“God Wants Me to Be Happy”… Right? | Phil Kniesel

It sounds comforting… but is it actually true?

This week, Pastor Phil Kniesel continues our He Never Said That series by looking at the difference between chasing happiness and living for what matters most. Discover what Jesus actually promised and how pursuing Him leads to something deeper than fleeting happiness.

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Transcript

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- Hey, this is Phil Kniesel, lead pastor at Hope City Church. Thanks for tuning into our podcast. My prayer is that this helps and encourages you, gives you some practical ways to live out your faith and ultimately fills you with hope. Enjoy the message we are weak for into our series. He never said that. Where we're looking at some common misconceptions people have of things Jesus said around here, we believe following Jesus is the best decision anyone can make and to follow him well we need to know what he said, not just think we know what he said. Now, I've started the last few weeks with some trivia to help gauge your Bible skills and I wanna do the same today as well. I'm gonna ask you across all our campuses to decide if a statement is from the Book of Psalms or from chat GPT . I'm confident in all of you this week, we've had some train wrecks the last two weeks. I'm very confident in you this week that you're gonna do good Psalms or chat, GPT. And here's the first one. Let every breath be a prayer of profound gratitude as we navigate the sacred journey of life with reverence across all our campuses. How many people would say that's the book of solves? How many would say chat GPT? The answer is yes. You got it. Good job everyone. Number two, there is the sea, vast and spacious teeming with creatures beyond number living things, both large and small. Psalms chat, GPT. Alright, the answer is Psalms. Enjoyed of you had that. Number three, let the storms of life strengthen our resolve as we stand tall, resilient, and steadfast. Psalms chat, GPT, the answer is chat. GPT . Okay, here's one more I think. Think you can get this one. Our days on earth are like grass, like wild flowers. We bloom and die. Psalms as everyone shouts it out, chat, GPT. Alright. The answer is you should have gotten that one. And here's the last one. Let the rivers of compassion flow within our hearts a boundless while spring of empathy and love. Psalms chat, GPT. The answer is how'd you do? I think you're getting better. I'm noticing that next week we got one more for you. Now, if you were to go out and ask people if they believe the following statement is true, most would say yes and this includes those outside and inside the church. Here's the statement, God wants me to be happy. It sounds like this makes sense and likely something Jesus would've said. Now we all want to be happy. There's nothing wrong with that. I don't know anyone who would say, my goal in life is to be miserable. Now listen, I'm not saying God doesn't care about our happiness, but he does care about something else more. And so I want us to consider what Jesus said when it comes to happiness. He didn't say go into all the world and preach whatever makes people happy. He didn't say, whoever wants to be my disciple must affirm themselves, avoid the cross and follow their own hearts. Here's what he did say when he was in conversation once with his disciples. This is from the book of John. Chapter 15, remain in me as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I'm the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit apart from me, you can do nothing. So Jesus is commanding his followers to stay connected to him. And there are multiple reasons why this is important, but he lands a very crucial one a little bit later on in this same chapter. And this is where he talks about our happiness. This is what he says. I have told you this meaning I've told you all about remaining in me. You're the branches, I'm the vine. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. Notice first off that Jesus uses the word joy, not happiness. That's because happiness is a temporary state, often linked to external events or circumstances. Joy is something from within it's internal contentment and satisfaction. No matter what is happening externally. Complete joy Jesus said, is found when we're connected to him. And here's the thing, I think we understand that. And I actually think deep down, we all just kinda want that life. We wanna remain in him. That's why you come to church, that's why you're engaging. We want to discover and live in the joy that surpasses all things. However, reality is that life outside of Jesus entices us, draws us and even convinces us otherwise. So how do we live in the joy Jesus gives? In a moment, I'm gonna take you to an incident that occurred in his life that will help us understand how. But first I want to talk about a predominant view in our culture that leans to this idea that God just wants me to be happy. And this is important because before we can live in the joy Jesus gives, we need to settle something in our hearts. Relativism is a cultural view that states there's no absolute truth. People can have different views on what's moral and immoral. So truth is subjective, not objective. And so we hear things like what may be true for you is not true for me, or you live your truth and I'm gonna live mine. And although that sounds pretty decent, here's the problem without a belief in absolute truth, truth is then defined by whatever makes me happy. And