THE ONLY ROAD TO
TRUE HAPPINESS
by
Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind...and thy
neighbour as thyself". (Matt.22:
37-40)
Everyone
is searching for true happiness!
There isn't an individual who doesn't want peace, joy and
fulfillment! Unfortunately, very few
find it. Not because it is not
available, but because they are not looking in the right place!
Many
are like a blind man, grasping in the darkness or someone searching for a
needle in the haystack. Everything
seems so impossible! Nothing works
out. Happiness eludes them like a mirage
on the desert or a phantom rider who disappears as he turns the bend in the
road!
Judging from the great numbers who fill
our divorce courts, love and marriage is often a bummer!
Many, who on happier days laughed and
loved, are now disappointed, bitter and angry.
They want out ~ to call it “quits”.
The home has turned into a
battlefield. The tenderness and caring
is gone, along with any desire for romance! For them, love and marriage has not
been the answer to the quest for true happiness!
A large number will try again in a
common-law (shack up) arrangement or
a second marriage - hoping, hoping, hoping that this one will pan out better!
KING ALCOHOL: A MONSTROUS TYRANT
In many instances, alcohol seems like a
comfort and friend to the lonely divorcee, the aging gadabout or social
butterfly. As well as, the businessman
about to declare bankruptcy! And what of the person who has lost an expected
promotion, the desire to compete or who has reached the top of the ladder with
no place to go?
Life
has become boring, humdrum and a waste to a lot of people; for many and varied
reasons. For some, the future looks
bleak with high rents or mortgage payments, having to live on employment
insurance or welfare cheques.
Others
are dogged by depression, fear,
sickness, pain and even thoughts of
dying or suicide! And so they
try to drown their sorrows with alcohol or drugs. But, drugs, alcohol and suicide is not a
cure-all. Rather, these only further
enslave and in the end, destroy totally! Alcohol and mind altering drugs are
cruel despots and tyrants which refuse to stop, until all hope and life is
gone!
TRUE HAPPINESS IS NOT FOUND IN FAME & FORTUNE!
If you don't think so, ask the unhappy movie star who visits her psychiatrist regularly. Or consults her
daily horoscope, personal clairvoyant or
New Age channeller for guidance!
Read the sad stories of millionaires and business tycoons who have become so miserable that they have blown. Success is sweet, but it doesn't last long
enough. And if it does, very often there
is no satisfaction! And the rat race
seems to be never-ending.
Being successful doesn't come with a guarantee. Nothing in this life is 100% permanent or
secure! Exceeding the quota this year,
means it will be tougher next year!
This year's champion is often last year's
champion next year, and "president
today" could mean "former
president" after the board meeting or election. And "success
today" often is only a memory in a few years, together with some
mementos on the dresser and news stories in a scrapbook!
Father
Time marches on and always takes
its toll, without favouritism. The young
executive who worked so hard to make it to the top, suddenly finds himself
nearing 65 with the prospects of a farewell dinner, a couple of speeches and
the "traditional gold watch". And then it’s out to pasture!
TIME'S UP: CLOSE FOR THE NIGHT!
Time waits for no man...and it has a way
of catching up to all of us! And the
years do a job on the most healthy, robust and virile. As time passes, hair turns grey, wrinkles
appear, muscles lose their tone and the strength of youth dissipates.
EVENTUALLY,
THROUGH DISEASE, ACCIDENTS OR 'OLD AGE', DEATH COMES TO EVERYONE. THE GRIM REAPER ALWAYS WINS IN THE END!
Money and riches have a way of slipping
out of our hands too, and even if we can hang on to it, what good is a fortune
when you're too sick to enjoy it or too old to spend it?
And even if we're blessed enough to have
good health, there are only so many things to buy, see or do. Vacations and parties become boring too,
don't they? After all, you can only sleep in one bed at a time, drive one car
at a time, wear one suit of clothes at a time; and who needs three meals a day?
And alcohol
has the ability to make you a slave to its intoxicating power! True
happiness does not come from a marijuana joint, a bottle of beer, a cocktail
glass, great wealth and affluence.
Nearly 2,000 years ago, St. Paul
The Bible says, "The
joy of the Lord is our strength". (Neh. 8:10) Jesus said, "My peace I give unto you: not as the
world giveth, give I unto you. “Let
not your heart be troubled" (John 14:27). And St. Paul
The only way to true happiness is going
God's way, walking the Gospel road! And
the two prerequisites that Jesus Christ spelled out are:
1.
LOVE GOD
2.
LOVE YOUR FELLOWMEN
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth
and the life. No man cometh unto the
Father, but by Me". And St. Peter stated, "There is none other name
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved". (John
14:6)
The only way we can love our fellowman, is
to be filled with the Holy Spirit, for the "love of God is shed abroad in our
hearts by the Holy Ghost". (Rom. 5:5). Then we will really have
something to live for, and share with our children and grandchildren!
GOD'S BLUEPRINT FOR REAL SUCCESS!
Jesus stated that upon these two
commandments "hang all the Law and
the Prophets". (Matt. 22:40) Love
for God translates into the desire and capacity of loving one's neighbour!
