Rick Warren - How to Be Happy No Matter What Happens with Rick Warren

Now today, if you grab your Bible and download the

message notes, I want us to look at what God's

word teaches us about how to be happy no matter

what happens. How to be happy no matter what happens.

Now this is a skill that we all need to

learn during difficult days. Now, anytime you wanna study what

God has to say about happiness, you go to the

book of Philippians here in the Bible. It's the most

positive happy book in God's word. In spite of the

fact that Paul wrote it while he was a prisoner

in a dark Roman prison dungeon and he was chained

to a 24-hour guard, but Paul knew how to be

happy no matter what happens. Now, one of the key

verses is Philippians 1, chapter one, verse 27. It's at

the top of the message outline that you can download

as a listening guide. Philippians 1, 27 says this. Whatever happens,

whatever happens, Conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the

good news of Christ. Have you ever held a pity

party for yourself? It's quite easy to throw a pity party.

All you have to do is think up a list

of everything negative in your life and then think about

it over and over and over and then feel sorry

for yourself. Last Tuesday, I gave myself a pity party.

It was a good one. And first I thought of

the chronic pain that I'd been feeling for three weeks

that was sapping all my energy. And then next I

thought of all the things that I wasn't getting done

and the pressure that I felt from those deadlines because

I hadn't been feeling good. So I had pain and pressure.

Then I thought of the people who needed my help.

And I thought of some other people who were upset

with me. And finally, in case that wasn't enough, I

thought of all the problems in the world that we

just keep hearing about. So you got pain, pressure, people,

and problems. These are the four most common sources of unhappiness.

They're what I call the killjoys, the common killjoys of life.

And I know you're very familiar with them too. Now today,

we're gonna see how Paul handled all four of these

killjoys in the first chapter of Philippians. Anyway, I started

holding this pity party for myself. And at one point,

I actually thought the words you know, I don't like

any of this. And I'm really, really, really not happy

right now. Have you ever felt that way? Maybe this

week too. Well, you know what? I try to live

each moment in my life in constant conversation with God

throughout my day. The Bible says to pray continually, pray

without ceasing. And that means keep a running, ongoing conversation

with God in your head. So as soon as I

thought the idea, I'm not happy right now, I also

heard this little question in my mind from the Holy

Spirit that said, do you wanna stay unhappy? Do you

wanna stay unhappy? And I immediately answered, no, no, I

don't wanna stay unhappy. You see friends, God says that

happiness is a choice. It's not based on circumstances, it's

based on choices. You must choose happiness. Now, happiness is

not something you look for. That's what many people mistake.

It's not something you look for. If you look for it,

you're not gonna find it. Happiness is something you create.

Happiness is something you choose. The truth is, regardless of

your circumstances, no matter what's going on in your life

right now, no matter what's happening in your life, you

are as happy as you choose to be. You are

as happy as you choose to be. You can't blame

anybody else for your unhappiness. And regardless of the pain,

regardless of pressure, regardless of other people, and regardless of

problems in your life, you are as happy as you

choose to be. One of the most common mistakes we

make in life is what I call when and then thinking.

When I get this, then I'll be happy. When something

happens the way I want it to happen, then I'll

be happy. When I get out of school, then I'll

be happy. When I get a man in my life

or a woman, then I'll be happy. When I get

a job or a promotion, when I retire, but you

could fill it in with a million things, when and

then thinking. In Paul's case, it could have been when

I get out of prison, then I'll be happy. But

the truth is this, if you don't know how to

choose happiness right now, in spite of your circumstances, there's

gonna be pains and pressures and people and problems to

blame for your unhappiness for the rest of your life.

And you're never really gonna be happy long-term. Now, let

me explain the background of today's text, which is Philippians

chapter one. In the previous four years of Paul's life,

before he wrote this chapter we're gonna look at today,

in that last four years, Paul had spent two years

in jail in Caesarea on false charges, false charges, two

years in jail. Then he was shipwrecked while he was

sailing to Rome for another trial under Nero, who was

the Caesar at that time. Then in that shipwreck, he

was stranded on a desert island for a while and

actually got bitten by a poisonous snake. And then when

he finally got to Rome, he was imprisoned again in

Rome for two years in a deep, dank, dark dungeon

with a 24-hour guard chained to him. Paul had every

reason to be unhappy, every reason to be bitter, every

reason to be resentful or fearful or depressed. He had

the right to hold a pity party. But instead, in

that dark, dank prison, Paul wrote the most positive book

in the Bible, Philippians. Now, In Philippians 1, verses 12

Philippians 1:12–30

to 30, Paul, who is writing from prison, models four

principles for being happy no matter what happens in your life.

