↓Audio link to the sermon:(Sunday worship recording)
(If you can’t listen on your iPhone, please update your iOS)
Today I wanna share with you about “happiness.” Let me ask you a question. When do you feel happy? When can you say “Ah~ I’m so happy”? Me? When I go to Sento(銭湯) or go to Onsen(温泉), I am so happy. Especially, the moment I get into the bath, I say, “Ah~ I feel so happy!” Other than that… In my case… As soon as I wake up in the morning, I go to 7-Eleven. And I buy a large coffee(L size), and take a sip of coffee, saying, “Ah, I feel so happy.” Once again, I wanna ask you the same question. When do you say, “Ah~ I’m so happy”? When do you feel a sense of happiness? Never? Always sad?
Ecclesiastes 7:14 says, “When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.”
As Christians, we can see that there are good times and bad difficult times in life. We have both in our lives. The Bible tells us to rejoice when life goes well. Brothers and sisters! Be happy when things go well with you. Rejoice when good things keep happening to you.
This means that we should not say things like, “I wonder how long this happiness will last. I’m worried.” The Bible teaches us to just be happy when good things happen to us. And the Bible also advises us to ponder upon hardships that we are going through. Brothers and sisters, are you in good times now? Or in bad times now?
Unfortunately, good and happy things do not always happen to me. What about you? Did anything good happen to you last week? Typically, I have two good days, two bad days, and the other three days are so-so. What about you? Is every week a series of good days? Or is every week a series of difficult days? Or is every week kind of like a mixture of good days, bad days, and so-so days?
We all pursue happiness. We as Christians also want to be happy. Don’t you think so? The desire to become a happy person is very natural for humans. If so, what kind of person can we say is a happy person? Roughly speaking, we can say that we are happy people if we can eat what we want, if we can buy what we want, and if we can go where we want to go, and if we can do whatever we want.
In general, we think that people who live comfortably without any problems or stress are happy people. So, we try our best to become happy people.
Now, let me summarize what ordinary people say about happy people into three things.
First, if someone is not ill, if someone is healthy, then we would say that he is a happy person. Right? To live happily, we make a lot of effort to avoid getting sick. We work out. We eat healthy foods for our bodies. Sometimes, we go on a diet.
Especially, we try to quit drinking and smoking.
Secondly, if someone doesn’t need to worry about money because he has a lot of money, then we would say that he is a happy person. Right? To live happily, we try our best to make a lot of money. We want to become doctors or lawyers who would make good money. We study hard to work with a large company. We also start businesses. Why? It is because we believe that having a lot of money can make us happy.
Thirdly, if someone has no problems in human relationships, we would say that he is a happy person. Right? To live happily, we try to get along with other people like parents, siblings, friends, teachers, co-workers, bosses, and so on.
As a missionary and pastor, I also want to live happily without any problems or stress. I also want to be in good shape. To be honest with you, I want to have a lot of money. And I don’t want to have any problems in relationships with others.
Brothers and sisters, if these things are called “happiness,” are you happy people?
Are you healthy and not worried about money, but are having problems with your relationships and feeling a little unhappy?
Or, are you healthy and having no problems with your relationships, but are having a hard time with financial difficulties?
Or do you feel unhappy because you have enough money and good relationships, but you have health issues?
Or are you enjoying the happiest life ever, with good health, lots of money, and no relationship problems? Are you?
Or are you in the worst situation where you’re sick, financially struggling, and have a lot of relationship problems? Are you?
Anyway, we always struggle with at least one of these problems. We believe that when all of these problems are solved, we will become happy.
Brothers and sisters! What does the Bible say about happiness? What kind of person does Jesus say is a happy person? In the sermon on the mount, there are eight types of happy persons.
In today’s passage, Jesus gives a sermon on the mountain. We call this sermone “the Sermon on the Mount.” The Sermon on the Mount is also called “Eight Beatitudes.” Beatitudes mean beautiful attitudes toward people and life. Jesus teaches us about eight types of people who live happy lives. They live happily because they have beautiful attitudes toward people. They also have beautiful attitudes towards life. They are truly happy people.
Jesus begins his sermon with the words, “Blessed” “Blessed” means “happy” or “joyful.” Jesus teaches us that these eight types of people are truly happy.
So, let’s study about truly happy people one by one. There are a total of eight, but since time is limited today, I will only mention two kinds. And we will study the remaining six kinds next month.
The first happy person is… “The poor in spirit.” Jesus is saying that the poor in spirit are happy people. “To be poor in spirit” means to be spiritually poor and always in need of God. It refers to a person who absolutely cannot live without God and a person who relies only on God. In a sense, the poor in spirit are rich toward God. This is because the more we know God, the poorer we become spiritually. We end up feeling like we need God more. So, these people always come to God humbly.
No one likes being poor. In particular, when we become materially poor, our lives become unstable and uncomfortable. That is why we struggle to escape poverty. We try our best to make a lot of money. Unfortunately, having more money distances you and me from God. Rather than relying on God, we become dependent on money. We try to solve everything with money.
Life always asks us, “Would you choose money? Or would you choose God?” “Would you trust and rely on money? Or would you believe in and rely on God?” Brothers and sisters, will you choose money? Or will you choose God? Or will you choose both? I believe you all know the answer.
The most ideal thing would be to be poor in spirit even though you have a lot of money… It’s not easy. Anyway, Jesus says that people who are spiritually poor are happy. Jesus teaches us that people like this are the ones who own heaven.
The second happy person is… Jesus is saying that those who mourn are happy people. The word “mourn” here does not refer to the sadness we feel when someone dies, but to mourning over our own sins, the sins of our neighbors, and the sins of our community.
In general, we do not grieve when we sin. We do not feel sad because our family and friends have sinned. Moreover, our community and our nation do not cry because they have sinned.
But, when our hearts are filled with God, our hearts are filled with the Holy Spirit, and our hearts are filled with truth, we react very sensitively to sin. As a result, we confess our sins and repent.
Jesus says that people who cry while repenting of their sins, are happy people. Jesus gives great blessings to such people. Jesus comforts these people and changes their sadness into joy. Are you mourning over your sins? You are happy people. You will certainly receive comfort from God.
I’m gonna end my sermon here today. Next month, we will talk about the remaining six types of happy people. I hope and pray you all will live happily. I want you to be happy people. Let us pray.
(If you can’t hear from the bar above, click the blue button)
iPhone
日本語