Introduction:

Several years ago I read about a young man who longed for a Ferrari. He dreamed about it. He imagined himself behind the wheel. He could smell the soft supple leath­er. He could feel the power of the engine as it hugged the road.

Then it happened. He got the promotion he wanted, and with the promotion came a good-sized raise. At last he knew he could fulfill his fantasy.

Shining black, the Ferrari gleamed and glistened as he drove it away from the show­room floor. His dream had come true. He was ecstatic!

The car was magnificent to drive, and the young man loved all the attention he received from envious young men and lovely ladies. But the payments were steep. The entire raise and more was going into this car. The girls that the car attracted expected him to take them to expensive restaurants. They expected expensive gifts. And parking attendants expected fat tips.

Then it came time to have the Ferrari serviced. Wow! He had no idea that a lube job would cost so much. He managed to pay, although the high charges left him in the hole financially.

But it was worth it! He had a Ferrari-his dream car!

The young man enjoyed washing and waxing the Ferrari, rubbing the wax and watching the sun glint off the mirrored body. But after a few months he began to notice little nicks in the paint and scratches on the door.

He began to get tired of the attention and the demands that the car and its new friends made on him. In fact he was beginning to wonder who the girls were going out with-him or his car!

That car-the young man's pride and joy, his source of happiness-was beginning to become a source of disappointment and depression, as well as a burden. This letdown was totally unexpected. He had thought that he would be eternally happy once he had that car. But he wasn't.

Future shock overtook and shook-and shook-him. Now he was haunted by the question: "Will I ever be happy? Will I ever be satisfied? I hope that you realize that material gains will not bring happiness. People who search for happiness in terms of money, real estate, possessions, or investment portfolios are always in for a rude awakening. All the money in the world will not buy happiness.

Before we actually deal with each of the individual Beatitudes in the coming weeks, this morning I want us to consider the quest for happiness, beginning with the search itself.

I. Search

A French philosopher once said, "The whole world is on a mad quest for security and happiness." A former president of Harvard University observed, "The world is searching for a creed to believe and a song to sing.

A Texas millionaire told Billy Graham, "I thought money could buy happiness-I have been miserably disillusioned." A famous film star broke down saying, "I have money, beauty, glamour and popularity. I should be the happiest woman in the world, But I am miserable. Why?" One of Britain's top social leaders said, "I have lost all desire to live, yet I have everything to live for. What is the matter?"

A man went to see a psychiatrist. He said, "Doctor, I am lonely, despondent, and miserable. Can you help me?" The psychiatrist suggested that he go to a circus and see a famous clown who was said to make even the most despondent laugh with merriment. His patient said, "I am that clown."

A college senior said, "I am twenty-three. I have lived through enough experiences to be old, and I am already fed up with life."

A famous Grecian dancer of a generation ago once said, "I have never been alone but what my hand trembled, my eyes filled with tears, and my heart ached for a peace and happiness I have never found."

This search is an age-old quest. As I began this study of the Beatitudes in preparation to preach on these scriptures I thought it was interesting that some Christians of previous generations and our times, whom I respect, pointed back to the prophet Isaiah addressing people who longed for happiness and security. However, they were searching in the wrong places - amusement places, market places, spending their money on things that failed to bring happiness. Listen to what Isaiah wrote years ago: "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come buy wine and milk, without money and without cost. Why do you spend your money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance."

Commenting on these verse Billy Graham said:

Isaiah didn't speak negatively and berate them for their sins in this particular sermon. He didn't grab the bottle from the drunkard's hand, he didn't lecture them about the evils of gluttony, he didn't shame them about their moral practices. He overlooked that for the moment. He simply asked them: "Are you getting what you want out of life? Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy?"

If Isaiah were living today he would probably stand at Forty-second and Broadway in New York, in the Loop in Chicago, or on Market Street in San Francisco, and simply ask the milling restless throngs: "Are you getting what you want? Are you finding satisfaction?" He would ask that actress, surfeited with fame and fortune, but peering out on life hungrily, "Are you getting what you want?" He would say to the eminently successful financier who commands his fleets and controls his industries, "Are you getting what you want?"

He would say to the laborers and workmen of America who are enjoying the highest standard of living in history: "Are you getting what you want?" He would ask the youth of America: "Are you getting what you want?"

He would say to the consumers of America who have the best homes, the most comfortable furniture, the finest food, the cleverest gadgets, and the smoothest, most powerful automobiles: "Are you getting what you want?"

The American dream that we might think about this week following our observance of Independence Day in this great land is the pursuit of happiness.

With similar language to that in Isaiah 55 Jesus visited with a woman of Samaria who came to draw water from a well near where Jesus was. Our Lord visited with her about drinking water and thirst. She too was searching for happiness - not just a cool drink of water. Apparently Jesus knew that she had been seeking happiness through relationships that did not meet her needs. She had had five husbands and was at that time living with a man to whom she was not married. What a painful search that must have been - then she found the secret of happiness.

II. Secret

Read John 4:24-26

A relationship with God through Jesus Christ is the secret. John 4:14

Isaiah, years earlier extended the invitation, "Ho everyone who thirsts, come to the waters... Listen carefully to ME... incline your ear. Listen that you may live.

Isaiah and Jesus were NOT talking about a fleeting superficial happiness that comes when the circumstances are good and we are mostly free of troubles. Since these circumstances will inevitably change, this shallow happiness will not last. It may be like the young man and his dream car.

The kind of happiness I long for is a lasting, inner joy and peace that prevails in any circumstances. It endures and may even grow stronger in adversity. I believe this is the happiness Jesus describes and challenges us to in the Beatitudes. As we focus on these in the weeks ahead we shall see that living by these teaching of Jesus is not easy, but it is the way of happiness.

The secret of happiness - true lasting happiness is living in a right relationship with God. It begins by admitting and confessing our sins, our need for Christ as our Savior, and asking Christ to live in us. Many that take this initial step appear to be miserable - not happy at all. Why? We may ask? Isn't Jesus the answer? YES! Jesus is the answer and He always will be. The secret to happiness is in a living dynamic, ongoing relationship with Him. Happiness does not come to those who say they know Jesus, but live their lives ignoring or rejecting Him. Keys to unlock this secret to happiness are discovered in the Beatitudes, beautiful attitudes of Jesus.

Conclusion: Jesus began each of the Beatitudes with the Greek word, makarioi, a difficult word we most often translate as blessed. Bauer translated as blessed, fortunate, happy. The Amplified version defined it as happy, to be spiritually envied and spiritually prosperous...with life, joy, and satisfaction. I have in my library Robert Schuller's book on the beatitudes titled, The Be(Happy) Attitudes and Billy Graham's book The Secret of Happiness. I'll probably repeat this a number of times. Remember the "happy that I may use to describe "Blessed" in this study is NOT the superficial happiness that comes and goes with happenings and circumstances. This happiness is deep and lasting because its secret is found in an ongoing right relationship with Jesus Christ. This begins as we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and continues as we commit ourselves to following Jesus' teaching, including these keys from the Sermon on the Mount. Are you on the quest for happiness? Has your search led to the secret? C.S. Lewis wrote, "Joy is the serious business of heaven. All His biddings are joys." The late Mother Teresa said many times, "True holiness consists of doing the will of God with a smile."

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