This is a very practical message. I hope you'll take

notes on this. I want you to see the four

choices that Paul made so you can make these same

choices too. Again, you're as happy as you choose to be,

all right? So here are the four principles, the four choices.

I can be happy no matter what happens in my

life if I choose to, write this down, remember God

can bring good out of anything. That's the first choice.

I choose to remember that God can bring good out

of anything. Now, of course, Romans 8, 28, that famous

verse of scripture in the Bible says this. We know,

not we guess, we know that in all that happens,

All that happens, that's the good, the bad, and the ugly.

We know that in all that happens, God works for

the good of those who love him and are called

according to his purpose. Now that verse does not say

all things that happen are good, because they're not. There's

a lot of bad, there's a lot of evil in

the world. But it says in all things that happen,

God works for the good. God works for the good.

The good is not what happens. The good is what

God does with even the bad in our lives. God

can bring good out of bad. Now, we get frustrated

and we get unhappy when we don't see what God sees,

when we don't have his perspective. The truth is God

is working out a plan for your life. And even

when all the circumstances, the people and the pressures and

the problem and the pain are not good, God is

still working for good in your life. Now knowing this

truth is for instance why King David years earlier was

able to say in Psalm 34 verse one, I will

praise the Lord no matter what happens. I'll praise the

Lord no matter what happens. Can you say that? You see,

circle the word will, I will. Will means a decision.

Will means a choice. Will means you had an option.

It's not I can decide. It's a decision. I will

praise the Lord no matter what happens. David made a choice.

It was a decision. Now, how do you do that?

How do you consistently make that decision to praise God

even in bad circumstances? By learning to look at everything

from God's perspective, not your own. Let me say that again.

The way you make this first choice is by learning

to look at everything in your life from God's viewpoint,

God's perspective, not my own. It's a life skill you're

gonna have to learn if you wanna be happy no

matter what happens in your life. Now listen closely. You

must choose to look at every situation in your life

from God's viewpoint. That's called wisdom. Happy people have a

larger perspective. Happy people see a bigger picture. They look

past the pain, the people, the problems and the pressure,

and they see a bigger picture. What is the bigger picture?

Romans 8 28, that we know that no matter what happens,

God is working for good in our lives. Let me

show you Paul's example of this principle. It's verse 12

of Philippians chapter one. Paul says this, I want you

to know dear brothers and sisters that everything, circle that word, everything,

all what had happened in the past four years that

I told you about, everything that has happened to me

has helped to spread the good news. That's a whole

different perspective. Rather than a pity party say, God is

using this for good. Let me explain. You see, Paul

had dreamed for many, many years of sharing Christ in

the center of the empire. At that time, Rome was

the empire. It was the Roman empire. And I'm sure

his idea was, let's go to Rome, rent the Colosseum,

have a harvest crusade every night with Paul preaching. That

was his idea of taking the message and getting it

spread all through the Roman empire. God's idea was to

make him a royal prisoner of Nero. Nero was the

emperor at that time. Now, as a royal prisoner, he

had an opportunity to share Christ with many key people

that even other prisoners wouldn't be able to do. He's chained,

he's not only in a Roman prison, he's chained 24

hours a day to a palace guard. What's a palace guard?

They were the elite, handpicked, security agents of Caesar. And

they guarded prisoners in four hour shifts. Now, follow me

on the math of this. Paul was in prison in

Rome for over two years. He's chained to an elite

handpicked crack agent guard every four hours. That means over

two years, there would be 4,380 different guards who would

be attached to him. What's going on here? He's dealing

with people of influence, and he's got a captive audience,

no pun intended. You know, when I think about this,

he's chained to these guards, nearly 5,000, over 4,000 guards.

