Sermon for October 20, 2013

Transcription

1 Sermon for October 20, 2013 BMZ Church Series: Happy, Happy, Happy: A Study of the Beatitudes Text: Matthew 5:5; 7:13-14; Ecclesiastes 4:4; Philippians 2:3-4; Romans 7:19, Title: What It Takes to Be Successful Introduction: How we doing, BMZ?!? Glad you are with us! Today we continue our Fall Worship Series called, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY! What we ve said in this series is that if we want to be TRULY HAPPY in THIS LIFE and the NEXT, we might want to listen to what Jesus said in The Sermon on the Mount. What Jesus said in that minute RELIGIOUS DISCOURSE was EARTH SHATTERING in its WISDOM. The question is Will we listen to it AND start applying it to our lives? We are discovering that what Jesus said is SIMPLE, but NOT EASY! If you ve missed and of this series, I invite you to find it on our website: worship sermons. If we are asking the Question, Is Happy, Happy, Happy possible? There are steps that we have to take in order to get there according to our Bibles It s up to us to take those steps or not take those steps. Please don t go telling people that Happiness and Joy in this life are not possible if you have not taken the steps that God calls us to take! In this life, we have a LOT OF QUESTIONS about LIFE! In Matthew 5-7, Jesus gives a SERMON take you about minutes to read (READ IT) that answers a lot of questions! He started the Sermon off with 8 POWERFUL STATEMENTS that we call BEATITUDES (statements of blessing). Essentially, Jesus said, If you ll live out what I m teaching here, I can guarantee you a HAPPY LIFE!! That s what we want for YOU! We want to offer EVERYONE here the chance at a life that you would consider, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY! If you have your Bible with you, turn with me to Matthew 5 if you don t; no worries. All of our Scriptures for today will be up on the screen and much of what we are doing is in your program. If you don t own a Bible and would like one, please stop by Java Jct/Blessed Bean and someone will get you set up with your own Bible. Speaking of which If you haven t already, I invite you to take out your message notes and merge card... On one side you will see our Scripture for today and on the other you will find a brief outline walking us through our Scripture. You will see that there are blanks to fill in I would love to have you take the time to do so. Grab a pen and write down whatever else you think is important to you and your faith journey. After worship, take this home and refrigerate it. Please Re-read the Scripture and the notes to keep growing and learning. For those of you watching on-line, you can hit the button for notes and for MERGE CARD and stick with us. If you are watching/listening later, or IPODing; you can download the outline off of our website so you too can take notes. Let s pray and then we will press on with where we are going today LET S PRAY (turn off marked lights during prayer)! Alright, as we get started on this GREAT SERMON Picture it Jesus is up on a hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee and he starts TEACHING. He is about to put into a 20 minute sermon (at least how it s written down by Matthew who was there BTW) a COMPLETE PICTURE of what Jesus has to say about LIFE like JESUS WANTS US TO LIVE. If that wasn t short enough Jesus put 8 SHORT STATEMENTS at the very beginning to give an OUTLINE of what he was going to PREACH 8 STATEMENTS that are LOADED and POWERFUL! 8 INCREDIBLE STATEMENTS about WHO GOD IS and WHO GOD WANTS US TO BE!

