1、Dont Worry, Be Happy!A Sermon by Pastor R. D. JohnsonPreached at the Ann Arbor, MI Free Methodist ChurchScripture Text: Daniel 3:16-18 November 16, 2008 Sermon #0132 (based on #0079)(Open playing a clip from the song Dont worry, be happy)Thats the message today. Thus sayith the Lord, “Dont worry, Be
2、 happy!”Then you say, “Thats easy for you to say!” or “Easier said than done.”“Martha, Martha,“ the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.“ (Luke 10:41-42)This morning I want y
3、ou to stop worrying and just be happy. Forget the trouble you have to go through, the pain you have to deal with, the persecution, the trials, the judgment from others, and the negative thoughts all around you every day, and BE Happy!But to do that we need to understand what Mary chose that is bette
4、r, that will not be taken away. Do you want to be happy? Are you willing to go with me to discover how?The song tells us, “In your life expect some trouble. When you worry you make it double.”Everything is always worse when you expect it to be! But can the opposite also be true? Can trouble always w
5、ork out ok if you expect it to? Or is that just wishful thinking?If I told you every problem you will ever face can turn out ok and you can simply not worry and be happy, would you want to know how?If your answer is no, and you are comfortable with worry, stress, bitterness, resentfulness, and argum
6、ent in your life, then this message is not for you. But if your answer is yes, then listen carefully.A reason to worryWe have a very good reason to worry. “Theres not a decent person in sight. Right-living humans are extinct. Theyre all out for one anothers blood, animals preying on each other. They
7、ve all become experts in evil. Corrupt leaders demand bribes. The powerful rich make sure they get what they want. Dont trust your neighbor, dont confide in your friend. Watch your words, even with your spouse. Neighborhoods and families are falling to pieces. The closer they are-sons, daughters, in
8、-laws- The worse they can be. Your own family is the enemy.” (Micah 7:2,3,5,6 from the Message)That was written more than 2500 years ago by the prophet Micah, paraphrased in the Message. This is not pessimistic, its the truth. All men are corrupted and tend to feed off one anothers misfortune. But M
9、icah goes on to say:But me, Im not giving up. Im sticking around to see what GOD will do. Im waiting for God to make things right. Im counting on God to listen to me. Dont, enemy, crow over me. Im down, but Im not out. Im sitting in the dark right now, but GOD is my light.(Micah 7:7-8 from the Messa
10、ge)Today we are privileged to live after the time Micah was waiting for. We now know that, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) and “In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not
11、 understood it.” (John 1:4-5)We who believe in Jesus no longer sit in darkness unless we choose to. Let me say that again, we sit in darkness ONLY if we choose to. Why do we worry if we have Jesus? All people are experts in evil but I can become an expert in truth People are like animals preying on
12、each other but I can love the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)How can something hoped for have substance? How can you have evidence of something you cant see? Its insane! (to the world) But thats how God chooses to operate with us.Faith is the ability to see a promise that God has made as
13、 if it has already been fulfilled. Seeing another persons potential (or your own) rather than their current situation Seeing another persons healing rather than their current illness Seeing Gods provisions rather than the needs you now haveThe things we hope for have substance because God has promis
14、ed to give when we ask. The things we cant see have evidence because Jesus proved what He spoke of and taught by miracles, signs and wonders. The greatest being His own resurrection from the dead!We can be happy in Christ if we choose to be, by hoping for what we dont yet see.ConclusionSaved by Hope
15、A mother, the instant that she knows she is with child, lives her every moment in anticipation of her deliverance from the burden that is within her. After a time she cannot take a step, make a move, think a thought that is disassociated from the coming of her child.In America, people are supposed t
16、o ignore the obvious fact that a woman is with child. In France the case is quite the contrary. If a man is introduced to a woman who is an expectant mother, it is the height of politeness for him to congratulate her with, “I congratulate you on your hope,“ is a common phrase among the cultured.Just
17、 as a woman becomes pregnant in anticipation of bearing a child, so a believer becomes saved in anticipation of being fully like the Lord Jesus Christ. It is unto this state of hope that we are saved.Should an expecting mother worry that the baby will never come out? No.Can she be happy about the ba
18、by coming even while she is uncomfortable in the third trimester? Yes.So should a Christian worry that the troubles they face are too big? No (not for God and ultimately heaven is our destination)Can a Christian be happy even as they face trials? Yes because God will never leave us or forsake us.A l
19、ine in the song “Dont worry, be happy” says, “Ill give you my phone number. When you worry, call me, Ill make you happy.” Jesus says to us every day, “You know where I am. When you worry, pray to me, Ill make you happy.”It only takes a spark to get a fire going. We can spark a loving and holy fire b
20、y simply looking for the best in others rather than focusing on their faults. We can choose to see them as God does, as someone purified by the grace of God when His work in them is complete. As soon all those around can warm up in its glowing.OR, We can spark a fire of contention, finger pointing,
21、bitterness and hate by simply looking at the worst of all things, expecting everyone to continue failing over and over again. This is when we choose to see them as worse than they probably are. It only takes a small spark of this kind of fire too, and soon all those around will be consumed in its fires.(In Daniel there were literally placed into Satans fire, but they ignited their own)