Who's the real prisoner here? You're chained to Paul, and

you are a captive audience, and he talks to every

one of these guys about the Lord. The Bible tells

us that there were two results of this. In chapter

four of Philippians, it tells us that some of Nero's

own family had come to Christ. Did you know that?

Some of Nero's own family had become Christians because Paul

is witnessing to the prison or the royal guards. You

might call that a chain reaction because he's chained to

these guards. Paul is forced, that's the first benefit. Second

benefit is this. Instead of Paul going out and preaching

in the Colosseum, Paul was forced to sit still in

his prison cell. And you know what he did during

all that two years? He wrote the New Testament. But

over half the New Testament are letters of Paul to

different churches, including this one to the people in Philippi.

And so he's writing the New Testament and the expenses

are paid by Nero. Now write this down. Face every

situation with faith, not fear. If I wanna be happy,

I must face every situation, whether it's people, pain, problems,

or pressures. Face every situation with faith, not fear. Get

the bigger perspective. Learn to see your problems, your pains,

your pressures, the people in your life from God's point

of view, not just your own. Now, before we go

to the second principle, I wanna practice this first one.

So I want you to bow your head right now, okay?

Wherever you are, whatever campus, or if you're listening on

Daily Hope, you can pull over to the side of

the road if you're driving, don't bow your head while

you're driving. Pull over to the side of the road.

And here's the first thing I want you to do.

Think of a situation that you're facing right now that

is either scaring you or it's causing you unhappiness. Think

of a situation in your life that's either scaring you

or it's causing unhappiness. Now, I want you to say

this in a prayer to God. Say, God, just say that. God,

help me, help me to see this from your perspective.

Help me to see this from your perspective, this situation.

Help me to face this problem with faith, not fear. Amen. Amen. Now,

What you just did is the first step to perpetual happiness. Anytime,

by the way, you face a situation in faith rather

than in fear, and you trust that God knows what

he's doing and you remember that he's working out his plan,

two things happen when you face your problems with faith,

not fear. First, it's a witness to unbelievers. Every time

you have faith instead of fear. Verse 13, Philippians chapter

one says this, Paul says, For everybody here, he's talking

about in the prison, everyone here, including all the soldiers

in the palace guard, knows that I'm in chains because

of Christ, okay? So it's a witness to unbelievers when

you act in faith toward your problems rather than in fear.

So witness to unbelievers. It's also, number two, an encouragement

to other believers. It's an encouragement to believers. Verse 14,

he says this, and by the way, Because of my imprisonment,

many of the Christians here, the believers here have gained confidence.

They've become bolder and they've become more bold in telling

others about Christ. Anytime you react to the pain, pressures,

problems or people in your life from God's perspective than

your own, it's gonna be a witness to unbelievers and

it's gonna be an encouragement to believers. You know, when

our youngest child, Matthew, died and took his life during

a period of great mental illness, Kay and I noticed

that both of these things happened with us because we

saw God's perspective and we faced this horrible crisis in

our lives with faith, not fear. And as a result,

we were able to witness to millions of unbelievers for instance,

being on the cover of People Magazine and doing a

one hour interview on CNN and a lot of other things.

We were able to witness to millions of unbelievers and

we were able to encourage and even still today encouraging

many believers who are struggling with mental health issues in

their family or personally or thoughts of suicide. So the

first thing I do if I want to always be

happy regardless of the circumstances, how to be happy in

spite of. whatever happens. I remember that God can bring

good out of bad. Second, here's the second thing. I

can be happy no matter what happens in my life

if I choose to do this. Number two, never let

others control my attitude. Never let others, either by their

words or by their actions, control my attitude. They can't

control you unless you allow them to control you by

their words or by their actions. Now, while Paul was

in prison, there were people who criticized his ministry while

he's down. They're kicking him while he's down. They slandered Paul.

They judged Paul. They criticized him. There were those who

were his friends who supported his ministry. They were companions

and friends. There were those who competed with his ministry

while he's in prison, taking advantage that he's off, out

of circulation. And there were those who undermined his ministry.

