Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries
Keep on having perfect happiness by means of the Lord at all times. Part 1.
Wednesday, May 30, 2001
again = [palin] = used for repeating a command; one more time, or once more.
“I will say” = fut/act/ind – [ero] = to communicate a very important message of doctrine.
rejoice = pres/act/imp – [chairete] = rejoice, sharing the happiness of God.
PHI 4:4 Keep on having perfect happiness by means of the Lord at all times; Once more I repeat the command, keep on having perfect happiness.
HEB 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
JER 29:13 “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
PSA 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.”
Perfect happiness or the happiness from God is not having what you want; it is accepting what you have, or being at a place of contentment.
content = autarkes = to be content, to be self sufficient; it describes the happiness of the believer in spiritual adulthood.
The happiness of God depends upon the quality of your thoughts; you should guard the type of thoughts that you allow into your soul.
All of us attain the greatest success and happiness possible in this life whenever we use our capacities to their greatest extent.
HEB 13:5 “Let your lifestyle be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”
There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.
You’ll never realize how much of God’s happiness you have in your life until you go through certain problems and find out that your happiness has not been taken away.
Happiness is not a reward for doing something; it is a consequence.
PRO 3:13 “Happiness belongs to the person who finds wisdom, even to the person who gains understanding.”
True happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.
It is not the place, nor the condition, but the mind alone that can make anyone happy or miserable. PRO 23:7“For as he thinks within himself, so he is.”
PRO 17:22 “A happy heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones.”
Happiness is “not following” the crowd and accepting their approach toward life.
Happiness is not allowing yourself to indulge in the usual manipulation that goes on in life.
A person is happy because they are growing daily and not knowing where their limit lies.
Happiness is even being able to treasure the memory of the past misfortunes.
The happiest people are those who think the most interesting thoughts.
It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.