Pursuing Holiness: The Path to True Joy

1. "We all desire happiness. I mean, we want to be happy. I mean, we want to be happy in our relationships. We want to be happy, you know, in our marriage with our spouse. We want our kids to grow up. I mean, I hear people say, I hear parents say that, I just want my kids to grow up and be happy. I mean, of course we want our kids to grow up and be happy, right? I mean, of course. But, you know, we look at it in every area of our life. I mean, we want to be happy in our workplace, the people we work with, in our profession, and all these different things. That's not necessarily wrong to desire to be happy, but the deeper question is, what is our top priority and what is it that we are actually pursuing?" [47:11] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


2. "The pursuit of God above all else is what God wants from us. More than being happy, God wants us to pursue him. And here's the thing, in the context, God's looking at his people. And how do you know the children of Israel had messed up time and time and time again? We see this pattern. With the nation of Israel. They walk in obedience and they begin to drift and they begin to sin. And next thing you know, they're walking in all -out rebellion against God. And God eventually gives them what they're seeking so hard after he's finally like, have at it. And they find themselves in a terrible situation. And even in the midst of that, he brings them back to this pattern of repentance. And he welcomes them back again." [01:01:19] (42 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


3. "Nothing will challenge your view of happiness more than having to deal with the truth. truth that God knows what is best. God knows what's best and he knows what he's doing. God knows what he's doing when your life doesn't look the way you necessarily want it to in a moment. He's working all things together for your good, even when you don't see it. God knows what he's doing when there's challenges, when there's obstacles to walk through. And the thing is, our thinking often goes this way. When things are going the way we want, we're like, oh yeah, yeah, my relationship with God is awesome. Yeah, man, God bless me. I'm walking in favor because things are going the way we think they should go. We have no problem. But when things aren't going the way that we think are best or the way that we think are in our best interest or the way that we want, then we begin questioning everything, including questioning God and his faithfulness." [01:05:43] (57 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


4. "Happiness is not a bad thing. And John 10, 10 says that God wants us to live life and live it to the fullest, live it to the abundance. But the description that here's where we get mixed up. It's that definition of happiness again, because the description here that we see in John 10, 10 is an understanding of living life in his will and his way. That's the life. That's the true life. That's the life of abundance. That's the life of prosperity. Living life, his will and his way. That's the life that flourishes into abundance. It's not about getting our way that leads to the abundance. It's about living life. His way. So the question is who and what are you ultimately pursuing? Are we pursuing happiness as our ultimate goal or are we pursuing holiness and the character of God in us?" [01:06:37] (54 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


5. "Happiness is its own pursuit. The pursuit of happiness, right? Joy comes as a result of our pursuit. So the question is, what are you pursuing? Listen, guys. Emotions are tools. Emotions are not truth. You can feel a way, but just because you feel a way doesn't mean that it is that way. How many of you have had to get your emotions in check before? It's really good to have something. We all need somebody in our life. When we get emotional, they can come to us and go, okay, you're being a little over the top. Settle down. You're acting out of emotion right now. The pursuit of happiness above all else ultimately leads to happiness. It leads us to entitlement. And that's not what God has for us. The pursuit of holiness above all else leads us to joy and joy unimaginable." [01:24:26] (60 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


6. "Joy is the fruit. It's one of the fruit of the spirit, right? Is happiness a fruit of the spirit? It doesn't say that. It says joy is the fruit of the spirit. Joy is the fruit, but holiness is the root. Joy is the fruit of a pursuit of God and not the fruit of the spirit. And holiness is the anchor in Christ, the foundation to live as only God would have us to live. Yet, here's the deal. It's what I'm getting to, guys. God prefers us to be holy than happy. He would rather us be holy than happy. And God would rather lead you in a life of surrender than to a life that the world perceives as success. And God would rather, God would rather lead you in a life of surrender than to a life that will shape you into history." [01:27:20] (47 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


7. "You might not be happy with your current circumstances, your current situation, the scenario that's playing out right now in your life, but if you truly seek after him and call out to the Lord, you can have a joy that's rooted in holiness that cannot be taken away. It can't be shaken. You may not be happy in a moment, but you can have a joy and a satisfaction and a contentedness inside that will not be shaken. Amen? So let me just get you, let's just bow our heads for just a moment." [01:29:07] (31 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)