As Happy As You Think You Are, Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, then you're pretty much as happy as you think you are. Now for so many of you, you say, well, I don't understand that because I'm not happy and I really want to be.

I don't think so because you have that capacity. You see, we're all addicted to thinking, all of us. Even those of us that we look on with suspicion, they still think all the time. You see, the question is never, are you thinking?

The question is always, what are you thinking? Thank you for joining us today on this edition of Fellowship in the Word with Pastor Bill Gebhardt. Fellowship in the Word is the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible Church located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now as once again, he shows us how God's word meets our world. The entire world is on a journey.

Seven and a half billion people who cannot delay the trip. All of us are being pulled by the most unbreakable law in the universe, the unrelenting tractor beam of entropy. In other words, we're all going to die.

This journey cannot be denied. It has a myriad of explanations. Some religions teach that life is a cycle and at the end of which you sort of drop into a hopper. And then you're spit out again and do another lap. Others in our culture think simply that your life ends, you dissolve into a pointless, painless oblivion.

Where worms eat your carcass. The prevailing view among our universities and colleges, which is existential, has that kind of grim view of life. I found this quote from an existential philosopher this week, his view of all life. Nothingness had a seizure spawned in an absurd, an absurd universe in one massive cosmic accident.

It fills all of us with pain and will flicker out again, ending the farce. I don't know how you get up every morning, face the day and think it's going to be a good day with that. There is an obstacle, though, to that kind of thinking. His name is Jesus. He has a very different view. He says the journey will be linear, not cyclical. He says that it's a journey that he will take with you. He intervenes in history, creating and redeeming and sustaining. He said, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me shall never die.

He promises to take you safely home. When you really think about that, shouldn't that have a profound effect on you? Of all people, how could we not be happy?

We have the answer and solution to the most critical, painful, threatening, scary questions that all humanity faces. And yet for many of us, that's not the way we are. I realize that all of us take our journey on our own road.

I get that. And we talk among ourselves. And when you talk to so many Christians, when they describe their life, they use words like disappointed and distressed and tired. The bills are winning out against the income. We worry about our parents or our children or our grandchildren.

We're afraid we can't afford retirement or college. What it comes down to for many of you, you feel that you're so distracted. You have so many things going on that you really can't be happy.

We feel our mind is so full that there's no room in it for happiness. By the way, that's a mistake on every level, even on the science level. I'd read a couple of weeks ago that you can think twelve hundred words a minute.

That means you can think 20 words a second. It's hard to believe from where I stand. But you know what that means? There's room.

There's room in your mind to be happy. Bring your Bibles to Proverbs chapter twenty three. Proverbs chapter twenty three. We're going to look at half of one verse to start. A profound thing. We're in a series of messages.

This is the final one. On what makes you happy. And the first time I said that what makes you happy is much more about a who than a what. And I said that if you would bathe yourself in the grace of God every day. And that you would every day express your thanks and your gratitude for the blessings of God in your life.

That would certainly contribute to you being happy. Then I said the second time that what we need to do is we need to approach every single day as the day. This is a day that the Lord has made and we should rejoice and be glad in it. We should pray more and want less.

And the last time the challenge was simply this. You can only be as happy as God intended you to be by giving your life away. That's the way we're designed as people. But I want to say something more about that because happiness is completely an inside job.

And I actually believe it really occurs between your ears. Notice verse 7 of Proverbs 23 just the first half of the verse what Solomon says. You are what you think more than you think you are. That's who you are. That's kind of an interesting perspective.

In other words I would say it maybe this way. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ then you're pretty much as happy as you think you are. Now for so many of you you say well I don't understand that because I'm not happy and I really want to be.

I don't think so. Because you have that capacity. You see we're all addicted to thinking. All of us.

Even those of us that we look on with suspicion. They still think all the time. You see the question is never are you thinking. The question is always what are you thinking?

What's going on in your head? Your thinking determines your outlook on life. It determines your emotions.

