God Just Wants Me To Be Happy… Right?

Today, one of the prayers for our church was that I wouldn't be the only one preaching

because we want to multiply ourselves as we continue to grow.

We want to plant churches.

And so we continue to pray that God would bring men and women who had teaching gifts

and be able to come up and to share God's Word.

And so today you're going to hear from Chris Thornton.

Chris has been with Watermark for about a year and a half.

He's been volunteering.

He's going to have a very funny accent, so he'll try to talk slowly so you can understand him.

He's British, and he's going to continue our guerrilla sermon.

Chris came on staff about two months ago to help us with our small groups.

So if you want to get into a small group or you have questions about small groups,

he's the one who does the training and organizing and helps us on this journey.

Watermark kids are dismissed.

You're to go out back to the service elevators.

Parents, we will bring your kids back up to you when the service is over

so you don't have to worry about them.

Today we continue the guerrilla letter series as Chris Thornton takes a look at happiness.

Here are a few letters we receive from you, our church community.

Dear Pastor, I became a Christian because I was told by my friends that God wanted me to be happy

and that after I invited Christ in my life, all would be okay.

Hey Pastor, okay.

I'm here only because of my spouse and then only by an agreement ever so often.

Dear guerrilla, I find it hard sometimes to be happy in all my circumstances.

My friends tell me I am to be joyful as a Christian, but not always happy.

Pastor Tobin, I study many hours a week because my parents tell me that will make my life comfortable

and happy in the long run.

I wonder if that's really true.

I looked at my friends' lives and that seemed to be true.

So I became a Christian.

But happy has not happened as I was promised.

And it seems like my life is worse than before.

I grew up around people who would say they were Christians most of my life.

And it seemed like, when it was all stripped away, their health or their wealth or their reputation

or something made their lives not work the way they wanted it to,

that they would quickly jettison their faith and act like the rest of us.

Kill or be killed.

Joy in being happy.

As I look at the Bible, they seem to be used in the same way.

Am I correct?

When I looked at my parents' lives, it seems like they promised me something

that they actually do not have or live out in their lives or in our home.

This week I found out that I'm being released from my job after the holidays are over.

Do other religions have more to offer me?

Just checking.

The Christian happy face to me seems to be fake.

Or at best, happiness is a matter of your circumstances.

How do you respond to this?

I guess I'm just curious on what the difference is between joy and being happy.

And how do I stay focused on heaven when it does not seem like things are working out for me here and now?

Help.

How do I really get happy?

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom,

and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases,

those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed.

And he healed them.

Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and the regions across the Jordan followed him.

Now, when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up to the mountainside and he sat down.

His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.

He said,

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are the people of heaven.

Children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.

For in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Good morning.

My name is Chris.

I hope you can cope with a British accent this morning.

Love it.

Tobin can translate into Texan for you if you're struggling.

We're continuing a series, a guerrilla series, and today we're going to be looking at happiness.

How happy are you?

One to ten, where are you?

In Hong Kong, the Hong Kong happiness index indicates that people in Hong Kong are getting less and less happy.

On average, the Hong Kong person thinks that they need about 1.5 million Hong Kong dollars, or about $125,000 a month to be happy.

Surprisingly, women feel they need more than men.

I'm not sure why.

In the world happiness rankings, Hong Kong comes in at 103 between Sudan and Belarus.

Go figure.

Everybody is looking for happiness.

Some people are looking for happiness in the partner of their dreams.

Some people are looking for happiness in just a moment's peace and quiet.

Some people are looking for happiness in a pat on the back from their boss.

Some recognition for their achievements.

But the happiness we're talking about here is a feeling that is dependent on your circumstances.

It's a feeling dependent on your circumstances.

I feel happy when the sun comes out.

Coming from the UK, that means I've been miserable for most of my life.

I feel happy when England are winning a football match.

That kind of happiness lasts about 10 minutes.

Particularly when we're playing Germany.

Now, you may feel happy when you get the keys to your new apartment.