when the bottom line is our own happiness, this then becomes the standard by which I judge my actions. So if it makes me happy, it must be good. If it doesn't, it must be bad. There's this other time when Jesus said these words, I am the way and the truth and the life. Notice he didn't say, I tell the truth or teach the truth. He is the truth. Meaning he reveals God. He is the embodiment of divine reality. He is truth in the flesh. If you wanna know what God looks like, Jesus said, look at me. And so the Greek word for truth here carries this idea of dependability, trustworthiness and faithfulness. He represents this unchanging anchor. In a world of shifting opinions, Jesus is the truth means he is the standard by which all other truths must be measured. And Jesus declares this about himself because he's setting up this clear contrast in John 8 44. He calls the devil the Father of all lies. Jesus is truth, the devil is lies. So Jesus brings clarity. He exposes false hopes and fake saviors. He is the only way to the Father at another time He said, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. You wanna be free from things that trap you. You wanna be free from the lies. Walk in the reality of who Jesus is and represents truth is not found in what I determine brings happiness. Truth is found in what Jesus modeled and said and who Jesus is. Well that's really the starting point for us to live in. The joy that Jesus gives, believe he is the truth. From there, we gotta change our ultimate goal. See, the ultimate goal of humanity is happiness. God's ultimate goal is different. The ultimate goal of God for humanity is holiness. See, God cares about our happiness, but he cares more about our holiness. Peter a disciple wrote it this way, but just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do for it is written. And this is a quote from the Old Testament, God speaking, be holy because I am holy. Now, for whatever reason, individuals, humankind, even Christians have come to believe that happiness and holiness are at odds. Like we, we have to choose one over the other, but maybe, maybe we're looking at holiness in all the wrong ways. And so I want to take you to an incident that happened in Jesus' life that helps us understand some of this. It's in John's gospel, which is in the New Testament. I just read from it earlier and we're gonna look at chapter eight. This is what it says. At Dawn he appeared again. So he being Jesus appeared again, meaning he's gonna go to the temple courts and be teaching there. At dawn, he appeared again in the temple courts where all the people gathered around him and he sat down to teach them the teachers of the law. And the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery in the law. Moses commanded us to stone such woman. Now what do you say? They were using this question as a trap in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her again. He stooped down and rode on the ground at this. Those who heard began to go away one at a time. The older ones first until only Jesus was left. With the woman still standing there, Jesus straightened up and asked her woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? No one sir. She said, then neither do I condemn you. Jesus declared, go now and leave your life of sin. We have a woman caught in the act of adultery. This was obviously a setup because where's the guy and how in the world did they catch this woman? Now, the religious leaders, they didn't care about this woman. They were using her as a tool to get to Jesus, to try and get something to pin on Jesus that they could then discredit his ministry. And in a way they thought they finally did. They put Jesus in a no win situation.'cause according to their law, she deserved death. But if Jesus says, okay, go ahead and stone her or kill her, he loses his reputation of being full of grace and mercy. If on the other hand he says, let's make an exception, he's breaching the law of Moses and seemingly condoning the sin of adultery. So kind of heart scenario. So what does Jesus do? He bends down and starts writing something in the dirt. No one knows what he wrote. By the way, when I get to heaven, that's actually one of the questions I want to ask Jesus, like, what did you write? I just want to know, Lord, most scholars agree he could have started to write down the sins of the guys accusing the woman. So kind of like, alright, we have fill the Pharisee and he's full of anger. And then we have Terry, the teacher of the law, and man, have you seen his internet browser ? You know? And then after writing for a bit, Jesus stands up and says, let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. Now, the words without sin from the Greek, not only mean, did not sin, but did not even want to sin. So not just actions, but intentions as well. Whoever hasn't sinned or has never wanted to sin, okay? Yeah, you can throw the first stone. And so like Jesus always does, when the religious leaders think they have him cornered, he corners them. Everyone knows that all have sin and all have wanted to sit. And then he goes back to writing something in the ground and we read the accusers start to leave and eventually it's just Jesus and this humili humiliated woman. Remember, they're still in front of a crowd of people and he asked her, has no one condemned you? Then neither do I condemn you friends, the woman is you and I. We all sin. We all want to sin. We find ourselves in moments of regret, guilt, and shame. We all like sheep have gone astray. Sin is present, it's active, and it's sure in our lives and we like the woman are guilty. But I want you to notice the mercy and the grace of Jesus, he being the only one without sin. And by the way, the writer of Hebrews affirms this. We read this for we do not have a high priest in relating to Jesus who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are. Yet he did not sin. Jesus being the only one without sin is the only one who doesn't condemn her. And so friend, listen to me. No matter how big your sin is, no matter how long it's been going on, no matter how many times you may have fallen, no matter how many people know or if no one knows, Jesus doesn't condemn you, he understands he gets you and he offers you grace and mercy. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Amen. He didn't come to condemn you friend. He came to save you. And this interaction between Jesus and this woman is the perfect example of how he saves us from our sin, his forgiveness. It's ready, it's available, it's present. Let me say this, if you need to receive it again today, receive it. Maybe it's for the first time friend, let me encourage you to do so because this is true. This is awesome, this is good. And I want you to recognize this, but I want you to recognize something else. See, Jesus offers forgiveness, not permissiveness. Grace is present and able, but it's not to be abused. And here's what I mean. We see this in his final words to this woman. What does he say? Go now and leave your life of sin. He doesn't say you're forgiven and stop there. He doesn't say, here's some grace, here's some mercy. You're good. He also didn't say, go now and hopefully you won't commit adultery again or go now and do whatever makes you happy. He said, go now and leave your life of sin. This wasn't judgmental, this wasn't harsh. It was full of love, full of hope. It was actually a call toward true joy. He was hitting the motive of the woman's actions. She thought sleeping around was her key to happiness. Jesus. He called her to more. He called her to lasting joy. He called her to this life of holiness. And holiness just means being set apart, a life consecrated to God, a life free from sin. And notice the urgency. Go now. Don't wait any longer. Go now and live a better life. Go now and leave your life of shame. Go now and stop living for the things of this world. Go now and be free from sin. Paul, a New Testament writer reiterates this when he wrote, I tell you, now is the time of God's favor. Now is the day of salvation. And I just wanna speak the same thing to you friends, go now and leave your life of sin. It doesn't matter if you've been following Jesus for decades or if you're new to faith or you haven't started your faith journey. We don't know this woman's faith context. She could have been any one of these. But we know what Jesus said to her. So friend, go now and leave your life of sin. Go now and leave the deception behind. Go now and leave the lies behind. Go now and leave the online addiction behind. Go now and leave the anger behind. Go now. And even though Jesus called the woman to go, now this is difficult 'cause when you make the decision to follow Jesus, most of us know it doesn't mean we won't struggle with sin. We're actually gonna struggle with sin till the day we are with him. And there's multiple reasons for this, but I think one is because sin is appealing. It looks fun. The writer of Hebrews when talking about Moses' life underscores this. This is what he says by faith. Moses when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to obey the fleeting pleasures of sin, the fleeting pleasures of sin. Sins fun for a while, fun until it messes you up. I like what Pastor Craig, Rochelle says. He says, sin promises satisfaction at the cost of disobedience to God and eventual pain to you. Sin promises satisfaction at the cost of disobedience to God and eventual pain to you. Jesus said, go now and leave your life of sin. And this wasn't a suggestion from Jesus. It was a command. This wasn't a default for the woman, however, it was also a decision. And so Jesus was calling her to a new, a transformed life. A life that wasn't determined by the world's standards of truth, but a life determined by his truth. Leave your life of sin, be set apart for God. Leave that life and walk into your new life. Jesus. He was calling this woman to a life of holiness. And at times we can equate holiness without happiness. In fact, we can equate holiness more with legalism than with happiness. I think that's why holiness at times gets a bad rap in some church circles because it's been demoted to legalism. You just have to look at Christian tradition to recognize this. Back in time, some early Christian monks believe that washing their bodies was a form of vanity and a distraction from the spiritual life. It was written over one monk, they were praised for being holy because he had never washed his feet. I'm like, dude, that's just gross. Some early Christians believed laughter and fun were temptations, so they avoided jokes, smiling or even music at another time. Christians have argued over the length of hair on guys and even the presence of beards in an attempt to be holy In some circles, any type of dancing was a sin. Holiness can so easily be demoted to legalism. But true holiness isn't legalism true. Holiness is freedom from the bondage of sin. It's like Jesus said, go and leave your life of sin. And Paul underscores this a little bit more when writing to Christians in Rome. He says, what shall we say that? Shall we go on sinning so that Grace May