They actually attacked him and tried to destroy him while

he was in prison. And in Philippians chapter one, the

next couple of verses, verses 15, 16 to 17, Paul

describes four kinds of people. Three of these four kinds

of people are killjoys. And guess what? You're gonna have

all four of these in your life. Hopefully you're gonna

have companions. But there are critics, there are companions, there

are competitors. and there are challengers. You're gonna have all

four of these in your life and if you don't

know how to deal with them, you're not gonna be

happy much of your life. First in verse 15, Paul

had critics and he says this, it's true that some

people preach Christ because they're jealous of us and they

like to argue. They're jealous of us. They like to argue.

You know, the word there, eros in Greek means they

love to argue. They love conflict. They enjoy creating controversy.

These people hang out on social media. They're contentious. They're divisive.

They're critical. They love conflict. They love debate people into controversy.

They're on social media all the time. Ever heard a

preacher on the radio or the television like that? He

baits everybody by being provocative and being critical of somebody else.

Ever read a blogger or somebody in social media like that?

Notice that Paul says that critics' motives are often jealousy.

And they want to have the influence you've got, and

so they start trying to tear you down. Now, there

are a few things in life that cause you to

lose your happiness faster than criticism. I mean, we all

want people to like us, okay? But here is an

important principle you need to remember if you're gonna be

happy in life. You don't need other people's approval or

permission to be happy. You don't need other people people's

approval to be happy. You don't need other people's permission

to be happy. Happiness is a choice. You're happy as

you choose to be. So he deals with critics in

verse 15. Then in 16, he talks about his companions. Now,

these are the good people. You want these people in

your life. He says, other people preach from genuine goodwill

and they do so out of love. And they know

that God has given me the work of defending the gospel.

You wanna have some friends in your life. You don't

need a lot, but you need a couple of really

good friends. That's why we always talk about being in

a small group. If you're not in a small group,

you need to get in a small group. You need

a group of companions who will help you through the

tough times in your life. The small group I'm in

right now, I've been in, I think, over 20 years.

And it has helped me many times. They are a

source of encouragement and happiness for me. In the next verse,

Paul says, you know, you're gonna have competitors in life.

And he says this, other people preach Christ insincerely from

a spirit of selfish ambition. They're gonna be people in

your life. You're gonna have competitors, people who wanna compete

with you. They're ego driven. And one of the things

they do, you can tell them that they're competitive, is

they put down others in an attempt to make themselves

look good. Now, let me just say this, whether you're

a business person or you're a teenager, or you're a homemaker, whatever,

competitors who look like they're trying to compete with you

over what your house looks like or what your job

is or who's your best friend at school, competitors will

rob your happiness if you let them. But you can't,

happiness is a choice. Then the second part of verse 17,

he says there are challengers. There are people out there

who really just don't like you. They're enemies. And he says,

others wanna stir up more trouble for me. You know,

what a thing. People actually wanna stir up trouble for

other people. Yeah, they do. And they find their value

in creating trouble for other people. I heard about somebody

in a neighborhood once and they said, she's only happy

when she's making trouble for their neighbors. He says, others

just wanna stir up more trouble for me and add

pain while I'm in prison. Now, these are the troublemakers

and the crazy makers of life. And you know what

their primary tool is? Gossip, gossip. Gossip can ruin your

happiness very quickly too, just like criticism can. Now, you're

gonna have all four of these in your life, critics

and companions and the people who compete with you. And

then these crazy makers, they're always just trying to tear

you down. regardless of the people in your life. People

are the second killjoy in your life. Look at Paul's attitude.

It's the next verse. Philippians 1, verse 18. And Paul

Philippians 1:18

says this, you know what other people do? All these

four he just mentioned. What others do doesn't really matter.

This is the Bible. What others do doesn't really matter.

The important thing is that in every way, whether for

right or wrong reasons, the message of Christ is being shared.

So circle this, I am happy. Circle that, I am

happy and I will continue to be happy. Circle that.

What is Paul modeling here? He's saying, I'm not gonna

let anybody, whether it's a critic or a companion or

a competitor or a crazy maker, or it's an enemy, whatever.

He says, I'm not gonna let anybody steal my happiness.

Not only can pain not take it away, people can't

take it away. Now, the fact is the more blessed

you are in life, the more you're gonna be attacked.

Sometimes I'm asked by people about the people who criticize me.

And my response is always, what is this? What other

people think of me in no way controls what I

think of them. And I don't have to worry about it.

