September 2, 2012
Reading & Sermon – “What Makes God Happy?”
We have several readings this morning. Our Psalter selection this morning is Psalm 149, verses 1 through 5:
1 Praise the Lord
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of his faithful people.
2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music to him with timbrel and harp.
4 For the Lord takes delight in his people;
he crowns the humble with victory.
5 Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor
and sing for joy on their beds.
We continue with an Old Testament reading – Jeremiah 9: 23-24:
23 This is what the Lord says:
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,
24 but let the one who boasts boast about this:
that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.
And finally, our New Testament Lesson, Hebrews 13: 15-21:
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
17 Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.
18 Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. 19 I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.
20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
I’m going to share a little secret with you…not a big secret, so don’t get your hopes up…just a little something I’m sure you don’t know about me. (Pick up the Styrofoam cooler and take a container out.) I really love mint chocolate chip ice cream. (take taste) Now some of you might be saying to yourselves, “How can he even think about eating ice cream in the morning?” To that I just reply, “Somewhere in the world, it’s time for an ice cream social, so I’m just being sociable!” Speaking of which, would anyone like a taste? I have plenty of spoons…(Encourage as needed, then put container away.) By the way, I have also been known to enjoy cold pizza for breakfast, but that’s another story.
Why do I like mint chocolate chip ice cream so much? I don’t really know…my mother is partial to coffee ice cream, so that’s not it. By the way, it has to be the premium stuff…the ice milk or “light ice cream” just won’t work for me. Is it the cool minty creaminess and the way it feels in your mouth? Maybe. I just know that it makes me happy.
Of course, there are a lot of things that make me happy:
- You probably know that I like computers and other high tech gadgets…why right now I am installing a new server at home that will hold over 20 terabytes of storage. If you don’t know what that is, forget it, it’s not important.
- And you know I like theatre, performing in plays and musicals. Just last week I was in “Murder Among Friends” up at Forestburgh that starred Loretta Swit from the TV show MASH. And in two weeks I open in the musical “The Drowsy Chaperone” over in Monroe. Oh, and not to mention I have a meeting today to discuss the set I’m building for the fall junior high musical at DV, “A Year With Frog and Toad.”
No I do not seem to get a lot of sleep…but I put myself through all that because it makes me happy. When you are doing what makes you happy, you get energized in a way that coffee and tea just can’t touch. But enough about me, I want to hear from you what makes you happy? If you would like to share, just raise your hand.
(Get several examples from the congregation.)
You know, it’s funny…it’s a lot easier to describe what makes us happy than to define just what happiness is. Pastor Ben might say it’s sitting around the lake cabin up north, surrounded by friends. Many Americans might describe it as a three day Labor Day weekend, meant for cookouts and kids games. But Webster’s Dictionary defines “happy” as:
1. favored by luck or fortune, as in a happy coincidence.
2. notably fitting, effective, or well adapted, as in a happy choice.
3. enjoying or characterized by well-being and contentment, as in she is the happiest person I know.
4. glad or pleased, as in I’m happy to meet you.
5. having or marked by an atmosphere of good fellowship, as in a happy office…or church.
I actually think the Urban Dictionary gives the best definition: A feeling of contentment and peace, like you don’t need anything else.
Under that definition, I would like to think that is the reason we are all here in church this morning…for a feeling of contentment and peace, like you don’t need anything else. To sum it up in a bumper sticker, “Church-goers are happier.”
And it is good for you too…I mean physically. For example:
- In 2006, the American Society of Hypertension established that church-goers have lower blood pressure than the non-faithful.
- Likewise, in 2004, scholars at the University of California, Los Angeles, suggested that college students involved in religious activities are more likely to have better mental and emotional health than those who do not.
- Meanwhile, in 2006, population researchers at the University of Texas discovered that the more often you go to church, the longer you live. As they put it: ‘Religious attendance is associated with adult mortality in a graded fashion: there is a seven-year difference in life expectancy between those who never attend church and those who attend weekly.’
- Exactly the same outcome was recently reported in the American Journal of Public Health, which studied nearly 2,000 older Californians for five years. Those who attended religious services were 36 per cent less likely to die during this half-decade than those who didn’t. Even those who attended a place of worship irregularly — implying a less than ardent faith — did better than those who never attended.
So, we are happier and healthier when we go to church…when we are in a relationship with God. Is our happiness…and His happiness…important to God? What makes God happy? Can the Almighty even be happy, as we know it?
