God is...Happy
Here are notes from Ron Hughes first message here at Graphite for Winter Weekend 2013. - Big misconception that God is angry - As if He is waiting to find someone to punish - Not only is God happy, but He wants us to be happy - In OT, He commanded His people to celebrate - In OT and NT, word translated as "blessed" is also "happy" - Why would God be unhappy? - General state of the world might be one reason - Perhaps due to rebellious sinners - So many wayward believers - God is happy because He is getting it His way - Making His plan come to fulfillment - Ephesians 1:11 - ...Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will... - One of the themes is the redemptive nature of what God does - There are people whose terrible experiences God has redeemed to use for His glory - The "god of this world" is unhappy - Satan - His time is limited and set - His power is limited - Satan can only offer happiness for a short time - God can offer happiness forever - God is also happy in His children - Jeremiah 32:41 - Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul. - Speaking about Israel, but this tells us of His character - When God looks at us, He wants to make us happy - He wants to establish us in a heavenly land - Zephaniah 3:17 - The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. - God is present with us - God does love us, He made us and He loves us, even though we botched it up - He will quiet us - His love comforts us - He makes us the subject of His song - Matthew 25 - Enter into the joy of your master - John 15 - These things I have spoken to you that My joy may be in you - Jesus was a happy man - John 17 - He prayed that His disciples would have His joy fulfilled in them - Story of the prodigal son - Father is God - He throws a party with feasting, music and dancing - Will throw the greatest party the universe has seen when His Son gets His bride
Questions to ask in regard to His happiness 1) How could God be the source of our happiness and joy if He were not happy and joyful? 2) How could the children be happy if the Father is not happy - He is happy and He puts the desire for that in His children 3) Do we think of God as being happy? - God is happy - He is happy with us - He wants us to be happy
God tells us how to be happy - Being selfish is Satan's program, not God's - Job 5:17 - Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. - If we let God correct us, we will be happier in life - Proverbs 3:13 - Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding - Tolerance is a great thing, but we cannot turn our brains off - There are very dumb ideas - We must be discerning - Proverbs 28:14 - Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. - When we disrespect others, we can no longer connect with them and get no benefit from them
Q and A 1) OT says "God's anger burned...", so He must be angry - God is angry about certain things, such as sin, but His general disposition is joy - His anger is momentary, but He is not characterised by anger - He is characterised by joy and the other fruits of the spirit 2) It's easy to be joyful when we're perfect, so how can we be joyful - God knows that as long as there is sin, we will be unhappy - However, when we believe in Christ, God has already set us on the path to perfection - When we reach heaven, we will be perfect and fully experience joy as God intended - The more we defeat sin, the happier we will be