You may feel happy when you get that job you've always been looking for.

But when the honeymoon period is over, what next?

Where are you next going to go to find your happiness?

Because this kind of happiness is as slippery as the soap in the bath.

The moment you think you've got hold of it, it just slips out of your grasp.

And you're constantly chasing it in an endless pursuit.

It's not that it's wrong to feel happy, but it's not ultimate.

When the Bible talks about happiness, it's talking about a different kind of happiness.

It's talking about a happiness that is not dependent on your circumstances.

It's talking about a deep, rich, satisfying joy and contentment, no matter what the situation you are facing.

C.S. Lewis, who wrote the Narnia Chronicles, he said this.

Indeed, if we consider the amazing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels,

it would seem that our Lord finds our desires for happiness not too strong, but too weak.

We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us.

Like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because we cannot imagine what is meant by an offer of a holiday at the sea.

We are far too easily pleased.

What Hong Kong needs is Christians who are not just chasing after dependent, circumstances-dependent happiness,

but who are chasing after an ultimate joy that is found as we are satisfied in God.

So as we come to the passage today, I want to give you a brief bit of background,

and then I've got four points that I'm going to go through quickly.

The context is, in this passage in Matthew, the people of Israel have suffered for centuries under the oppression of foreign rulers.

Every day they walk out, they see soldiers which remind them that they are not free.

But this people is a people who have also had promises from God,

promises that one day he will send a king who will bring in a kingdom which will be a kingdom of abundance,

where they are oppressed, they will be free, where they were lacking, they will be satisfied,

they will be blessed beyond their wildest dreams.

Everyone's looking for this king to come.

And Matthew, in the first four chapters of his book, is whispering to his readers,

the king is here, Jesus is here.

So in 4 verse 16 he says,

On those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.

So people hear about this king.

Jesus goes around and he's healing people.

People are being restored.

And everyone's thinking,

Wow, this may be the king.

This may be the kingdom coming.

So I want to get a part of it.

I want to get some of the blessings of this kingdom.

So they all go, and people are being healed.

People are being delivered.

And it seems great.

Everyone seems to be after these blessings.

But if you look in 5 verse 1,

there's a different group.

It's not just the crowd who are coming for these blessings.

There's another group, which are the disciples.

Because Jesus leaves the crowd,

and the disciples come to him.

Because the disciples are not just there to get the blessings.

They are intrinsically attracted to Jesus himself.

And this is my first point.

The first point is,

if you want that true, lasting, deep happiness,

it's found in relationship with God.

You see, the crowds,

they want to get some temporary blessings.

But when they've got it,

then they just go away.

And they're not interested in Jesus.

But the disciples are the ones that Jesus said to them,

You are blessed.

Blessed.

Now, what does this word blessed mean?

The word in Greek is makarios.

It literally means happy or fortunate.

Now, it's not saying,

it's not a feeling of happiness.

This is a state of happiness.

A bit like if I say to you,

you're so fortunate to have a boss like you've got.

You're so fortunate to live in Bel Air.

You're so fortunate that you have just amazing children.

It's a favoured position that you are in.

And in the Old Testament,

when God always says you are blessed,

it always comes out of relationship with God.

So, for example, Psalm 144, 15 says,

Blessed are those whose God is the Lord.

The source of all that joy,

all that happiness,

is that relationship that you have with God.

Now, we need to be careful,

because sometimes we think,

okay, I come to Jesus,

and then he's going to give me all the blessings that I get.

He's going to give me the health.

He's going to get my kids into the school I want.

He's going to give me the job I want.

But in Hong Kong,

there is a kind of young lady

who is called a gong-ju-bang.

Now, those of you who are from Hong Kong

know what a gong-ju-bang is.

Literally, it means princess syndrome or princess sickness.

These are the kind of ladies

who, when they're deciding who they're going to,

what man they're going to date,

reckon him up based on what his wallet is worth.

So they reckon,

okay, can he give me the LV bag?

Can he give me the diamond necklace?