increase? By no means we are those who have died to sin. How can we live in it any longer? See, holiness is not just about keeping a list of rules and making sure everything's good there, but it's pursuing a life set apart unto God. It's about staying connected to Jesus, the vine at all times. Jesus said to the woman, leave your past behind, not in fear of losing anything that would take away some court, some kind of supposed happiness, but in confidence of the freedom that lay ahead in confidence of the real joy that lay ahead of her. And listen, that's what Jesus does. Every time we come to him, his grace, his mercy, it makes us new and it calls us to something better. Paul said, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And by the spirit of our God, notice those three words. They indicate a newness, washed, sanctified, justified. That's holiness. As a friend. If you find yourself lacking joy, not happiness, joy, if you're missing the depth of joy that Jesus alludes to joy, that lasts in all circumstances through all things, maybe you're living more for the things of this world. Listen, those things always fade, pass and need another hit to keep going. You are not created for this world. You are created by God to live for things not of this world. And so complete joy is found and following the ways of God, it's embracing things that matter most for eternity. It's leaving those things that promise only temporary happiness. It's pursuing holiness. I actually love the words of King David in the book of Psalms in the Old Testament. Psalm 16, he got this. This is what he wrote, you meaning God, make known to me the path of life. You fill me with what joy in your presence with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Jesus, he looked at this woman and said, there's something better for you than what you're doing right now. Be free from your sin. Go now and live for the things that really matter. I've not called you to happiness the way you perceive it. I've called you to holiness, which is the doorway to lasting joy. And so friends, listen, no matter where you're at, there's something better for you than what you are doing right now. Be free from your sin. Go now and live for the things that truly matter. See, Jesus doesn't just want you to believe, he also calls you to obey. He's not merely about forgiveness. He's about transformation. He's about us knowing him deeply. It's about us walking with him. It's about us being connected to him. True lasting, authentic happiness is found when we live, seek and actively pursue a life free from sin. A life of holiness. And here's the thing, I actually believe that most of us wanna live like that. But maybe, maybe there's just this side thing that says, does it really bring true joy? Like I actually believe most of us say, yeah, what Jesus is saying here, yeah, in my head, I believe it's right. Uh, I would say he knows best. But then there's this part of us that says, well, I, I don't even really know how to pursue holiness. It seems maybe a little abstract or outta reach for me. And so what we do is we keep on chasing things that are fleeting instead of chasing him. And so let me, let me challenge your motive. Just like Jesus challenged the motive of the woman, maybe you're continually medicating yourself trying to fill a void for approval. Maybe you smoke, drink, or pop something to make you feel anything. Maybe you're empty on the inside. So you fill that void with food. Maybe you spend and spend and the only joy you experience is when that box shows up outside of your door. Maybe you have this critical spirit and the only way to feel good about yourself is to pick everything apart. Maybe you're a lust filled person and you clicked and looked so many times. I mean, those are some of the ways we just believe will bring happiness or lasting joy. But listen, man, every time you know this, I know it. It's fleeting, it's temporary, and it's trapping sin when at the start it looks good, it promises something and it even feels good for a season. But eventually it stops delivering. And now you're stuck and you seem like you can't find your way out. You're looking for more. You want that everlasting joy. You want that everlasting happiness. What do you do when the concept of holiness, true lasting joy, feels so outta reach? Here's what you do, friend. You run to God. You run to God and you embrace the faithfulness of him. You decide to go now and I'm gonna leave my life of sin. Now is the time of God's favor. Now is the time of salvation. He's calling you. He's reaching out to you. He's inviting you to a life of lasting joy. A life of holiness. Paul nailed it when he wrote this. Listen, this is for someone today. No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. Do you hear that God is faithful when you're stuck, when you feel trapped, when you feel like you can't get outta the mess you're in, when you feel like leaving your life, if sin is just too hard, God is faithful. He's always gonna provide a way out for you, you to endure it. He always gives you a way that brings the potential to freedom, not bondage. Jesus never said, go now and do whatever makes you happy. You know what he said? Go now and leave your life of sin. His call was never a call to a life of temporary happiness. His call was to a life of lasting joy, defined by holiness, defined by being set apart. You want lasting joy in your life. Friend, strive for holiness. Or as Jesus plainly said, go now and leave your life of sin. And I wanna give you five practical steps to help you