English Service by Rev, DR. Willy Mutiso

KEYS TO HAPPINESS

SERIES: LIVING BY FAITH.

TEXT: HEBREWS 13:5-6; DEUT. 31:6; PSALM 37:1-11.

 

It is the worldly people who are poor and it is the believer in Christ who are rich, our treasure is in heaven. Our minds are set on things above not on the things that are on earth-Col. 3:2. The fact of the matter is that money cannot buy happiness neither can things. Money does not satisfy. Roy Stedman, calls the acquiring money and things, “The destiny sickness.”  This is the disease that hits you when you achieve all your goals, your dreams of acquiring when you think you have acquired all that which will give you fulfillment, and then find that you are not happy.

We work and work and establish a career or build a home or raise a family and then find that we thought would make us happy that’s nothing of the kind. “Destiny sickness” is when you have spent your years climbing the ladder of success, reach the top only to find that your ladder was leaning on the wrong wall. This should not surprise us-Ecclesiastes 5:10 says “he who loves money will not be satisfied with money nor he who loves abundance with its income. This is vanity.”

With this thought, the realization that will not end cannot be satisfied by riches or material possession, let us examine our scripture for today to discover some keys to happiness. Let us learn:-

BE FREE FROM THE LOVE OF MONEY.

  1. This is the first key to happiness.
  2. This was also addressed by Jesus Christ.
  3. Luke 12:15, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed, for life is not consist of his possessions.”
  4. Paul-1st Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
  5. The Bible provides many examples of the folly of greed.
  6. Achan-His love for wealth cost Israel a defeat at Ai, 36,000 men died.
  • His own life and the wives of family and flocks-Joshua 7:1, 5, 25.
  1. Gehazi:
  • After Naaman was cleansed of leprosy, Elisha refused any payment, but Gehazi Elisha’s servant ran back to Naaman and deceived him in order to profit financially and materially.
  • Gehazi was cursed with Naaman’s leprosy-2nd Kings 5:15-27.
  • Gehazi’s greed led him to deceit, lying and leprosy.

2. Judas-He was greedy. He was willing to betray the son of God for thirty pieces of silver-Luke 22.

3. Ananias and Sapphira deceived the Holy Spirit-Acts 5:1-10.

BE CONTENT WITH WHAT YOU HAVE.

The second key to happiness is contentment.

What contentment is not:-

  1. Contentment is not complacency or laziness.
  • Complacency implies detachment from our lives; a giving up behavior.
  • Complacency implies a detachment from our lives that we don’t care.
  1. Contentment is not a natural attribute in our nature, rather it is something we learn. Phi. 4:11, “For I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.”
  • Contentment is something we learn.
  • We learn through practice and know from experience.
  1. Contentment is not having everything we think we need.
  • Ecclesiastes 2:10-11, Solomon learned through practice and knew by experience that satisfaction and contentment cannot be found in things.
  • Ecclesiastes 5:10, “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.

What contentment is:

  1. It is shifting our focus from without to within-Phil. 4:11. Don’t look around to compare.
  2. It is not having great wealth, it is having fewer wants.
  3. Contentment is not having everything we want, but enjoying everything we have.

PUT YOUR TRUST IN GOD.

  1. “………… For He Himself has said, I will never leave you, nor will I ever forsake you.”
  2. God is our refuge and our anchor, our rock and our stronghold. He has never failed His people-Joshua 21:45.
  3. He has promised to meet our needs if we allow Him to meet our needs-Matt. 6:31-33.
  4. Fully trusting in money is not full trust in God.
  5. Trusting and loving money is trusting in uncertain riches rather than the Living God-1st Timothy 6:17.
  6. By love of money we look for security in material things instead of in our heavenly father.
  7. The love of money may manifest in many ways:-
  8. Some love money but never acquire it.
  9. Others love money in acquiring it, they live for the thrill adding bank accounts, stock and shares.
  10. Others are misers, they hoard money-loving money for its sake.
  11. Others are conspicuous consumers they display their wealth, they spend on things.
  • What form love of money takes the end results and separates us from Him.

Covetousness is not a trifling sin before God.

  • It keeps many from the kingdom of God.
  • However, it is not wrong to be rich.
  • Abraham and Job were very rich man. It is the love of money that is wrong-1st Timothy 6:10.
  • It is the trusting in money that is sinful-Psalm 52:18.
  • See what the very rich Job said about love of money-Job 31:24-28.

SO WE CAN CONFIDENTLY SAY “the Lord is my helper, i will not be afraid what shall man do to me?”

If we have the Lord we have all-Matt. 16:26.

  • When we have God everything else is of no value.
  • Material things are temporal-Prov. 23:4-5.
  • When we love money, our eye is on the wrong kind of gain.
  • Discontentment is one of man’s greatest sins. Contentment is one of God’s greatest blessings.

How do we attain contentment?

  • First know and accept that God is good and He will take care of you-Rom. 8:28.
  • Second, truly realize that God is omniscient-He knows what you need-Matt. 6:32.
  • Third, we shall in all humility think about what we truly deserve. See what Jacob said in Genesis 32:10.
  • Fourth, let us recognize God’s supremacy- His Sovereignty.
  • God does not have same plan for all of His children. He can lovingly give to some, and loving withheld from others. Hannah said it, “1st 2:7, “The Lord makes rich and poor.”
  • Fifth, we should continually remind ourselves what true riches are. It is the worldly rich who are poor. Our treasure is in our homeland, in heaven-Col. 3:2.

CONCLUSION

  • In the final analysis our contentment will be equal to the level of trust we give over to God.
  • To have contentment in your life-
  • Love the brethren-13:1.
  • Love the strangers-13:2.
  • Love those who suffer-13:3.
  • Love your spouse-13:4.
  • Love people, use money, don’t love money and use people.
  • You will be satisfied.
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Rev, DR. Willy Mutiso

Rev, Dr. Willy Mutiso is the Senior Pastor at First Baptist Athiriver. He is widely known for his practical and dynamic teaching style which helps people apply the timeless truths of Scripture to their everyday lives.

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