“Happiness is not found by direct pursuit. Rather, it is a by-product of a different pursuit.”
Sermon #5: HAPPINESS: THE BY-PRODUCT OF A DIFFERENT PURSUIT
Sermon Series: SOUL SHIFTS
Scripture Text: Psalm 1
Sermon Notes:
PSALMS 1:1-6 NIV
1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
PSALMS 1:1 NIV
1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
“Happiness is not found by direct pursuit. Rather it is a by-product of a different pursuit.”
I. WHAT THE HAPPY PERSON DECLINES
PSALMS 1:1 NIV
1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
- Thinking (counsel) – Walking
- Behaving (lifestyle) – Standing
- Belonging (fellowship) – Sitting
“You don’t win the lost by living like the lost.”
“It is a good thing when the boat is in the water; it’s a bad thing when the water is in the boat.”
a. SOURCE OF INFLUENCE: PEOPLE
PROVERBS 12:26 NIV
26 A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
PROVERBS 22:24-25 NIV
24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered, 25 or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:33 NIV
33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
“The friends you choose, the company you keep determines to some extent the way that you live, your lifestyle, your behavior.”
b. SOURCE OF INFLUENCE: CULTURE
PSALMS 1:1 NIV
1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
“The happy man of Psalm 1 stands apart. And if necessary, he stands alone.”
II. WHAT THE HAPPY PERSON DELIGHTS
PSALMS 1:2 NIV
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
“The only hope against the pleasures of the world is the pleasures of the Word.”
PSALMS 1:2 NIV
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
“The picture of meditation is not just on reading the Scripture but on being fed by Scripture.”
JEREMIAH 15:16 NIV
16 When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty.
“The evidence that we belong to God, that we have been made righteous through faith in Christ, is that we have an appetite for God’s Word.”
“delighted devotion”
“The happy person’s priorities are known in what he/she DECLINES and in what he/she DELIGHTS.”
SHIFT #1. UNPLUG & REST.
“When you don’t get rest where you should, you’ll look for it where you shouldn’t.”
GENESIS 2:2-3 NIV
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
“Rest is more than just a day like the Sabbath. It’s a way of being.”
FOUR REMINDERS WHEN YOU REST – (from Pete Scazzero)
1. Stop.
2. Rest.
3. Delight.
4. Contemplate.
SHIFT #2. PRACTICE BIBLICAL MEDITATION.
“The sad truth is, many approach the Scriptures more like reading a newspaper or a textbook, than like reading a love letter.”
1 SAMUEL 3:10 NIV
10 The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
THREE REMINDERS IN BIBLICAL MEDITATION
1. We approach Scriptures to hear God speak to us.
2. We must be unhurried and make time.
3. We reflect and respond.
PSALMS 1:6 NIV
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
“It is not as important that we know God as it is that he knows us.”
2 TIMOTHY 2:19 NIV
19 Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”
“The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts.” — The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer