Habits Of Happiness | Daily Habits To Be Happy

THE HABITS YOU HAVE TODAY WILL SHAPE WHO YOU BECOME TOMORROW

This series has been all about examining our habits and if they will help us have a happy life

We’ve discovered:

Our happiness is tied to the health of our relationships with others

If you build your purpose around something that can be taken away, then you will always live in fear of losing it

A full life is not being full of one’s self

GENEROUS PEOPLE ARE HAPPY PEOPLE AND HAPPY PEOPLE ARE GENEROUS PEOPLE

NO MATTER WHERE YOU FIND YOURSELF, YOU CAN LEARN TO BE CONTENT

In this last week of this series, I want to give you the most practical tips I know to help you SHAPE A HAPPY LIFE

Habit 1

REMIND YOURSELF DAILY OF GOD’S GRACE

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3:3‬ ‭CSB‬‬

For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh — 

What is Paul talking about when he says, “and do not put confidence in the flesh”?

• Talking about a happiness killer called LEGALISM

LEGALISM: The attitude that says “I have to prove my love to God”

• Legalism is a happiness killer/stealer

John Bunyan explains legalism in his book “The Pilgrim’s Progress” like this…

Like sweeping dust in a closed dry room

• The dust just goes back up into the air and settles back down again
• The dust needs something else to WASH is away

The dust is our sin

• When we try to control ourselves through legalism, all we are doing is stirring up the dust in our hearts
• It will just resettle again

God’s grace is like water to a dusty room

It washes away the filth

Now maybe you are not familiar with LEGALISM

Maybe you heard it as RELIGION

• I’m a RELIGIOUS Person
• What does that mean?
• Christianity is not a “Religion”
• Not a set of rules you must follow to earn your way to God’s grace — To heaven

Christianity is a relationship with God through Jesus and the work of the cross
You cannot be good enough to earn your way into God’s good graces

• That is GOOD NEWS!
• Life would be miserable if you had too do it this way
• We would NEVER measure up!

How do I know we can’t be good enough?

• Paul explains it this way in his letter

Philippians 3

4 If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised the eighth day; of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; regarding the law, a Pharisee; 6 regarding zeal, persecuting the church; regarding the righteousness that is in the law, blameless.

7 But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith.

So what is Paul trying to get us to understand?

That it is ONLY by God’s grace that we are accepted as His son’s and daughter

• He has CHOSEN us
• He has FORGIVEN us
• He has REDEEMED us

This a GREAT NEWS

• God still loves you on your WORST day
• God can and does forgive us
• Repentance can change our life!
• Our mistakes DO NOT DEFINE US!

How do you know you struggle with legalism?

• You are judgmental of other people
• You are harsh of other people

You are constantly measuring because you are constantly feeling measured against yourself

• Reminding yourself daily of God’s grace frees you from the weight of Legalism
• A legalistic person is not a happy/joyful person and they make others miserable as well

Daily habit #1: REMIND YOURSELF DAILY OF GOD’S GRACE

Habit 2:

GET TO KNOW JESUS BETTER EVERY DAY

Philippians 3:10-11

10 My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, 11 assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.

The challenge of spending time with each member of my family

• Wife
• Individual kids
• Not counting friends/church people

So what is my Goal?

• To continue to cultivate and mature my relationships with the people I love
• Relationships are never static

So what is the challenge?

• You may already know
• The Next happiness killer is

Happiness killer – BUSYNESS

Busyness is ultimately a wrestling match between priorities and commitments

Priorities – Things that you think should have your attention

Commitments – Things you have promised attention to
Commitments are very rarely the RIGHT priorities

• Work
• Friends/ acquaintances
• Responsibilities
• Poor financial choices

Most of us have a decent understanding of what our priorities SHOULD BE

• But we OVER-COMMIT and busyness take over our lives…

Each week I’ve been asking “Are you happy?”

• A true answer for many of you would be…

I’m so busy that I don’t have time to ask if I’m happy, I’m just trying to survive

Paul was a driven guy

• Didn’t do anything halfway, but he know what his true priorities were…

Philippians 3:10

10 My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings,

That is the goal of all of us

• To try and know Jesus more every day

You can be too busy doing GOOD THINGS

• Doing God’s work

But that’s not the goal

• It’s to know him

Psalm 46:10

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

That is so hard for us

• Be still
• Put the phone down
• Get off the tv
• Go outside
• Be by yourself
• Be comfortable in silence and solitude
• Make it a priority and don’t overcommit

Habit #2: GET TO KNOW JESUS BETTER EVERY DAY

You can’t be truly happy/full of Joy if either of these two things is not right in your life

• You don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus
• You are running from him

Today that can change…

• Repent
• Believe

Philippians 3

13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.

What are you pursuing?

• Is it yourself?
• Physical pleasures?
• Status?
• Wealth?

Those things will not give you happiness, Only the presence of Jesus in your life will