Let’s start by looking back at our readings for this morning. We read in Psalm 149:4, “For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.” Nothing cold and impersonal and unapproachable in that statement. He takes delight in us, in our relationship with him…can it be that we can be what makes God happy?
Let’s look at the reading from Jeremiah now, chapter 9, verse 24, “I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.” There is that delightful word delight again. So much more expressive than God is pleased. But this time he delights in things that he is doing.
And finally, there is Hebrews 13:16, “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Other translations change that last word to “happy”…God is happy when we do good to others. So what makes God happy is our relationship with him, what he does for us and what we do for others. Just think of it as three “happy bullet points” or what I am going to call “vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.”
Let’s start with vanilla, our relationship with God. There is nothing “plain ol’ vanilla” about God’s special relationship with his people, but it is vanilla in the sense that it is offered to everyone, even if not everyone accepts the offer.
The basis of this relationship is simple: God wants to bring His children joy and in the process we can bring God joy too. This is not a business relationship here: the party of the first part agrees to worship God and believe in Jesus and in return gets one gallon of salvation…no. Because we are saved by grace through faith, we have no desire to bribe or manipulate God; He is already predisposed to us. We can therefore please Him freely without self-interest: We are not His client…this is very personal. In the case of God, we are His guests; there is no charge; we are freely forgiven, so we can freely please Him
It is faith that makes this relationship work. Without faith it is impossible to please Him: those that come to God must believe in him. He rewards those that diligently seek him. Faith reflects our attitude toward God. Is God’s integrity something we value to the point that we trust His Word? Or is He fickle and undependable?
If someone does not believe me, it could be because they think I am a liar or I am wrong. But, since God makes no mistakes, if we do not believe God we make Him out to be a liar; there are no other options. So faith affirms God’s character, disbelief insults His integrity. So, if we want to be right with God, we must believe.
Also, we must remember that God takes no pleasure in the wicked. He wants the sinner to repent. Fortunately, God loves to forgive. Nothing makes Him happier. In fact, all of heaven throws a party and celebrates every time someone is forgiven. Jesus shared several parables that show off His excitement about forgiving those who are in trouble. In fact, His parable on the lost son takes forgiveness to new heights.
This is pretty easy to understand. If you are a parent you probably take great joy and delight in your children. Is it any wonder that God feels the same way about his children?
Now let’s turn to chocolate, God exercising kindness, justice, and righteousness in the world. And for this section, I’m going to let you in on a little sermon writer’s secret. You can go to websites on the internet and read other people’s sermons for inspiration on a topic. That’s why they posted them in the first place. They don’t expect you to pay a fee or anything. And every once in a while a sermon you are reading will explain just what you hoped to explain. So I am going to borrow some words from George Toews that I found on Sermons.Logos.com, in which he talks about this passage from Jeremiah.
Loving Kindness
God delights in loving kindness. The Hebrew word used here is a well known word used almost 300 times in the Old Testament. It is the word “hesed.” Some of you may have heard of the House of Hesed in Winnipeg which is a mission whose purpose is “to provide a home for persons living with HIV/AIDS, sharing mercy, hope, dignity, and peace. Consistent with the Christian perspective of caring for those in need…” They have chosen the name House of Hesed because of their mission to share mercy and care for those in need.
God loves to show mercy, to be compassionate. God has told us this so many times. I John 4:8b says, “God is love.” But God has not only told us this, He has also demonstrated it. I John 4:9 goes on to say, “This is how God showed his love among us…”
The foundational reality of life for the children of Israel was their deliverance out of Egypt. They were a slave nation in the midst of the people of Egypt. They cried out to God for help and He sent Moses to deliver them. It is practically unfathomable that one slave nation should be entirely removed from the midst of a master nation. When he brought them out he delivered them through the Red Sea, he guided and provided for them through the wilderness. He brought them to Sinai to enter into a covenant relationship with them and he brought them into the promised land. All the way along, they were rebellious and disobedient, but God continued to work with them. In this entire story we see how much God loves to show compassion.
The foundational reality of life for Christians is the deliverance from sin which God has brought through the death of Jesus Christ. Every person on earth is steeped in sin and bound through sin to death. God sent His son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for us. He did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all. He has given us forgiveness of sin through faith in Christ, the hope of eternal life and the beginning of that eternal life in the presence of His Spirit with all who trust in Him. In this entire story we see how much God loves to show compassion.
Justice
God also delights in justice. The word for justice comes from a word which has to do with ruling or governing. In the “Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament” it says that this word refers to – “what is doubtless the most important idea for correct understanding of government.