do this. Like if you're serious about this and you truly wanna leave your life that you're in and embrace a lasting joy that comes from God, if you truly wanna pursue holiness, but you're saying, man, I don't really know how. Here's five practical steps. Number one, reflect, ask yourself, Hey, where am I at? How does my life line up with the life of Jesus? Number two, repent. After identifying those areas where you're lacking those areas of sin, confess them and turn from them. Leave them behind. Number three, receive. So embrace the forgiveness, grace, and mercy that is readily available in Jesus no matter how many times you have fallen. Number four, reset. And what I mean by this is next time you're tempted, remember God always provides a way out. So find the way out and rewire your brain to go this way. Create a new pattern. And number five, repeat.'cause you won't bat a thousand every single time. So make this a repeated pattern in your life. How do you go after holiness and lasting joy? Reflect, repent, receive, reset and repeat. Reflect, repent, receive, reset and repeat hope city, God truly does want you to have joy. He wants you to be happy. But that happiness is not defined by you or the world standards. That happiness is defined by him and his ways. It's defined by leaving your life of sin and pursuing holiness. Jesus said, I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. So may you discover the joy that lasts and isn't fleeting. May you experience joy that comes from deep within and not externally. And may you realize as you pursue holiness, as you pursue a life free from sin, there is joy that is new Every morning. I'm gonna ask you to stand. I wanna close and praying over. And for you, Jesus, thank you, thank you for this encounter that you had with this woman that so, so potently challenges all of us. Thank you that we can look to you, the author perfecter of our faith. And God, I know that people here truly, truly wanna live for you. They truly want to strive for you. They truly wanna live a life that's holy to bring glory and honor to you. And so I pray that you help all of us to live a life that leaves our sin behind. And so even now, I ask that you just through your Holy Spirit, as individuals are reflecting upon their own life, that you just speak to areas where maybe they just need to move forward from, move out of, get out of. And Holy Spirit, I pray that in their own way, they just repent. Say, Jesus, forgive me, I'm sorry. And may they receive your grace. Receive your love. Receive your forgiveness. And Lord, I ask that when that next time comes, that they don't fall, but they stand strong. They find that way out that you have given 'em, and they pursue that. And they say, God, yes, I will live for you in this moment. I will pursue holiness. I will leave my life of sin. And so I pray this over these incredible men and women in Hope City. I pray that they are individuals that understand true, authentic, everlasting joy because of what you bring to their hearts, minds, and lives. And so I ask for that in your powerful name. Maybe you're joining us today and you don't know who Jesus is personally, pretty much shared the good news of Jesus with you today of how life and sin is hard. But he freezes from sin. You went to the cross to die for your sins. He rose to offer you life, both now and forever. And so if you want to make the decision to follow Jesus today, I'm gonna pray a prayer that helps you put into words the beginning of that journey. I'm gonna ask you to pray along with me. Let's pray. Jesus today I see my need for you. And I thank you for going to the cross. I thank you for dying, for my sins, for rising now for me life and hope both now and forever. And so today I put my faith in you. I put my hope in you. I declare that you are Lord and leader of my life, and I wanna follow you from this day forward. Help me to pattern my ways and my days after yours. Help me to leave my life of sin and pursue a life of holiness, a life of true and everlasting joy. And God, I pray over every individual, every couple, and every family. I ask that as they go into this week, they may experience the goodness of God, the grace of God, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the compassion of the Lord. But I pray above all things that they may be individuals who strive for holiness, who strive to live their lives sold out for you, Jesus, in a way that brings you glory. You honor, and I pray that your joy, the true, authentic, real, everlasting joy may be present in every hour, in every circumstance, and in every day. And I bless them and pray this over them in the powerful and wonderful name of Jesus. Amen. You know, if you prayed that prayer this morning, just at the end here of surrender your life to Jesus, can I just ask you to scan that QR code on the screen? And uh, we'd love to get a booklet inside your hand that talks a little bit more about knowing and following Jesus. It's also our way of trying to connect with you personally in a large church. If you're in person here and you want prayer over anything, we're gonna have some people available down at the front, left after the service to pray over and for you through so desire. But before you leave today, I just wanna speak a blessing over you. Hope city, the Lord bless you, and the Lord keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you. The Lord be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face towards you, and the Lord give you peace. Amen. Love you guys. Cheering you on. Have an incredible week.