons of my life come and go. It really doesnt matter, emotions are just a distraction. A mindset of an extreme, one way or another. Emotions are not decision makers. Nor are they the reality of your life. So are you happy? Yes if you want to be. If you want to ride the wind of emotion, you might be for a day, but only for a day. Like the wind, emotions change directions constantly. All I can do, is give you the facts of the matter. Its up to you to be happy. Good day. https://youtube/watch?v=smZwG-auxC8
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 20:34:38 +0000