Asbury Church - To Be Happy We Need Three Things

To Be Happy We Need Three Things

05/29/22 • 27 min

Jim Stovall is one of the most impressive people I have ever known. This Tulsa native started going blind when he was a high school student. He became completely blind when he was an ORU student. Jim told his father that being blind meant he would never have a normal life. His dad had a classic response: “I never thought being normal was anything worth aspiring to.” Jim nearly collapsed into despair, but the Lord used the great Ray Charles to change Jim’s life. He got a new script and refused to live in that cave. Instead, he became a world-famous author, screenwriter, entrepreneur and motivational speaker. Drive down 81st Street headed east, and you can see Jim Stovall’s name on a building on the ORU campus. His generosity is helping future generations. Jim gave an interview in his home, and I wrote down his words, “We need three things in life to be happy…” I will tell you this Sunday what this remarkable man said in that interview. His quote is now one of my favorite axioms. I have used it in a variety of applications, including memorial services. The Apostle Paul wrote young Timothy, “so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” Paul knew that far too many people believed the accumulation of wealth was the meaning of life. When the actor, Jim Carrey, made a fortune, he observed: “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.” While we need money to pay our bills, relationships make life meaningful. “Stuff” is not “truly life.” We can live in a far more robust kingdom. Seniors will tell you how quickly life passes. That is why we should put our treasure in the right places.

Previous Episode

It is More Blessed to Give Than to Receive

An Israeli tour guide, David, claimed Jesus gave only eight Beatitudes but David knew there was a ninth: Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be broken. That makes perfect sense for a tour guide who has constant disruptions over things he cannot control. (I’ve added this to my axioms, too.) While Matthew recorded eight, Paul truly did give us Jesus’ ninth Beatitude in Acts 20:35. I have yet to meet anyone who said they intentionally want to live a miserable, rotten and cursed life. However, we often set ourselves up exactly for that if we follow the wrong script. Our culture tells us many false things. Believing that life is about grabbing instead of giving is easy to do. However, if I can give to others that means I have a surplus. If we can give, we are not dependent on another. If we can give, we have an abundance we can share. In Acts 20, the Apostle Paul is vulnerable in describing part of his struggles. I cannot imagine how difficult it was for him to live out his faith (which of course, ended in martyrdom). Most of us can recall a time when we were struggling with something financial, emotional, relational or physical—then someone did something that gave us a boost. They said an encouraging word, gave us a gift, listened to us talk, changed a flat tire, gave up their seat, or held open a door. We can remember how their courtesy and kindness made us feel, whether it was a big deal or quite trivial. We can also recall doing that for others—and how that made us feel, too. Our theme this week is GENEROSITY. Few of us find that generosity is our natural response because we are inherently selfish. Although it is not our natural inclination, we will find tremendous joy and fulfillment through acts of generosity. We do not have to be rich to be generous: abundance is a matter of the heart.

Next Episode

The Affection of Jesus Christ

Paul visited Philippi on his second missionary journey (around A.D. 49-51). He wrote to them while he was in prison (at Caesarea Maritima, Ephesus, or Rome) between A.D. 55 and 62. Had he gone east, instead of west, things might have been very different for Christianity. Paul was a major player in the spread of our faith. We’ll read from Acts 16 this week. Three socio-economic classes of people in this chapter display the diversity of the gospel. Lydia was a wealthy woman. There was a slave girl possessed by evil. The Philippian jailor was a middle-class worker. Like Paul and all of us, these three had unique encounters with Christ. Paul was competent but humble. Humility leads to grace, gratitude, peace and prayer. It recognizes the gifts of others (partnerships). Humility touches our emotions (affections). Paul had a message to share about Jesus. Paul was on a mission to help others follow Jesus. Affection is a tender attachment that comes through experience. Often, that bond is developed during suffering and hardship. Paul was physically wounded when he was in Philippi. That trauma probably had something to do with why he developed such deep affection for them. Paul also described the affection of Jesus. We constantly see His affection for others in the Gospels. He had compassion for the crowds who were lost and without a shepherd. He cared deeply about children, women, the sick, outcasts, and the rejects of His society. Our two favorite parables (The Good Samaritan and The Prodigal Son) each connected the word “compassion” to the “good guys” in the stories. When we know that people really care about us, we give them the benefit of the doubt. When we think they are just using us for their own objectives, we do not trust them and will not align with them. A heart of affection is a game changer. As John Wesley put it, “If your heart is as my heart, lend me your hand.”