“Happy, Happy, Happy!”
Philippians 3:13-14
Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
I don’t know whether you have noticed it or not but there is a new phrase that entered into our collective consciousness. Happy, happy, happy has become a favorite of people from all walks of life. Of course this phrase has been popularized by the patriarch of the Robertson clan from the popular series, Duck Dynasty! Phil Robertson uses this phrase at least once in every episode or so it seems. Phil has a wonderful Christian testimony which includes narrative about his college career at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana. Phil was the starting quarterback on the football team and made the decision to change the direction of his life. His backup in those days was a young man named Bradshaw who later went on to win several super bowls with the Pittsburg Steelers. Phil became a Christian sometime later and God has blessed him and his family so much so that this phrase, “Happy, happy, happy,” has become his signature statement. That brings me to my next thought. I don’t know about you but I have observed something over the last few years that is worth noting. It is this; now more than ever there is a great amount of interest in learning how to be happy. Now I noticed this first when I listened to the content of the preaching (if you can call it that) of some of the televangelists on cable. Some are connected to mega-church ministries and others are primarily media driven but they all seem to have one thing in common. They spend their time trying to teach people how to be happy. Since we are in a consumer driven church economy it appears to me that the law of supply and demand is at work. There is a demand for this and these TV preachers supply. I also found a very interesting bit of information on a website call Forbes.com. Last year there were 13.5 million types of self- help books sold, a 22% increase from the year before, according to Nielsen Book Scan. Another interesting side note is that the majority of these books were sold to women who are presumably unhappy with their lives and are looking for answers!
Years ago there was a country song entitled, “Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places,” well it’s not a stretch to say that millions are looking for happiness in all the wrong places.
Tony Abram: “Happiness of heart can no more be attained without God than light and sunshine can be had without the sun. Happiness is heavenly born; its aroma is of heaven; it leads to heaven and its emblem is heaven. On every side, in every part of the universe men and women are seeking happiness and cannot find it because they do not seek it from God.”
There is a book which many haven’t tried yet. It’s not a new book. It’s been around for a while but it’s still the all-time best-selling self-help book out there and it’s called the Bible! All the help you will ever need can be founds within its pages. The Apostle Paul shares his formula for achieving this elusive dream called happiness and it is surprising to see how simple it is. The first truth regarding happiness Paul speaks of involves:
I. A Backward Look – The Past
a. Our dependence – “Brethren, I…”
If you haven’t learned this truth yet you need to understand that our happiness in life depends on us, on own our attitudes, actions and aims not someone or something else!
b. Our danger – “…what is behind…”
The danger of looking back is that of going back.
Luke 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Luke 17:32 Remember Lot's wife.
Mark this down my friend, you will never find happiness if you live in the past.
c. Our decision
The word “forgetting” means to lose out of mind or to be forgetting and carries with it the idea of deliberation. That is, we deliberately choose a course where we leave the past in the past. We choose not to live in the past!
II. A Forward Look – The Prospects
The truth of the matter is that we are either progressing or regressing.
Exodus 14:15 And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:
There comes a time when we need to move on with life. We must get over it and get on with it! (life)
a. His efforts
The Greek word åðåêôåéíïìåíïò points out the strong exertions made in the race; every muscle and nerve is exerted, and he puts forth every particle of his strength in running. He was running for life, and running for his life because often the penalty for the Greek runner was death!
b. His evaluation
Those who find happiness in life are always humbled by the contrast between what we are and what we hope to be. Paul said, “…I count not myself to have apprehended…”
c. His expectation
For Paul life was always about “…before…” This was always his way, in ministry or mission, it was always before. He was always looking over the hill to see what was on the other side, and then on the other side of that and on and on, forward motion, not stationary, not back peddling but onward. There have been other men of such steel. I am always challenged by the life of David Livingstone, the missionary/explorer of Africa. He said:
“I will place no value on anything I have or may possess except in relation to the kingdom of Christ.”
“I will go anywhere, provided it is forward.”
“Nothing earthly will make me give up my work in despair.”
“I determined never to stop until I had come to the end and achieved my purpose.
And my favorite is his answer when a letter arrived saying that there were some missionaries who wished to join him and could he recommend a good road to take…
“If you have men who will only come if they know there is a good road, I don't want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all.”
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/davidlivin394254.html#PYIID6m8WAAKvOc0.99
III. An Upward Look – The Prize
a. The conduct
The word “press” means to pursue. Happiness is an attainable goal but it must be pursued for it doesn’t just “happen!”
b. The course – “…mark…”
Clarke writes: I pursue along the line; this is a reference to the white line that marked the ground in the stadium, from the starting place to the goal, on which the runners were obliged to keep their eye fixed; for they who transgressed or went beyond this line did not run lawfully, and were not crowned, even though they got first to the goal. To win we must run to the finish and we must run within the rules. That takes determination, discipline and discernment!
APPROVAL OF THE MASTER
ILL - A young man once studied violin under a world-renowned master. Eventually the time came for the student’s first recital. Following each selection, despite the cheers of the crowd, the performer seemed dissatisfied.
Even after the last number, with the shouts louder than ever, the talented violinist stood watching an old man in the balcony. Finally the elderly one smiled and nodded in approval. Immediately the young man relaxed and beamed with happiness.
You see, the man in the balcony was his teacher, and thus the applause of the crowd had meant nothing to him until he had first won the hearty approval of his master.
(Michael P. Green. (2000). 1500 illustrations for biblical preaching. Includes indexes. (24). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.)
c. The crown – “…the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus…”
Happiness is achieved when we change our focus from the temporal to the eternal! Sadly, for many this never happens, for some it happens towards the end of life and there is a remembrance of what might have been and for a few there comes a time when there is a deliberate decision to “forget the past,” “focus on the prospect,” and “forge ahead toward the prize.”
Ira F. Stanphill was born in Belview, New Mexico, in 1914. He has written more than 550 songs, the most popular of which are "Mansion over the Hilltop," "Room at the Cross," and, of course, "Happiness Is the Lord." He wrote the following after listening to the ads on a secular radio station all promising that if you used a certain product it would make you happy:
Happiness is to know the Savior,
Living a life within His favor,
Having a change in my behavior
Happiness is the Lord.
Can you see what the key to happiness is? It is living your life the way God wants you to live it. It is fixing your eyes on Him to the exclusion of everything else. It is put Him first on your “bucket list,” of things to do before you pass from this old world.
Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
ILL - As someone aptly stated, "Jesus does not just want to be resident in you, He wants to be president in you."