The Bible gives us the blueprint for
revival in the church, good community relations, peace on earth and prosperity
among men!
If everyone really loved God with all our
being, we would keep His commandments!
We would automatically praise the Lord, preach His Word and love our
fellowman!
Then, spontaneous
revival would break out in our churches and sinners would flock into God's
house to receive His blessing! They
would "see our good works and
glorify our Father in Heaven". (Matt. 5:16)
If
we all loved our neighbour as ourselves we would be kind, loving, merciful,
gracious and forgiving! We
would not judge one another or be proud, envious, jealous, resentful or biased! Not only would we all be truthful and godly
in our living but also caring, compassionate and helpful!
There would be a drastic reduction in
crime, lawlessness and delinquency as parents loved, nurtured and disciplined their children.
THE
OUTCOME - Police departments would be
reduced in size and jails nearly empty. Murderers
and criminals would stop killing, stealing and raping, bingo halls and VLT
gambling arcades would shut down, bars and taverns would go out of business! And pimps, perverts and prostitutes
would be praising the lord at the old fashioned revival meeting!
If a genuine revival of righteousness came
to our land, the banks would be forced to lower "the exorbitant usury" they usually charge their
customers and be content with decent profits.
Price gouging would be eliminated and bankruptcies would be virtually
non-existent!
Families would grow together in love and
harmony and divorce lawyers would have to find something else to do. Abortion Clinics would be
turned into ‘Adoption Centres’ and money-hungry,
medical doctors 'turned executioners of
unborn fetuses' would return to the practice of saving lives!
SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES WOULD AGAIN BECOME CENTRES OF GENUINE
LEARNING; COMMUNICATING MORAL VALUES, COMMON SENSE AND RESPONSIBILITY WITH ACADEMIC
TRAINING!
If we all loved God and our fellowman and
embraced the teachings of the 'Good
Shepherd' there would be a turning away from the deceptions of an ‘atheist
science’ which promotes the fatally flawed evolutional theory,
dangerous occult practices of the New Age Movement and secular humanism!
Anyone following the "Golden
Rule" - do unto others as you would have them do unto you - would
not rape, murder or steal. Automatically, 'born again' Christians seek the "high road of life"
after an encounter with 'Jesus of Nazareth
We become aware of the needs of others -
spiritual, economical and physical - because of a changed life and a transforming
spiritual experience! The blessed Holy Spirit tenderizes
our hearts with compassion for the needy, sick, suffering and unfortunate!
‘Loving
God and our neighbours’ also has a therapeutic effect for those who follow
Christ's teachings. By helping others,
we get our minds off ourselves, thereby releasing any neurotic tendencies
which may have developed in our lives!
By
pampering ourselves too much, we spoil ourselves and lose touch with the real
issues of life! General William Booth - founder of the SALVATION ARMY had the word 'OTHERS' painted on the front of his pulpit! By God's grace and sheer faith, let us resolve to do the same. And we can do it!
One day I received a telephone call
inviting me to officiate at a funeral
for a 59 year old truck driver who had passed away suddenly. The family had attended our church many
years earlier but had moved away. They
had recently returned to Edmonton
I
sought the Lord for an appropriate message.
On my way to the Funeral Chapel God gave me the message I should
deliver. It was called, ‘The Three Most Important Things in Life’.
I knew I had the right message when
I spoke with the family prior to the service.
His grown sons and daughters ranging in age from 25 to 35 were weeping
unashamedly, as was their mother. I
realized how much they loved their father and husband!
THE THREE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE!
1) A
man’s relationship with his Maker.
2) A
man’s relationship with his family.
3) A
man’s relationship with his fellowman.
First
- When we are all dead and gone, the most important question will not be -
“How much money did he have in the bank” or “How educated, influential or
popular was she”? But, “Did
he know Jesus? Was she born again?"
Second – “What kind of relationship
does a person have with his or her family?
Did he love his loved ones, overlook their faults and forgive like Christ
has forgiven us all? Were we kind, loving, understanding or mean-spirited, unkind and
unforgiving toward one another?”
Third
– “How did we treat our neighbours, our fellowman? Were we honest, fair, understanding and
forgiving or were we dishonest, unfair and mean-spirited?
May God help us all to be the kind of
Christians Jesus wants us to be! You may
say, “How can I change? What must I do
to become a loving caring person?" The Bible says, “Therefore if any man be
in Christ, he is a new creature (a brand new creation): old things are passed
away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17)
YOU MAY ASK: “WHY IS THIS?”
By receiving Jesus Christ as your personal
Saviour your life will be transformed. He infuses us with His life, giving us
His wisdom, knowledge and goodness! We
become one with Him and His life becomes our life!
St. Paul said, “I am crucified with
Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life
which I have live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved
me, and gave Himself for me”. (Gal. 2:20)
Jesus said: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My
word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not
come unto condemnation, but is passed from death unto life”. (John 5:24)
Again St. John
The
Bible says: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:
it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast”. (Eph.
2:8-9)
All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to
Jesus Christ Who came to rescue me from Satan, the World and Myself. To God be the glory forever!