It determines your attitudes. Dr. Chris Thurman a Christian psychiatrist who wrote a book called The Lies We Believe. And it's been out for many years. An excellent book. And he said we really need to be careful about the thoughts that we entertain. And remember one quote he had in the book the first time I read it I wrote it down.

Don't allow a nickel event to get assigned a $5,000 reaction. Boy so many of us would learn from that. But basically what he says is we think certain lies. Because we think those lies we never become happy.

Let me give you some examples. How about self lies? I must have everyone's love and approval. If that's the case in your life you're probably not happy. It's easier to avoid problems than to face them.

I can't be happy unless things go my way. Self lies. Marital lies. It's all your fault. If it takes hard work we must not be right for each other.

You can and should meet all my needs. I shouldn't have to change. Marital lies. Distortion lies. This is the end of the world. Things are never going to change. Worldly lies. You can have it all.

You're only as good as what you do. Life should be easy. Life should be fair. People are basically good. Worldly lies. And even religious lies he writes. God's love must be earned. God hates sin and the sinner. And one I hear often. Because I'm a Christian God will protect me from any suffering and pain.

In other words there's something wrong with our thinking. And the Bible anticipates that. Go with me now to Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12 in the New Testament. Romans 12 to the end of the book is the application of all the truths in Romans 1 through 11. Specifically all the truths between Romans 1 and the end of chapter 8. In those chapters you find out how does a person get right with God? How is a person saved?

And also what are the resources we have after we are saved? Especially the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Then in 9, 10 and 11 he diverts and talks about Israel. And in chapter 12 verse 1 he uses the word therefore to start the whole applicational section. And by doing that what Paul was saying is this.

There's one thing you got to get right before you do all the behavioral things. And we're going to see what that is in a moment. He says therefore I urge you brethren by the mercies of God to present your bodies. That means your lives. To present your lives a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship.

In other words there has to be a moment in your life as a believer that you basically say I'm all in. You see I'm in. I'm going to go. I'm going to present myself.

You have my life. But then he says this. And do not be conformed to this world. It's kind of interesting J.B. Phillips the great Greek scholar in his paraphrase of the New Testament. He paraphrases this little phrase as saying do not let the world squeeze you into its mold.

Now he's telling that to believers. Do not let the world squeeze you into its mold. He said but be transformed.

Now that's the word metamorphosis. In other words stop. Stop being a caterpillar. Become a butterfly. You see.

But how. The next phrase. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. The renewing of your mind. Renewing that's an interesting word. I've got to start over so that you may prove what the will of God is that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

What an interesting thing to say. I've got to renew my mind. That's where we often fail as Christians. I'll tell you how long I've been teaching this. When I started teaching this the analogy that I used is that in our mind we have a cassette.

OK. We have a cassette. The cassette is the way you think about everything. The way you talk. The way you treat people. The way you see the world.

Everything. And then you become a believer. And God places another cassette in your mind. This one though is empty.

All this has is the gospel of Jesus Christ. And you say I believe that. Then I moved on by the way to CDs and now we have dual hard drives.

OK. But that's all you have in your mind. And what ends up happening is if you don't fill up that new hard drive. You're going to rely completely on the old hard drive. And you're going to see your life and think about life just the way you did before you became a Christian. Now the idea is I not only have to fill the new cassette, the new CD or that new hard drive up.

I have to fill it with the right information. But eventually if I do it becomes my default. You'll notice that as a Christian when you were first a Christian or even now for many of you I'm sure. How many times have you reacted and said something and then afterwards said wow was that stupid. I should have not done that. I should have not said that. Why did you do it? Why did you say it old hard drive?

You see my old hard drive would be like this. Hey if you push me I'll push you back. I didn't start it. You push me. You push me I push you back. Find that in scripture. You see what does Jesus say? He says turn the other cheek. What did Paul say?

Let no unkind word come from your mouth. You see how this works. So eventually when I know those two things I say you know I should have done better. But as I continue to renew my mind it becomes my default. One of the things my wife said to me over all the years is she said you always do the right thing eventually. You see that's the mind deal.