2 2 In these 8 STATEMENTS ( Beatitudes = Statements of Blessing), Jesus says that we can be HAPPY no matter what our circumstances are. He begins each of these statements with: GOD BLESSES. Think about this Doesn t TRUE HAPPINESS come when we are BLESSED by GOD? Blessed = Happy. Not Blessed = Not Happy. Right?!? Well, today we get to talk about SUCCESS! Because we all know that in order to be HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY! in this life, we might need to experience some SUCCESS! I thought it would be interesting to figure out what SUCCESS IS, so I checked out what some people DEFINE SUCCESS AS: Success is getting regular promotions in your job. So, SUCCESS has to do with CLIMBING the company LADDER, right?!? It helps! Someone said that SUCCESS is being able to do things that others only get to wish to do. Power? Wealth? WEBSTERS = the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect or fame. Other dictionaries included Power. That sounds about right for definitions of the word, SUCCESS, right?!? Those are the people that most in our world LOOK UP TO, right? It s the WEALTHY and FAMOUS that we want to read about or hear about It s the POWERFUL that we want to TRADE PLACES with periodically. Those are the things that HUMANS DREAM OF Now, I wonder what Jesus had to say about SUCCESS. Let s get to our CORE VERSE from the BEATITUDES for today Matthew 5:5 = 5 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. 1 (REPEAT) Okay, what was that?!? Somehow taking over the WHOLE WORLD sounds SUCCESSFUL I want to rule the world! BUT, did you catch how that whole earth thing happens? Jesus said, God blesses those who are HUMBLE they will get the WHOLE EARTH! LISTEN CAREFULLY to HOW it happens The HUMBLE INHERIT IT!! Success is not to be ACHIEVED or TAKEN or EARNED It s a GIFT! SUCCESS goes to the GENTLE / MEEK / HUMBLE; NOT the ARROGANT and POWERFUL BTW = Little known fact about me I AM a PROPHET. I can READ really well I think I might have ESP or Women s Intuition or, well I have ESPN and ESPN2! Anyway, if you would allow me, I want to tell you 3 THINGS that I KNOW about YOU. Most everyone here I know ALL 3 THINGS and a few of you might just be 2 of the 3 May I?!? Here we go 3 THINGS that I know about EACH of YOU: 1. You are not exactly where you want to be in your life or in some area(s) of your life. You think that there must be something better out there in the area of your job, relationships, finances, etc. You see other people doing something better and wonder why not you 2. Because of #1 You feel like you are failing at some level in your life. With that sense of failure comes the emotions of shame and guilt and maybe inferiority. You feel like you are failing in at least one area of your life. 3. BIG ONE: You want something MORE something BETTER something ELSE that you don t have happening right now in your life. You understand that there has to be MORE BETTERER STUFF out there, but, you cannot get there ON YOUR OWN. Now, please understand that these 3 things are part of our HUMAN CONDITION we will Never get rid of them COMPLETELY! And what these 3 things do for us is that they remind us that THIS ISN T HEAVEN!! Aren t we all DISSATISFIED about something at SOME LEVEL all the time?!? We wish for better things for our kids and our parents and our grandkids. When we are young we 1 Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Mt 5:5). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

3 3 wished we were older. When we get older we reminisce about being younger. We are in one job and wish for another job when we get it, we miss our old job maybe! We always wish our FINANCES were in a little better shape. We wish for a relationship and when we get it we wish we were out of it and vice versa. We drive on parkways and park on driveways for crying out loud!! In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us 4 Rules to live by if we are striving for SUCCESS we can have answers to these 3 things! Do you want to be HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY?!? If so, you are going to NEED to be SUCCESSFUL Jesus way! Here we go Rule #1 = I. Rule #1: Pursue Humility The first RULE we have to FOLLOW if we want to experience TRUE SUCCESS is to PURSUE HUMILITY!! Now, when we talk about HUMILITY, we are not talking about saying that you are not good enough or that you don t matter or have little worth humility is NOT about being a DOORMAT or a WIMP or anything like that. HUMILITY is simply Being comfortable with who God made me to be (Repeat) It s knowing that God has GIFTED ME for His purposes and I have to figure those out. We need to know that we are special and talented, but also recognizing that I m going to need God in some circumstances because I m weak there One of the keys to being humble is understanding that there IS A GOD, and I M NOT GOD! Humility has to do with the way you view yourself and that has a lot to do with whether or not you find happiness and you find success in your life. Now, the NUMBER ONE ENEMY to HUMILITY and HAPPINESS is envy, jealousy and comparing ourselves to others. Worrying about what other people think about you. We all do it, don t we? We COMPARE ourselves with OTHER PEOPLE! We try to live up to what we THINK other people have set as the Standard! We try to act COOL enough, SMART enough, and be ATHLETIC or MUSICAL enough to at least be ACCEPTABLE to other people. Here s what King SOLOMON (wisest man who ever lived) said in Ecclesiastes 4:4 = 4 Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless like chasing the wind. 2 MEANINGLESS Some versions say, WORTHLESS. So, what is MEANINGFUL?!? What is WORTHWHILE?!? Well, FIRST, we probably need to stop COMPARING ourselves with OTHERS It just causes ENVY, JEALOUSY and being way too concerned about what OTHER PEOPLE THINK about us So, don t try to just be BETTER than other people. Just try to be the BEST YOU CAN BE! This is not about just lying down and not trying to IMPROVE. We need to be the BEST WE CAN BE or we are dishonoring God! God gave us gifts and talents and some wherewithal we need to use what God has blessed us with and keep trying to get better! We need to WORK HARD with what we have been given! In COLLEGE, I played on the Tennis Team There was not JV team, it was just Varsity. So, every year, I had to TRY OUT for the team only 7-8 players on the team each year. You played for position I played as high as #2 Singles and #1 Doubles over the years we started to recruit better players and I played #5 Singles and #3 Doubles my Senior year I sometimes felt that my SELF-WORTH was tied to my SEEDING Lower I went, the lower I felt about myself. I was comparing myself to the other players and lacking success! 2 Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Ec 4:4). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