Maybe the next iPad mini.

And if he seems to fit the bill,

then they'll go with him.

But if for some reason,

he stops giving them what they want,

then they'll go and find somebody else

who can buy them a more expensive bag

or something else which seems to satisfy them.

It's the same as some of the students I used to teach.

When I'd ask them,

what's your ambition in life?

They'd say to me,

to marry a billionaire.

Now, I don't think they were thinking at that point,

I want to develop a loving relationship

with this billionaire.

And even if he loses all his money,

I'm going to loyally stay devoted to him.

No, they're thinking,

I want his cash.

I want the yacht.

I want the holiday in the Maldives.

I want the Ferrari.

They want his stuff.

They don't want the relationship.

They want the stuff.

And the problem is,

once they've got the stuff,

they still don't have the relationship

because they're still left empty

and longing for more.

But if you're all about the relationship,

well, he has the stuff anyway.

And if he doesn't have it,

he's still content with the relationship.

And I think many of us as Christians

live as Christian Gongju Bang.

Many of us go to God,

as long as he gives me what I want,

then I'll stick with him.

But the moment it seems like

things are not going quite the way I wanted,

the moment I lose my job,

the moment my health fails,

we start to question,

actually,

maybe there's a better option somewhere else.

Because it's all about the stuff.

It's not about the relationship.

So I want to unpack this

just in three further points.

We're going to look at

how desperation for God

leads to happiness,

how mourning leads to happiness,

and how longing to be like Jesus

leads to happiness.

So if you look in verse 3,

it says here,

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Another translation says,

Blessed are those who know their need for God.

Now, our society tells us

if you want to be happy,

you've got to be more assertive.

You've got to make more effort.

You've got to try your best.

You've got to believe in yourself.

You can do it.

As long as you work hard enough.

As long as you think enough

positive thoughts about yourself.

But that's not what the Bible says

if you want to get deep happiness

which is not dependent on your circumstances.

If you want to be happy,

you need to become a beggar.

You need to become desperate

knowing that you have nothing

and that God is the only hope

and source that you can run to.

In Psalm 34 it says,

This poor man cried to the Lord

and he heard him

and he saved him out of all his troubles.

This poor man,

he is desperate for God.

And until you realize

that the happiness that you need in life

depends totally on God,

you're always going to be chasing

after something else.

How does this work out?

I think this works out sometimes

in prayer.

When do you pray?

What do you pray for?

And how often do you pray?

Because prayer expresses dependence on God.

A gong jubeng prays in two situations.

A gong jubeng prays when things are going wrong.

So they want God to fix the situation.

And when he answers them,

just like the people of Israel,

then they kind of say thanks

and then they leave him behind.

Because I'm competent

in the rest of the areas of my life.

I can deal with those.

God's a bit like a tablet.

You know, you've got a headache.

You take the tablet.

It fixes the situation.

You put it back on the shelf

until you get the next problem.

That's the first situation.

I think gong jubeng also pray

just when they want something.

When they want something

to make their life more comfortable.

So that may be for their friends,

their family.

It may be good health.

It may be to pass their exams.

I don't know.

Before a job interview,

suddenly my prayer life gets amazing.

Now, it's not that it's wrong

to pray for those things.

In fact, Jesus says,

when you pray, say,

give us our day a daily bread.

It's okay to pray for those things.

But the thing is,

when the gong jubeng doesn't get those things,

when the job doesn't come,

when the kids don't get in the school you want,

they start to doubt that God is good.

They start to get angry with God.

And they think,

okay, forget about it.

You didn't seem to work.

And then they move on

to throwing themselves into something else.

But the poor man,

who knows that,

actually,

he doesn't just need the stuff from God.

He needs God himself.

So when he prays,

yes, he will pray for things.

But even if those things don't materialize,

he still prays for the relationship.

I wonder how often do you pray,

how often in your community groups do you pray,

for God himself,

and not just for stuff from God.

That's the second thing.

Third thing.

If you want to be happy,

it starts with mourning.