You know, a lot of times you're worried about what

other people think. Let me tell you something, they're not

thinking about you most of the time. They're thinking about themselves.

So why worry about it? Philippians chapter one, verse 28,

verse 28 in the same chapter says this. Be fearless.

Be fearless no matter who opposes you. It will be

a sign to them of their downfall and that God

is with you and that he's gonna save you. You know,

I can identify with this. After Matthew died, we were subjected,

Kay and I, to the most vile, accusations and things

and criticisms and armchair psychology. And people used Matthew's death

to really try to harm us. And they said some

of the most mean spirited thing and yet we made

it through. And then I actually, after we went through

that gauntlet of months, six months of it, I really thought,

is that all you got? Is that the worst thing

you can say? And I remember telling Kay, one time

after going through all of the criticism after Matthew's death

was to honestly, I said to her, okay, honestly, I

feel fearless. I feel like I've been through the worst

possible situation and the worst criticisms and attacks you could imagine.

And I'm still standing by God's grace and by the

power of the Holy Spirit. And I feel fearless. What

more can they do? And it almost, it didn't completely

cure me, but it almost cured me. of caring about

what other people think. Jesus said it like this when

he gave the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount

in Matthew 5, he said, blessed are you when men

shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner

of evil against you falsely for my sake. He said,

rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward

in heaven for so persecuted they the prophets who were

before you. In other words, don't worry, be happy. Now,

Paul explains why you can be happy no matter what.

In verse 29 and 30 of Philippians chapter one, he

says this, for you have been given, you Christians, you

have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ,

but also the privilege of suffering for him. Did you

know that's part of being a Christian? The privilege of

trusting Christ, the privilege of suffering for Christ. We are

in this fight together, the Bible says. You have seen

me suffer, Paul's talking. You have seen me suffer for him. Remember,

he's in prison as he's writing these words. You have

seen me suffer for him in the past, and you

know that I'm still in the midst of a great struggle,

I'd say. What do I wanna say on this second

point summed up is this. If you live for the

approval of other people, you get your happiness from the

approval of other people, whether it's likes on your Facebook

page or how many people give you a thumbs up

on your Instagram or whatever. If you live for the

approval of others, you will die by their disapproval. Okay,

that's the wrong way to find happiness. You have to

learn you don't need anybody else's approval to be happy.

You are as happy as you choose to be. First

Thessalonians 5.18, no matter what happens, that's the theme of

this message. No matter what happens, always be thankful for

this is God's will for you who belong to Jesus Christ. Notice,

this is God's will. You wanna be in the center

of God's will, always be grateful and thankful even no

matter what happens, no matter what other people say, what

other people do. Okay, now let's review. I've already given

you two principles. You can be happy. no matter what

happens in your life, if you choose to do two things.

The first, remember that God can bring good out of anything.

That's Romans 8, 28. And so you look at the

situation with faith, not fear. Just start saying, God, help

me to look at everything that happens in my life

with faith, not fear. Look at problems, look at pain,

look at people, look at pressure with faith, not fear.

And then number two, never let what other people say

or what other people do control your attitude. These are powerful.

We could just stop right there. Paul has two more

keys to being happy in life no matter what happens. Third,

number three, I can be happy no matter what happens

if I choose to, write this down, trust God to

always work things out. That's the third key. I must

trust God to always work things out, whether it's pain

or pressure or problems or people. This is the third

faith factor in happiness. You're gonna either worry about what's

happening in your life or you're gonna worship. You're gonna

panic or you're going to pray. You're gonna have faith

or you're gonna have fear. This is verse 19 in

Philippians chapter one. He says this. I will continue to rejoice.

Now circle again the word will if you're taking notes

on the outline. That's a choice. It's a choice of

the will. It's a decision. I will continue to rejoice. Why?

For I know that as you pray for me and

as the spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, all that

happened will end. all turn out for my deliverance. Remember,

he's writing this from prison. He has no physical evidence

of this. This is a statement of faith, not of fear. Now,

in that verse I just read, if you're looking at

it still, Paul gives four sources of strength in tough times.

I want you to circle these four sources. First, I

have God's perspective on my problem. That helps me be happy.