4 4 Do you know what s great?!? God doesn t play the COMPARISON GAME! God doesn t compare us to other people God just looks at us for who He created us to be! Look at James 4:10 = 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. 3 We are to LET GOD LIFT US UP, not place ourselves above anyone!! Jesus tells this story about a religious leader and a tax collector who go into the Temple to pray The religious leader goes in and prays God, thank you that I am so good and way better than that lowly tax collector over there The tax collector, meanwhile, is on his knees, face-down and is beating his chest in sorrow and asking God for FORGIVENESS because of his sins. Jesus asks, Whose prayer do you think God honors?!? See, God isn t interested in if or how you impress other people. Doesn t care! God is interested in those who attempt to be the best they can be and understand that GOD S GOD and I M NOT! It s been said that we will probably all be surprised about who is in heaven and who s not. Jesus says in Matthew 19:30 = 30 But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.* 4 SUCCESS is reserved by GOD for those who PURSUE HUMILITY! Rule #2 = II. Rule #2: Practice Selfless Living So you want to be HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY? You want SUCCESS?!? First, HUMBLE YOURSELF; THEN, Practice SELFLESS Living!! There is a HUGE DIFFERENCE between SELFISH and SELFLESS! Our world seems to PROMOTE SELFISHNESS! The WORLD S Golden Rule is: Do unto others whatever you can get away with! I gots to do for me and mine! It s all about ME I m AWESOME! If you want to know if you are PRACTICING SELFLESS LIVING 2 Questions you can ask yourself #1 = Do I assume the best about other people or do I assume the worst? Write that down seriously right now! We talked about this some last Spring when we were going through the series, AS YOU WISH We talked about how the HAPPIEST MARRIAGES were the ones where the spouses were still assuming the best about their husband or wife no matter what happened they were giving their spouse the benefit of the doubt (BLIND LOVE)!! But, if we are going to PRACTICE SELFLESS LIVING, a good question to help us get off of SELFISH LIVING is to ask Do I assume the best about other people or do I assume the worst? Think about it: WHEN YOU FIRST MEET SOMEONE, do you see their Strengths, their Gifts, the Good Stuff about them OR, are you IMMEDIATELY looking for the FAULTS and FLAWS and COMPARING yourself to them?!? Naturally, most of us start comparing ourselves how do I stack up? I think I m smarter, faster, stronger or cuter than they are Within the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says to LOOK for the BEST FIRST. Matthew 7:1-5 = Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others.* The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.* 3 And why worry about a speck in your friend s eye* when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend,* Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye, when you can t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend s eye. 5 3 Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Jas 4:10). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. 4 Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Mt 19:30). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. 5 Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Mt 7:1 5). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

5 5 We have a habit of JUDGING OTHERS without taking into consideration WHO WE ARE! Jesus says, STOP THAT! GET OFF THE PLAYGROUND!! Remember being on the playground as kids and always comparing ourselves to the other kids the other boys. We would tear each other down and point out each other s weaknesses and flaws. If someone would say something nice about someone besides us, we would immediately tear them down so that we looked better! Jesus says, STOP IT! Jesus says that we d better take a good long look in the MIRROR before we DARE say anything UNKIND about ANYONE ELSE! Besides that, did you see in VERSE 2 how Jesus said that the standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged? That s TRUE! The people around you will RESPOND to you the way you treat them! If I begin by being POSTITIVE about other people s STRENGTHS and point them out chances are their response to me will be POSITIVE. If my first response to others is NEGATIVE and CRITICAL; that s CONTAGIOUS!! They will be critical of your faults those things you try to ignore Question #2 to check for SELFLESSNESS = When you meet people, is your first response/thoughts: How can I help them (look good)? OR is it: How can they help me (look good)??!? Don t skip this Listen to Paul talk about this very thing in his Letter to the Philippians: Philippians 2:3-4 = 3 Don t be selfish; don t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 6 Do you want HAPPINESS? Do you want SUCCESS?!? Then think of OTHERS as BETTER THAN YOU AND Take an INTEREST in OTHERS TOO!! Think about this in terms of MARRIAGE and RELATIONSHIPS Are you ALWAYS looking for WAYS to help your SPOUSE SUCCEED?? LOOK GOOD?? Are you always thinking of THEM as BETTER THAN YOU??? Are you CONTINUALLY POINTING out the POSITIVES?? OR, do you spend your time pointing out your spouse s WEAKNESSES and SHORT-FALLS?? Are you spending your time trying to figure out what you can GET OUT OF YOUR MARRIAGE or are you spending your time trying to figure out what you need to PUT INTO IT for the sake of your RELATIONSHIP and the BETTERMENT of your SPOUSE?!? SELFLESS = What can I do to HELP SOMEONE ELSE? Friends co-workers classmates siblings BTW = NOT, I m better than you, let me help you. BUT, Let me encourage you because I see that you are so good at this and you have great potential in this area. Okay SUCCESS according to JESUS = Rule #1 = Pursue Humility Rule #2 = Practice Selfless Living Rule #3 = III. Rule #3: Give God Control If we are going to experience HAPPINESS and SUCCESS in this life, we need to GIVE GOD CONTROL of our lives. The way I see it, there are TWO WAYS TO LIVE: 1) I m in control, or 2) God s in control. Near the beginning of the SERMON on the MOUNT, Jesus lays out the EXPECTATIONS if we are going to be WHO GOD wants US to BE, we need to be BETTER at following God than the RELIGIOUS LEADERS! And they re all saying, WHAT? How can we be better at following God than those guys who follow about 600 Commandments and have their whole day to practice it that s all they do!!?? 6 Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Php 2:3 4). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