Now this seems very strange,

because literally,

it's happy are the unhappy,

which seems very strange.

But the kind of mourning we're talking about here

is not mourning over a dead relative,

or you've lost a loved one.

This is mourning over the depth of your sin.

To know true happiness,

you've got to realize

that while all true happiness

comes out of relationship with God,

you have rejected that relationship with God,

and have cut yourself off

from the source of all that blessing,

that fountain of joy.

And that we live in a culture

which kind of minimizes sin.

Sin is basically saying,

I want to do what I want to do,

and God, I'm not going to listen to you.

And I think we often think about sin like this.

I think we often think of a sin like speeding.

You know, you're doing 80 kilometers an hour

in a 50 limit,

the police catch you,

and maybe you feel sorry at that moment.

You feel sorry for two reasons.

You feel sorry,

one, that the police caught you.

And maybe you feel sorry,

two, that you broke a rule.

That maybe as a Christian,

you know you shouldn't break the law.

But I doubt as the police catch you,

you're saying,

I'm sorry,

I have sinned against Leung Cheng Ying

and the government.

I'm no longer worthy

to be called a citizen of Hong Kong.

I doubt you're staying awake at night

thinking how you've offended

the transport minister.

Are you?

You're thinking,

I got caught.

Oh, I shouldn't have done that.

Bit naughty.

But actually,

when the Bible talks about sin,

it says sin is personal.

Sin is a personal attack on God.

In Psalm 51,

when David commits adultery with Bathsheba,

he says afterwards,

against you, God,

alone have I sinned.

Because sin is just like saying,

God, get out of my life right now.

It's like slamming the door in his face.

It's like kicking him out of the door

and saying,

at this particular moment,

I don't want you anywhere near me.

That's what sin is.

Sin is personal.

And I know in my own life,

I've seen this,

where at one stage,

I was very selfish towards my parents.

And it got to,

I was so bad that my parents

were so stressed out

that my mom's head started

to kind of involuntarily shake

and she started going grey.

And I was like,

I didn't know why this was happening,

so I asked my dad,

why is this happening?

And he said to me,

it's because of you.

Because suddenly I realised

it was personal.

And it just broke me inside.

I wept.

I mourned over my sin

because I realised it was personal.

And I think many of us,

we make excuses.

I make so many excuses.

Like for example,

if I've had a,

I've been insensitive

to Fiona,

my fiancé or something,

maybe afterwards

I might kind of apologise

and say,

I'm sorry,

but you know,

I was tired.

Or,

I'm sorry,

but you were mean to me.

I'm sorry,

but I had a hard day.

Or maybe if I don't even

say those things,

I think,

well you know,

you started,

yeah I did something wrong,

but look what you did.

That's not mourning over sin,

that's justifying it.

And the Bible says,

when you mourn over your sin,

it's the start of happiness.

But why is it the start of happiness?

Because it doesn't sound like

you're going to be happy,

but the rest of the verse says this,

blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

And here's the thing,

when you understand

the depth of your sin,

then you'll begin to understand

the depth of God's

amazing grace towards you.

That when you begin to understand

how you have personally

offended God,

then you understand

how incredible

his death on the cross is for you.

That he's wiped out every sin,

that he's thrown it

into the depths of the sea,

that it's gone completely.

You no longer have to cover up,

you no longer have to justify yourself,

it's gone.

He's dealt with it,

you're free.

And this is such good news,

I think,

in Hong Kong,

because so many of us,

we know that there's something

wrong with us,

we know we've done things

wrong in our past,

and we just try and cover it up,

we throw ourselves into,

trying to prove ourselves,

through work,

through working hard,

through being excellent in sports,

through doing all kinds of things,

which leave us stressed,

because we're all the time

trying to cover up

that kind of,

what we know is wrong inside.

But this is good news,

because it says to you,

you don't have to cover up any longer,

you're free,

God's grace has completely wiped it out,

you don't have to pretend

not to be a sinner,

you come to God,

you mourn over your sin,

and it's completely removed.