Notice it says, for I know, circle the word know.

That's God's perspective. I know, I don't guess, I don't imagine,

I don't hope, I don't think. I know I have

God's perspective. I'm looking at my situation, the pain, the problems,

the pressures, the people. I'm looking at it from God's

point of view. I have God's perspective on my problem.

I know. Second, I have people praying for me. Did

you notice that? Circle the word pray. You're praying for me.

That makes me happy. Number three, I have the Holy

Spirit helping me. He says, I've got the Spirit of

God in me. And then number four, he says, I

have the faith that God will work it out for good. Therefore,

I choose to be happy. He says, I will. That's

a choice. Now, trusting God when you don't see God

the whole picture, and you can't see the end of

the story. Trusting God gives you hope, it gives you courage,

and it gives you happiness. Look at the next verse

there in Philippians 1, verse 20. It is my eager expectation,

Philippians 1:20

that's faith, and hope, that's hope, it's my eager expectation

and hope that I will not be ashamed, remember he's

in prison as he's writing this, but that with full courage,

now as always, Christ will be honored in my body,

whether by life or by death. He goes, I don't

know the end of my story. I don't know if

I'm gonna get out of this prison and be a

free man again, or if they're gonna feed me to

the lions, or I'm gonna be set in with gladiators,

or just be hung or crucified. He said, I don't

know whether by life or death, I am trusting God.

I love this verse Hebrews 10 35 there on your outline.

It says this in the living Bible, do not let

your happy trust in the Lord die away. Do not

let your happy trust in the Lord die away. Don't

let it fall away. No matter what happens, he says,

remember your reward. That's long-term perspective. Short-term, I see all

the problems and the pain and the pressures and the people. Long-term,

I see the reward. Don't let your happy trust, circle

the phrase, happy trust. Happiness and trust go together. If

you don't trust God, you're gonna be fearful and unhappy

for most of your life. You must choose to trust God,

just like you have to choose to be happy, and

no matter what it looks like. So let's just review

now again. I can be happy. no matter what happens

in my life, if I, one, choose to remember that

God can bring good out of bad, out of anything,

God can bring good out of anything, God specializes in that.

If I look at every situation with faith, not fear,

would you start saying, God, help me to look at

every situation with faith, not fear. If I never let

what other people say or do control my attitudes, and

if I trust God to always work things out. I

know this is not the end of the story. Some

of you, you're at the end of a chapter in

your life, but you're not at the end of your story.

Now finally, there is a fourth principle in this Philippians

chapter one, powerful passage on how to be happy. Finally,

I can be happy no matter what happens in my

life if I choose to do this fourth thing. Number four,

write it down, stay focused. on my purpose, not my problem.

Stay focused on my purpose, the purpose of your life,

God's purpose for your life, not your problem. Now again,

remember what Paul is experiencing as he writes these words.

Paul is old, he's in bad health, his body aches.

He's in a dank, dark, depressing Roman prison in a dungeon.

He's awaiting death by persecution or execution. They've taken away everything.

They've taken away his freedom. They've taken away his friends.

They've even taken away his privacy. He's chained to a

guard 24 hours a day. He doesn't even have any privacy.

But they couldn't take away his purpose, God's purpose for

his life. And that's why Paul says this in verses

22 to 25. of Philippians chapter one. He says, if

by continuing to live, I can do more worthwhile work

for Christ. He goes, if I continue to live and

I can do more worthwhile work for Christ, then I'm

not sure which I should choose. He says, I'm pulled

in two directions. I want very much to leave this

life and be with Christ. He's talking about in heaven,

which is a far better thing. No more sadness, sorrow, sickness, tears, suffering,

I want very much to leave this life and be

with Christ. It's a far better thing. But he says,

for your sake, it's much more important that I remain alive.

And then he says, I am sure of this. So

I know that I will stay on with you all

so I can add to your progress and joy in

the faith. He says, the reason I'm here is not

for my benefit. The reason I'm still here is for

your benefit. I'm writing these letters to all the different churches,

which became the New Testament, so I can add to

your progress and joy. Now notice here, Paul has a purpose.

Very clear, it even explains what his purpose is. He says,

I'm living for your benefit and for the glory of God.