6 6 And Jesus starts in and starts telling the people there on the hillside over the Sea of Galilee I know that Moses told you not to murder. I m telling you that if you get ANGRY at someone and call them names without a really good reason it s as if you have murdered someone! Don t fly off the handle! Then Jesus says, Remember how Moses told the people that God said not to commit ADULTERY? I m telling you that if you even look at her a certain way same SIN! Don t swear by this or that that you are telling the truth let your yes mean yes and your no mean no and be honest. Don t ever tell a LIE! Give to those who ask for something and don t complain about it. If someone is in need, help them! Jesus finishes this part of the Sermon / Religious Discourse with Matthew 5:48 = 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. 7 That s the expectation we are to be PERFECT! And so we try I m not going to get ANGRY I m not going to get angry and then that guy at work says that! I m not going to LUST I m not going to lust and then that woman walks right in front of me wearing that! I m not going to lie I m not going to LIE and then I don t get my homework done on time and I can t tell them the truth! Right?!? And by 9am, we ve pretty much broken all the things that Jesus tells us not to break! We TRY and we FAIL, right?!? And so Paul writes to the Christians in Rome who were trying to do the same thing Romans 7:19, 21, = 19 I want to do what is good, but I don t. I don t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway I have discovered this principle of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. 9 WE ALL FALL SHORT OF PERFECTION!! So, then how do we become PERFECT, like Jesus said we should?!? Well, instead of trying to CONTROL OURSELVES, we give GOD CONTROL! Listen, we will never be perfect this side of eternity, BUT, we don t have to let these things have control over us Paul writes in Philippians 1:6 = 6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. 10 We will NEVER be PERFECT, BUT God wants to keep working in us How about a NEW PHILOSOPHY?? Instead of getting up in the morning and trying to convince yourself that you aren t going to SIN why not just TAKE TIME WITH GOD?? Remember, that one of the CORE STEPS of HAPPINESS is to Give God the FIRST PART of MY DAY?!? Give God the 1 st 15 Minutes of your day for PRAYER and BIBLE STUDY Don t focus on what you DON T WANT TO DO, INSTEAD, just FOCUS ON GOD Let God have CONTROL!! TRY IT! Alright, HUMILITY, SELFLESSNESS, GOD in CONTROL Rule #4 = IV. Rule #4: Invest for Eternity 7 Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Mt 5:48). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. 8 Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Ro 7:19). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. 9 Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Ro 7:23 25). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. 10 Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Php 1:6). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