That's why it's good news,

that's why this is the beginning

of happiness.

Third thing,

fourth thing,

lasting happiness

also starts with longing

to be like Jesus.

In verse 6,

it says,

blessed are those

who hunger and thirst

for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

It's longing

and being desperate

for righteousness,

right relationship with God,

right relationship with each other.

In other words,

it's longing

to be like Jesus.

It's being desperate,

desperate,

desperate like people

are desperate on the MTR

to get a seat.

It's desperate

that you're so thirsty

that you just want this

more than anything else.

Now,

the Gongju Bang

is desperate for something,

they're desperate for comfort.

And this kind of plays out,

this difference

between the Christian

who longs

to be like Jesus

and the one

who longs for comfort.

When things go wrong,

you know,

you know,

you've lost all your work.

You know,

it's when your boss

is unbearably demanding.

It's when your husband

forgets your birthday

or your friend

talks behind your back.

The Gongju Bang

starts to complain.

And I've been in so many offices

and they're just filled

with complaining people.

Because the Gongju Bang

says,

what have I done

to deserve this?

Look at them,

they're just such a...

I can't believe

they did that to me.

But the thing is,

the Christian

who longs

to be like Jesus

responds to frustration

and difficulty

not with complaining

but with thanksgiving.

Not because they're excited

about the frustration

and the suffering

but because they know

that God uses

frustrating,

difficult circumstances

to make you

more like himself.

They are God's

shaping tool

to change you

into the person

who he's wanting you to be.

Romans 8 verse 28 says,

Romans 8:28

God is working

all things

for your good.

I think we then

stop there.

But actually,

the next part says,

to conform you,

to be like himself.

In other words,

when your wife

is nagging you,

when your husband

is being insensitive,

God's actually

going to use

even those situations

to make you

like himself.

How?

Well,

you don't learn

to be patient

if everything's

going your way.

You don't learn

to be gracious

if everybody's

nice to you.

You don't learn

to forgive

until somebody

actually hurts you.

God uses

painful,

difficult situations

to transform you

like himself.

And we can respond.

If your longing

is to be like Jesus,

then you can thank God

even in the difficulty

because you know

that he's making you

more like himself.

Now,

does that mean

you have to go around

with this kind of

fixed grin,

you know,

that Christian grin,

you know,

when deep inside

there's all kinds

of turmoil going on

but you know

you've got to look happy.

No,

that's not what

we're talking about.

In the Bible,

there's a word for it.

It's not complaining,

it's lament.

The Bible talks about

when you're in those

moments of just

real struggle

and pain

and you want to

voice out

your agony

as it were,

we can lament.

What's the difference

between lamenting

and complaining?

And remember,

there's a whole book

in the Bible

about lamenting.

It's called Lamentations.

A third of the Psalms

are laments.

So,

God's into lamenting,

okay?

But here's the difference

between lament

and complaint

and I can only

briefly say this.

A lamenter,

when things are going wrong,

when they're in pain,

they run to God

with their struggles

and they just say,

God,

I need you.

God,

this is the way

things are.

A complainer

runs to everybody else

except God

with all their problems.

Maybe

they start off

complaining to God

but then,

as things don't seem

to work out

straight away for them,

then they just go

to everybody else.

A lamenter

wrestles

through the issues

to a point

of trusting God

and they come back

again and again

and again to God

until they can say,

God,

I trust you.

I know you're

working in this

because for the lamenter,

it's about the relationship

with God.

A complainer

becomes bitter

and angry at God

and they wallow

in their circumstances.

A complainer says,

look at all my problems.

God's not helping me

one bit here.

A lamenter says,

God,

I know you're working

in my life

but I'm overwhelmed.

I can't cope

with this situation.

Please help me.

And they allow

God and other people

to enter into

their struggles

and to bring them

to that place of joy

in God again.

There are two old people

that I used to visit.

One of them is 88.

She's had a pretty hard life.

She had to leave school

when she was 14.

