Jesus Teaches on Happiness

Jesus teaches on happiness

When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.    (Mat 5:1-12)

Jesus saw the crowds and went away from them, sat down and waited for His disciple to come to Him. Do the Bible verses that describe the setting have meaning too? Are we to see in this passage some light into who Jesus is, what He is like? I think we are. We see in this first teaching that Jesus lives in such a way as to require His disciple to follow Him, to leave behind their lives and seek to come near to Him. The crowd, the public, were not forbidden to gather with the disciples on this occasion, but it was the disciples, not the crowd, who received instructions from the Lord this day.

Life and experience teach us that we all can hear the Lord, but only those who are willing to heed the Lord can understand. In the days of Jesus, men, teachers and wise leaders did not understand what Jesus was saying, we too miss the truth He speaks because our hearts are not open to receive or obey. 

The moment we choose to humble ourselves and come to where Jesus is, is a critical moment of turning from our own life and seeking the life that He has for us. Sadly, many have dethroned the Lord, requiring Him to pursue us. And yes, God is seeking to save the lost. But the reality is that God seeks by walking away from the crowd, by removing Himself from the setting and providing opportunity for people to leave their life in quest of Him. In finding Him, they find a new life, a great life. But it is required for all disciples to deny themselves and follow Him.

Go to Jesus

The first lesson taught that day on happiness is that we must leave behind our life and follow Him. This is an action that will affect our character and our relationships. Character and relationships are two elements on which the Kingdom of God and thus our salvation are built. God is going to change every aspect of our life. The basic daily rule to following Jesus is a command that is required for every generation and culture.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?   (Mat 16:24-26)

A man’s happiness depends upon what he is in himself.

-          G Campbell Morgan

Jesus teaches in Matthew 5 that happiness comes from your character, not your outward condition. Just as the Bible calls a man to leave his family and cleave to his wife, so we are called to leave the life we had and cleave to Jesus. As radical as it may sound, happiness is not found in fulfillment of the self, but in relationship with God. “Being all that you can be” falls eternally short of eternal joy and happiness. You can gain the whole world and lose your soul, your peace and happiness. So how do we understand and embrace this life loosing transformation?

1.       God is so changing our character, our nature, that apart from Him life is good, but not satisfying. The value, the love, the joy we get from the Father, Son and Holy Spirit outweighs all other delights. God has first place in our hearts.

2.       Through character transformation our old life is so devalued that all the good things, all it’s nobility, ability, talents and accomplishments are as garbage, rubbish, clutter in comparison to living with God. The life God gave us was good, all His creation is. But the good cannot compare with the greatness of knowing God in a daily experiential way.

3.       Our relationship with God becomes more valuable than external conditions, how others treat us or how they value us. Happiness manifest in our daily life through the reality that we are followers of God. As followers we enjoy ongoing cleansing, purification and illumination. The failures and sins of the past are broken, thus cleansing our soul. Our present is joy filled as Christ Jesus purifies and sanctifies our life. Our future is hopeful because we have a close relationship with God who leads us into all truth requiring only our obedience.

4.       Eternity emerges as real and we transfer many of the desires we have now into the age to come. We start to live out the reality that we are eternal beings and our lives have adventure, wonder, joy, happiness, and delights beyond this earthly dimension. The need to succeed now is replace with a fervent desire to obey God. The drives for ambition and success are suppressed and redefined by our relationship with God and His longings. The spirit of competing is dissolved and dismantled as we enjoy living life each day in relationship with God and no longer define or defend ourselves by comparing and contrasting with others.

Jesus taught the first disciples about happiness by moving away from the crowd and waiting for them to gather near Him. He is still doing the same today. I encourage you to move beyond the busyness of life and find a place of loneliness with Jesus. Turn your attention away from yourself and others who may be around and listen to Jesus.

One way you may do this is to read Matthew 5 – 7. See yourself as one of His disciples. Listen to see who Jesus is more than what lesson He is teaching. Allow yourself to believe that He can make you into an entirely different person, that He can totally cleanse you from sin, totally clean your heart and mind, totally instruct you on the path of righteousness for His purpose and goals. I want to encourage you to move away from an educational view of discipleship and toward a coaching mindset. Jesus is coaching you on how to live life, how to play a whole new kind of game. Jesus will speak to you through His words and teachings, not just with information but specific instruction for you. 

Discipleship is not a one size fits all program but words of life from the heart of God to your heart. Have the courage to lose your life, to deny yourself, to seek the one who waits for you.

I know some people get offended with the idea of denying self and personal fulfillment. The people who lived during the life of Jesus on earth often got offended that He was not the person they wanted. Over and over again the disciples went through a re-education process that required them to except the Jesus who walked among then and abandon their ideas about the Messiah. Today people still reject Jesus because He is not what they want. Jesus is patient with their rejection but He will not hinder to move on. Like the bride who lingers to long when the bridegroom is at the door in Song of Songs, we too can hesitate and miss God’s knocking. Every one of us will face the challenge that God is not a God of our own making. God is not our servant even though He has a heart to serve. The basic issue of weather God is made for me or am I made for God is resolved through our character development. Selfish man is made into serving humanity through the work of the Holy Spirit in us. Not desiring to be conformed can be overcome through humility and grace.

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