7 7 If we are going to experience SUCCESS the way Jesus talks about it, we have to start INVESTING in ETERNITY! Above ALL ELSE, we have to INVEST in SOMETHING that will LAST FOREVER! Let s get back to Jesus and The Sermon on the Mount Matthew 6:19-21 = 19 Don t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. 11 You know what Jesus is talking about? Fame Wealth Power in THIS LIFE (this Grain of Sand on the Beach of Eternity BTW )! Do we understand that these things are FLEETING SHORT-LIVED and pretty USELESS in the Grand Scheme of Things? That type of SUCCESS DISAPPEARS VERY QUICKLY this life is FRAGILE and Full of PROBLEMS Here s what Solomon had to say about WORLDLY SUCCESS King Solomon was considered the wisest man who ever lived and he had PLENTY of WORLD SUCCESS (Power, Wealth, Fame, etc. Read Ecclesiastes 2). Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 = 10 Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. 11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. 12 Solomon said, I had all of that and it was WORTHLESS MEANINGLESS So, what is MEANINGFUL? What is WORTHWHILE?!? Remember Jesus said to STORE UP OUR TREASURES in HEAVEN!?! Maybe that is WORTHWHILE Again, in eternity lasts a lot longer than this life God is going to ask us TWO QUESTIONS... the ONLY things that are IMPORTANT to GOD: 1. What did you do with Jesus? Accept or Reject Who He IS?!? 2. What did you do with your Life? Did you live it for God or for You? Did you serve God s Kingdom or your kingdom?!? That first question is about SALVATION whether we get to be in HEAVEN or not for eternity. Did you accept that Jesus was the Son of God who hung on a cross to die for your sins so that you could be forgiven and made right with God? The 2 nd Question is about the REWARD we get to GIVE BACK to JESUS Jewels in our Crown that we GET TO LAY at JESUS FEET! Did you live your life for God? Did you think of other people before yourself? Were you SELFLESS and HUMBLE and let GOD have CONTROL of your life? Did you get better throughout your life at doing life GOD S WAY?!? Or, did you live this life YOUR WAY seeking FAME and FORTUNE?? Jim Elliot was a MISSIONARY to South America (Ecuador). He went into a cannibalistic culture and attempted to bring them the Gospel of Jesus. He had some success, but then it went horribly wrong he and his partner in mission were killed by those people. Later, Jim s wife Elizabeth went back to those same villages and had great success sharing the Good News of Jesus with them. One of Jim Elliot s quotes is worth knowing He wrote soon before he was killed that He is no fool to give up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. In other words, the things of this life are temporary it s not foolish to give those things up in order to gain the things of Eternity through Jesus you cannot ever lose those! 11 Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Mt 6:19 21). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. 12 Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Ec 2:10 11). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

8 8 So many of us do the exact opposite We trade things that will LAST FOREVER for TEMPORARY happiness and pleasure. We lie to get a promotion (short lived). We betray a friend for popularity (short-lived). We compromise our principles to gain acceptance (shortlived). We take people around us down so that we can look good (playground). In our marriages, we sacrifice our relationship in order to be right looking out for ourselves (marriage could be short-lived). We do it all the time in this life whatever I have to do to experience some pleasure RIGHT NOW! We TRADE things of IMMENSE VALUE for EXTREMELY WORTHLESS things by comparison and we call it SUCCESS! One more time back to The Sermon on the Mount Jesus says in Matthew 7:13-14 = 13 You can enter God s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell* is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. 13 At the beginning of this RELIGIOUS DISCOURSE I made three (3) Predictions about us I said (1) You feel like you are coming up short in one or more areas of your life (2) I said, because of that you feel empty, you feel like a failure in some way or another. (3) I said that more than anything you want to move on to something better but you feel inept. You feel you are incapable of doing so. You ve tried and it s not working. Now, you can attempt to FILL those NEEDS the way the vast majority of people do OR, maybe we WAKE UP and REALIZE that s NOT WORKING and TRY GOD S WAYS to SUCCESS Pursue HUMILITY Practice SELFLESS LIVING GIVE GOD CONTROL and start INVESTING in ETERNITY. Listen, I know that Jesus teachings on this go WAY AGAINST THE GRAIN of what we have been taught in THIS WORLD. BUT, are you PAYING ATTENTION to where going WITH THE GRAIN has led to?!? Have you looked at HUMAN HISTORY?!? CURRENT EVENTS?!? How s that going for us?!? Want to be HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY?!? GO after REAL SUCCESS!! Let s Pray Next Week: We CONTINUE our Series: Happy, Happy, Happy! Don t you love to see when JUSTICE RULES?!? See you next week! Next Steps: I will memorize Matthew 5:5 I will Give God Control of this area of my life: I will commit my life to finding success in the eternal and not the temporary I will use Happy, Happy, Happy Invitation Cards this week Start a Bible Reading Program off of Truth without Grace is Fundamentalism (Brutality). Grace without Truth is Sentimentalism (Hypocrisy). Special thanks to Andy Stanley, Nelson Searcy, R.A. Pegram, Mike Slaughter and Perry Noble for outlines and ideas for this worship series. 13 Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Mt 7:13 14). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.