Her house was bombed

in the Second World War.

Her fiancé was shot down

and went missing

for two months

during the war.

She had a miscarriage.

She struggled

for year after year

with chronic pain.

Her husband has died.

Every time I go

and see her,

it's like there's

one sickness

after another,

sickness after another.

It's always something different.

But when I go

and visit her,

she's really honest

about her problems.

She's really matter-of-fact

about them.

She shares them.

But it's not a pity party.

And always at the end

she says,

but you know,

God has been

so faithful to me

and I want to shout it

from the rooftops

about how good God is.

She exudes

this incredible joy.

And when I go away

from that,

I always go away

encouraged,

thinking,

you know,

if I ever get to be

that age,

I want to be like her.

And there are some kids

that we,

a family we used to know

in the neighbourhood

who basically

were a very broken family.

The husband was in

and out of prison.

The 14-year-old boy

was in and out of prison.

All the children

were blacklisted

from the neighbourhood.

But they got to know

this 88-year-old.

And of their own will,

and this is unheard of

in the youth,

I mean,

10, 12-year-old boys

don't just go around

to strange 88-year-old ladies.

But they would come

off their old back

willingly

to meet with her

and just spend time with her

because they loved

being with her.

And actually,

as they spent time with her,

it meant they weren't

causing trouble

in the rest of the neighbourhood.

You see,

all of the rest of society

would say that

she was functionally useless.

She couldn't do very much.

But actually,

her life was making

a major impact

on everyone

who she came across.

I know somebody else

that I used to visit.

He's dead now.

And he'd had

a pretty good life.

He'd been very successful

in business.

He had a great wife

and kids.

He was very talented,

very sporty.

But then,

as he got older,

his wife died.

And he began to feel

the aches and pains

of old age.

He couldn't do

what he used to be able to do.

And he became bitter

and hardened.

When I went to go

to visit him,

he would just spend

hours complaining.

And I'd come away

from there

just feeling discouraged

and drained

and just,

I'd say to my friend,

oh,

we just need to pray for him.

Because you see,

for him,

he would say,

I've got nothing

worth living for.

I just want to die.

Because for him,

life had been

all about the stuff.

And when the stuff

was taken away,

he had nothing left.

But the other lady,

her life had been

all about the relationship.

And when everything else

was stripped away,

she still had

the fountain of joy

which kept her through

the difficult times

and the good times.

And the thing is,

this joy is not just,

I think sometimes

we talk about happiness

and basically,

we just want to be

happy for me.

I want my life

to be happy.

But actually,

if you looked in

verse 14

in the bulletin,

it's not there,

but you can look later.

Jesus goes on

in this sermon

on the mount

and he says,

you are the light

of the world

to the Christians there.

And it's very interesting

because

how are they going

to be a light?

This lady was a light

to the people around her.

How?

Because she'd found

her joy

in God.

And when you came

across her,

you just noticed

something different

about her.

Wouldn't it be amazing

in Hong Kong

if there were

a group of people

in Hong Kong

where everyone

is looking for

this happiness,

where everyone,

people are complaining

about all the kind

of things that are

going on,

and they find

a people

who are satisfied

not because

the situations

are great,

but they're satisfied

because they know

God is great.

How would that

impact your offices

if when everybody

else is complaining

they see that

you are not

the same,

that there's

something different

about you?

This is one of God's

mission strategies

for reaching the world,

that we are satisfied

in God.

That's when God

gets glorified.

But maybe you're

thinking,

that sounds great,

Chris,

you know,

lovely in theory,

but in practice

life's just not

like that.

That's just not

practical.

I would suggest

to you that you

are probably

already a

Gong Jubeing

because you've

forgotten

what was the first

thing we mentioned.

The first way

to blessing

is that,

first of all,

you're in relationship

but you've got to

realize your need.

of God.

You see,

when Jesus goes

through these

what are called

beatitudes,

he's saying

this is the

normal Christian

life.

This is the

normal Christian

life.