Government includes three functions – legislative, executive and judicial. When there is justice, those who make the laws – the legislators – will not play favorites. They do not oppress one people in the nation and favor another. Those who carry out the programs of the land are fully aware of all people and give each what is fair. The judges know all justice and reflect it in their decisions.
If that is what justice means, what does it mean for the reign of God? Perhaps Psalm 146:7-9 expresses it well when it says, “He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.”
This is sometimes tough for us to fathom. How is God just when He allows a couple who have had difficulty conceiving to become pregnant but then that child miscarries? How is God just when 6 million Jews are killed in the holocaust? How is God just when evil men who earn millions off the drug trade live in luxury and ease?
What it tells us is that God does not delight in these things. Abraham had a good understanding of that when he pleaded for Lot’s life when Sodom was about to be destroyed. In Genesis 18:25 we read, “Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
The wonder of the justice of God is revealed in the story of salvation. If God is absolutely fair, it seems right that everyone who does wrong must be punished. Since that is everyone, the sentence of death on every human being is justice. But in His compassion God does not want everyone to die. How can God exercise the compassion which is at the core of His being and still be just? Romans 3:25, 26 tells us, “God presented Him (Jesus) as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished — he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” God delights in justice!!
Righteousness
The third thing we learn is that God delights in righteousness. What is the difference between justice and righteousness? Justice could be described as fairness, whereas righteousness could be described as goodness. One definition is that righteousness is that which is “ethically right.” God is consistent with the standard of holiness which identifies Him as God. In contemporary terms we might say “it’s all good!” God delights in righteousness, in what is good.
This is God! Loving kindness, justice and righteousness make Him happy. God not only delights in these things, but does them!
God not only delighted in loving kindness, justice and righteousness. He delights in them now. God has not changed. This is what God is like.
And finally that brings us to strawberry. We do good and share with others and that makes God happy. I sometimes think that this imperative gets lost in our focus on praising God and improving ourselves. It makes perfect sense…we saw under chocolate that our God is a God of action, more of a verb than a noun. We are created in His image and He wants us to be a bit more like him. The reading calls this a sacrifice, as if it were a burnt offering or something. Well, maybe it is…we are offering a bit of our own selfishness when we share with others. And God is really tough on us, since he expects us to be happy doing it.
And here is a little bit of an attitude check: we should not be boasting about all the good that we are doing, since it is not our plan to do so…it is God’s plan. God is working through us to achieve His plan and that makes Him happy. Our actions help validate and honor the death of Christ. That is, it affirms the reason that Jesus suffered and shows that His death was effective in its purpose. That affirmation makes God happy. Finally, when you do good and share your life, you display God’s trustworthiness. You trust God over your own selfishness. It can be a leap of faith and that makes God smile.
If you are like me, this is about sharing more than money…it is about sharing your time and talents as well. If you put five dollars in the Salvation Army kettle at Christmas, God has a slight smile. But if you are the one out there ringing the little bell, I bet God positively grins.
This is not only an individual action item, it should also be a goal that we are working toward as a church body as well. Now that we have succeeded in joining the EPC, maybe some of the focus that required can be re-channeled into outreach and good works toward others. Remember, we are not saved by our good works, but God has put it on our to do list.
So there you have it, vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry make God happy. Sort of a Neapolitan sermon today. Actually, I wanted to talk about happy and God in the same sermon topic today because I am frankly a little worn out by all the discord in the larger world outside. We still have two months to go of divisive political campaigns, endless attack ads, and enough debating and spinning to turn our world upside down, just like a lot of mortgages. We are constantly on alert for hurricanes, flooding, droughts, and the disaster of the day. And you know they still haven’t fixed Route 209 from last year’s disaster. The wider world presents us with civil war in Syria, economic peril in Europe, and our soldiers in harm’s way from people we are helping. We all need all the happiness we can get.
I know we were all taught believe that we are “…endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” I just thought it might be useful to focus on the Creator’s happiness for a few minutes this morning.
You know, I worked on a musical a few years ago called, “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown,” based on the Peanuts characters created by Charles Shultz. The last song in the show is called “Happiness” and is sung around a campfire. This is how it ends:
(sing)
HAPPINESS IS MORNING AND EVENING,
DAYTIME AND NIGHTTIME TOO.
FOR HAPPINESS IS ANYONE AND ANYTHING AT ALL
THAT’S LOVED BY YOU.
That sort of describes what makes God happy and how we can be happy in a relationship with Him, doesn’t it?