He says that's what has to happen to us with these two commands. You see wrong thinking gives me the wrong attitude and the wrong emotions. Wrong thinking and the wrong attitude create the wrong behavior and when I do the wrong behavior I have devastating consequences.

That's the way it works. Right thinking on the other hand gives me positive emotions and a positive attitude. It gives me what the Bible calls wise behavior and fruitful consequences. You see the question is what do you fill this up with?

What is it that I'm supposed to be doing? And I'm going to look at a couple passages but just the first one will be Isaiah 55 Old Testament prophet Isaiah chapter 55 and verses 10 and 11. I'm going to set that up by the way with verses 8 and 9 because they're two of my favorite but it tells me my need to have my thinking renewed. Notice what verse 8 says God speaking for my thoughts are not your thoughts. Right off the bat my thoughts are not your thoughts. He says neither are your ways my ways declares the Lord for as heaven as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than yours and my thoughts than your thoughts. Well that tells me something about my thinking. It isn't even remotely close to God's. He said I can't even compare it. You think instinctively in a very different way than I think. Your ways are very different than mine. Then he says this for as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there without watering the earth and making it barren sprout and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater.

What a great analogy. He's going to give you a guarantee. He says you know what rain does to a plowed field?

Waters the seed and creates the crop. He said that's what it does. He said that's how sure I am about what I'm going to say. And then he says this so so shall he says my word. He said so shall my word be which goes forth from my mouth. You shall not return to me empty without accomplishing what ideas are and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. Wow. You see what he's saying.

See what is it I put on that other hard drive? That's what I've devoted my life to study in the word. You see the whole idea of it God says I've got to fill up the hard drive. I know one thing as a Christian I am not intuitively going to think the right way.

And I am not intuitively going to behave the right way. God says you have to let me fill up your thoughts. He said but I'll tell you what I guarantee that if you let my thoughts become your thoughts. You see you are as happy as you think you are.

What an amazing statement. Now I'm going to take that one step further and go the New Testament the Philippians chapter 4. And the context is joy and happiness. Philippians chapter 4. Verse 4.

It's still one of my favorites simply because of the grammar. Rejoice in the Lord always again. I say rejoice. What I love about that it's imperative mood. It's a commandment.

Just like the 10. Wow. You ever think about that? God says I've got a commandment for you. Rejoice. Be happy.

Can you command someone? God can. See his whole view for us is look you have been redeemed to be happy. You see I have saved you and put my spirit in you so that you can be happy and joyful.

You see that's what I've done I'll be happy. He says notice the enemy in verse 6. Be anxious for nothing. There's the enemy of happiness. Worry and anxiety. By the way where does worry and anxiety occur?

Kind of between your ears doesn't it? You see how that works? He says be anxious for nothing. But in everything with prayer and supplication and with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. The key to that is the thanksgiving. Even before God answers I thank him because he's God.

He's not only great but he's good. He says in the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. So my mind can be guarded by God.

He says yeah and now by the way let's do an exercise to see if it's working for you. He says finally brethren. Whatever is true whatever is honorable whatever is right whatever is pure whatever is lovely.

Whatever is of good repute. If there's any excellent and anything worthy of praise let your mind dwell on these things. He says you need to be thinking.

Because you're going to be because we're all addicted to it. He said but I'm going to tell you the kind of things you should be thinking about. The first thing is whatever is true. I don't know if you realize this but once in a while on the media they say things I hate to say this that aren't true.

You see you can't let your mind dwell on those kinds of things. You've been listening to Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the Radio Ministry of Fellowship in the Word. If you ever miss one of our broadcasts or maybe you would just like to listen to the message one more time, remember that you can go to a great website called oneplace.com. That's oneplace.com and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online.

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That's fbcnola.org. At our website you will find hundreds of Pastor Bill's sermons. You can browse through our sermon archives to find the sermon series you are looking for or you can search by title. Once you find the message you are looking for you can listen online or if you prefer you can download the sermon and listen at your own convenience. And remember you can do all this absolutely free of charge. Once again our website is fbcnola.org. For Pastor Bill Gebhardt, I'm Jason Gebhardt thanking you for listening to Fellowship in the Word.