Anything less

than this

is subnormal

Christianity.

Now when I

look at my

own life,

I see this

massive gap

between that

and the way

I live.

Now if I

just go,

okay,

I can't do

that,

that's me

saying it

all depends

on me

and obviously

I can't

do that.

But remember,

the first place

to start is this,

you've got to

know your

need of God.

Unless you

go to God

and run to God

and say,

I can't do

this,

I can't live

like this,

I need you.

Unless you

change me,

unless you

make me like

this,

it's never

going to

happen.

that is the

beginning of

that road to

that happiness.

Unless you

begin to see

that actually

the reason

there is that

gap between

what Jesus

calls you to

and the way

we often live

is because

of our own

sin and you

actually mourn

over it and

you say,

God,

I know this

is the way

I need to be

living,

but I don't.

And we

come and we

say,

God,

forgive me.

And even if

we don't feel

like mourning,

we say,

God,

I want to

mourn,

please help me

to mourn

over my

sin.

Then you

will know

the amazing

grace which

says you

are free,

you are

forgiven,

it's not

your effort,

it's only

my grace.

And as he

transforms your

heart to

want to

long to

be like

Jesus,

any situation

that comes,

you can give

thanks to him

because you

know he's

changing you

to be more

like himself.

Because when

Jesus died,

he died to

bring you

into true

joy.

because he

died to

bring you

into relationship

with himself.

That's why

he died.

And the

one who

chases after

a superficial

happiness

will be

left making

mud pies

in a slum.

But my

challenge to

you is this,

don't be

satisfied

with just

dependent,

circumstance

dependent

happiness.

But realize

there is a

holiday on

the beach

that you

could be

enjoying now.

Let's just

pray.

And what I

want you to

do is,

I want you

to just

to think

for a

moment,

what is

God saying

to you

right now?

I'm going

to give you

just a few

seconds just

to think,

what is God

saying to you

in your

own life

now?

And just

cry out to

him in

this moment.

Father,

thank you.

Thank you

so much

that you

want our

joy.

You want

us to

know

satisfying,

life-giving

joy in

this life

and in

the next,

Lord.

Thank you

that in

this life

we can

have a

taste of

that kingdom

of blessing

things.

We can

enjoy the

starter for

the main

meal later,

Lord.

And I

pray that

you would

help us

not to

be satisfied

with the

kind of

the lives

we live,

but to

thirst for

you,

to realize

that your

death and

resurrection

is the

fountain of

our joy,

that your

grace is

what cleans

us and

helps us

to live

freely.

Help us

to chase

after you

as we've

never chased

after anything

else.

Let us

not be

content with

just having

more stuff

from you.

Let us

really desire

you,

Lord,

I pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Do I hear

amen to that?

Not to the

crying, but

to the

amen to the

crying, too.

Hey, if

this is the

first time you

heard this

talk for the

first time,

and you're

like, wow,

that's me.

We would

love for you

to, we have

people up here

who would like

to pray with

you if you

want to deal

with this in

your life.

Don't allow

this to keep

going on without

asking the

Lord, what

does this look

like for me?

The kids are

going to be

brought up in

a second, so

your parents

don't need to

rush down

there, but

afterwards,

there'll be

people up here

to pray with

you, and

we'd like to

just continue

in that

journey as

we go as

a family.

Last week,

we had the

Kennedy Town

share about

the outreach

they had, and

before we all

broke down,

last Sunday,

everything was

provided.

The money for

the, it was

amazing.

Enough of

you, enough of

you signed up

to help them

serve the

elderly in our

area, so

during the

holidays, they're

going to have

two big meals

of about 400

people that are

going to be

served, and

everybody signed

up for that.

All the money

came in, and

it was just so

humbling to see

the family of God

come together and

see a need and

say, okay, we

need to fix

this, and let's

be a part of

continuing to

fix this, because

this isn't just

a one-off thing, so

praise the Lord.

Also, as you head

out in the back, we

put these together

for you guys, and

they're basically

just a red packet,

but inside it

tells the story of

the gospel.