But Paul has a purpose, not just for living. Paul

has a purpose for dying too. He says, I really

don't know whether it's better for me to stay here

and go on to heaven. Listen, you're not ready to

fully live until you know clearly what you'd die for.

What are you willing to live for? What are you

willing to die for? Paul says, on earth, my purpose

is to serve God by serving others. After I die,

my purpose is to be with God forever. And Paul

is saying, I just stay alive for the sake of others. Wow.

He says, you know, selfishly, it'd be better for me

to go on to heaven. No more problems, no more pain,

no more pressures, no more picky people. Now, don't miss

this fourth secret principle of happiness. I'm gonna say it

as clearly as I can say it. Happiness does not

come from self-gratification, living for yourself. Happiness does not come

from selfishness. It doesn't come from living a self-centered life,

all about me, me, me, myself, and I, the kingdom

of me. Happiness never comes from selfishness. Happiness doesn't come

from self-gratification. Happiness comes from self-sacrifice, living for the benefit

of the glory of God and in order to serve others. Now,

Paul sums up his entire purpose and the entire reason

he is happy regardless of what happens in his life.

He sums it up in a single sentence. One of

the most famous sentences in the Bible, Philippians chapter one,

verse 21. Paul says it here. Here's my purpose. He's purpose-driven.

For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

For me to live is Christ. And to die is gain.

I'm gonna go be with my savior who died for me,

who loved me, who created me, who filled me, who

had a purpose for my life. For me to live

is Christ. For me to die is gain. I'm not

afraid of death. It's where I wanna be. I don't

wanna live on a broken world for the rest of eternity.

Now let me close and wrap this up by asking,

how would you fill in the blank for me to

live is? What would you put as the last phrase?

For me to live is my hobby. For me to

live is my sport. For me to live is to

make more money. For me to live is to get

a house, to have nice things. For me to live

is a promotion. How would you fill that last line?

For me to live is the approval of others. For

me to live is sex. For me to live is

getting married. For me to live is becoming well-known, being

known as a success. Friends, and I'm sharing my heart

with you right now, how you fill in that blank

will determine your happiness for the rest of your life.

For me to live is, and until you're able to

say the right thing there, you're gonna have a lot

of misery in your life because all of those other

things lead to unhappiness ultimately. There's only one answer that

leads to happiness no matter what happens. Are you ready

to settle this issue today and get on with the

rest of your life to make the rest of your

life the best of your life? You gotta fill in

the blank correctly. For me to live is. What's gonna

be the answer for the final years of your life,

however many years that is? 50 years, 70 years, 10 years,

one year. For me to live is. I want us

to bow our heads right now. Would you bow your head?

And I want you to pray this prayer in your heart, okay?

Just say, dear Jesus, he knows your thoughts, he knows

your things, say it in your mind. Dear Jesus, you

know that I often let my circumstances determine my happiness.

Just say that, tell that to God, be honest to God. God,

I've often allowed the kill joys of pain and problems

and pressures and picky people to rob my happiness. But

I don't want that to be true anymore. Starting today,

I wanna practice these four principles of how to be

happy no matter what happens. Secrets that Paul modeled. Help

me to remember that you have a good plan even

out of the bad things that happen in my life,

that you can turn bad into good. Help me to

remember that your viewpoint is the key. Help me to

look at everything in my life from your perspective. I

wanna be a wise man. I wanna be a wise woman.

And I wanna handle the situations that come into my

life that in a way that is a witness to

non-believers and is an encouragement to believers. Father, help me

to remember that what other people say and what other

people do does not control my happiness unless I choose

to allow it. And help me to remember that things

that I don't understand and things I can't figure out,

I don't have to have the answer to trust you.

I wanna trust you to work it all out for good.

And help me to stay focused on your purpose for

my life, not my problems. I wanna use the rest

of my life in serving you by serving others. And

then I wanna be with you in heaven for eternity.

So from this day on, I'm gonna fill in the blank.

For me to live will be Christ. Just say that

to him. For the rest of my life, I want

the answer to be for me to live is Christ.

I know he is the ultimate source. I ask you,

Jesus Christ, to take over every area of my life.

Guide me and lead me. Protect me and use me.

In your name I pray. Amen. Amen.