And so they're

for sale, and

just grab a packet

of them, put your

money for whoever

you want to share

with.

I found these to

be great tools.

I give them to my

bus drivers, I give

them to the people

in taxis, I give

them to the people

at the restaurant, so

these are made

available for you in

the back, so please

grab a couple of

those.

Also, we are doing

our Watermark Israel

tour.

You've seen it on the

screens for about a

month now, and so the

time is coming up

where we're having

people sign up.

We have about 10

more places left, and

so we want to open

that up to you as a

family before we've

had other people from

other churches wanting

to get involved in

that, but we want it

to be mostly a

Watermark thing.

So there's a brochure

that tells everything

about it.

It's on the back

table back there.

It is a money-back

guarantee.

Christine and I have

done it every two

years, so it's our

fourth trip with Dr.

Hannah, whom you

met.

If you hate it, at the

end of it, I'll give

you your money back,

okay?

So I'm just serious,

because it's just such

a life-changing event

to walk to these places

where you heard Jesus

say, blessed are the

poor in spirit, and you

sit right there and you

see history around you.

So we want to encourage

you to pray about being

a part of that.

Also, we don't take

offering here.

There's little blue

envelopes, and we would

just ask for you, as you

consider what Christ has

done in your life, to

give proportionally to

that, and that makes all

of this possible.

What a great Sunday.

Are you guys happy to be

here?

I say, Chris, thank you

so much.

It's so humbling to, one

of the things we prayed

when we started the

church is Christina and

I said, we can't do it

by ourselves.

We need people who have

these gifts and talents,

and in the two years that

we've been here, you've

heard from over 13 or

14 other people who've

come up and brought

God's word, and to me

that is amazing, because

it means if I die tomorrow

or something happens, God

takes care of his people,

and he always does, and

we have to trust him in

that way, even as we

think about planting other

churches.

So thanks so much, and

let me close this in

prayer.

Father, we thank you for

this day.

I think even as we just

sang about humbly coming

before you, and what does

it mean for us to be

beggars?

I confess, Lord, that

sometimes that's very

difficult, because I think

of my ability, my gifting,

my talent, my education, the

experiences in the past, and

sometimes it's easy to let

those things drive instead of

letting prayer drive.

And so we come before you, and

I know even now there are

people here who this is the

first time they've even heard a

talk like this, and this is the

first time they've heard this

idea of a relationship versus

stuff.

And Lord, I pray for those

people that they would see you

as you truly are, and they

would not leave here still

having a relationship with

stuff, but not the giver of

life.

And Lord, I pray for the rest

of us as we go on our journey

this week that we would really

ask ourselves hard questions.

Do we want the relationship, or

do we just want the things?

And Lord, if we find out that

we've wanted the things more

than we wanted you, I pray that

we would just repent of that,

that we confess that sin and

just come before you humbly as

the beggars that we are, because

your word says that you are

merciful and just and

compassionate, and you desire to

do these good things for your

children as we walk with you.

And so Lord, we walk with you

humbly, knowing that you're good

and that you're holy.

And Lord, I pray for the rest of

this part of Hong Kong as we

walk out today.

Help us to be different and

help us to see your son in our

words and our actions and in our

families and how we interact with

our children.

Help the people around us to see

those things be different and

help them to ask questions of

why.

Give us the courage to say it's

nothing about me because I fail

most of the time, but it's about

Christ who's changing me moment

by moment through his gospel.

So Lord, I just thank you for my

brothers and sisters here, and we

love you and we need you, and we

pray these things in your son in

Jesus' holy name.

Amen.

God bless you.

Next week we're on the third

floor, so we're not up here.

We're on the third floor.

There's food and drinks and

coffee.

Please help yourself.

Are we up here next week?

Oh, we're up here next week.

Okay.

Sorry about that.

We're up here.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

top 3- Хотol

Transcription see you somewhere

later on tecnpey.

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ways in my mind.

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We're up here.