"How to Be Happy No Matter What Happens" with Rick Warren

now today if you grab your bible and uh download the message notes i want to look at what god's word teaches us about how to be happy no matter what happens how to be happy no matter what happens now this is a skill that we all need to learn during difficult days now anytime you want to study what god has to say about happiness you go to the book of philippians here in the bible it's the most positive happy book in god's word in spite of the fact that paul wrote it while he was a prisoner in a dark roman prison dungeon and he was chained to a 24-hour guard but paul knew how to be happy no matter what happens now one of the key verses is philippians 1 chapter 1 verse 27 it's at the top of the message outline that you can download as a listening guide philippians 1 27 says this whatever happens whatever happens conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the good news of christ have you ever held a pity party for yourself it's quite easy to throw a pity party all you have to do is think up a list of everything negative in your life and then think about it over and over and over and then feel sorry for yourself last tuesday i gave myself a pity party it was a good one and first i thought of the chronic pain that i'd been feeling for three weeks that was sapping all my energy and then next i thought of all the things that i wasn't getting done and the pressure that i felt from those deadlines because i hadn't been feeling good so i had pain and pressure then i thought of the people who needed my help and i thought of some other people who were upset with me and finally uh in case that wasn't enough i thought of all the problems in the world that we just keep hearing about so you got pain pressure people and problems these are the four most common sources of unhappiness they're what i call the kill joys the common kill joys of life and i know you're very familiar with them too now today we're going to see how paul handled all four of these killjoys in the first chapter of philippians anyway i started holding this pity party for myself and at one point i actually thought the words you know i don't like any of this and i'm really really really not happy right now have you ever felt that way maybe this week too well you know what i try to live each moment in my life in constant conversation with god throughout my day the bible says to pray continually pray without ceasing and that means keep a running ongoing conversation with god in your head so as soon as i thought the idea i'm not happy right now i also heard this little question in my mind from the holy spirit that said do you want to stay unhappy do you want to stay unhappy and immediately answered no no i don't want to stay unhappy you see friends god says that happiness is a choice it's not based on circumstances it's based on choices you must choose happiness now happiness is not something you look for that's what many people mistake it's not something you look for if you look for it you're not going to find it happiness is something you create happiness is something you choose the truth is regardless of your circumstances no matter what's going on in your life right now no matter what happening in your life you are as happy as you choose to be you are as happy as you choose to be you can't blame anybody else for your unhappiness and regardless of the pain regardless of pressure regardless of other people and regardless of problems in your life you are as happy as you choose to be one of the most common mistakes we make in life is what i call when and then thinking when i get this then i'll be happy when something happens the way i want it to happen then i'll be happy when i get out of school then i'll be happy when i get a man in my life or a woman then i'll be happy when i get a job or a promotion when i retire but you could fill it in with a million things when and then thinking in paul's case it could have been when i get out of prison then i'll be happy but the truth is this if you don't know how to choose happiness right now in spite of your circumstances there's going to be pains and pressures and people and problems to blame for your unhappiness for the rest of your life and you're never really going to be happy long term now let me explain the background of today's text which is philippians chapter 1. in the previous four years of paul's life before he wrote this chapter we're going to look at today in that last four years paul had spent two years in jail in caesarea on false charges false charges two years in jail then he was shipwrecked while he was sailing to rome for another trial under nero who was the the caesar at that time then in that shipwreck he was stranded on a desert island for a while and actually got bitten by a poisonous snake and then when he finally got to rome he was imprisoned again in rome for two years in a deep dank dark dungeon with a 24-hour guard chained to him paul had every reason to be unhappy every reason to be bitter every reason to be resentful or fearful or depressed he had the right to hold a pity party but instead in that dark dank prison paul wrote the most positive book in the bible philippians now in philippians chapter 1 verses 12 to 30 paul who is writing from prison models four principles for being happy no matter what happens in your life this is a very practical message i hope you'll take notes on this i want you to see the four choices that paul made so you can make these same choices too again you're as happy as you choose to be all right so here's here are the four principles the four choices first i can be happy no matter what happens in my life if i choose to write this down remember god can bring good out of anything that's the first choice i choose to remember that god can bring good out of anything now of course romans 8 28 that famous verse of scripture in the bible says this we know not we guess we know that in all that happens all that happens that's the good the bad and the ugly we know that all in all that happens god works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose now that verse does not say all things that happen are good because they're not there's a lot of bad there's a lot of evil in the world but it says in all things that happen god works for the good god works for the good the good is not what happens the good is what god does with even the bad in our lives god can bring good out of bad now we get frustrated and we get unhappy when we don't see what god sees when we don't have his perspective the truth is god is working out a plan for your life and even when all the circumstances the people and the pressures and the problem and the pain are not good god is still working for good in your life now knowing this truth is for instance why king david years earlier was able to say in psalm 34 verse 1 i will praise the lord no matter what happens i'll praise the lord no matter what happens can you say that you see circle the word will i will will means a decision will means a choice will means you had an option it's not it's i can decide it's a decision i will praise the lord no matter what happens david made a choice it was a decision now how do you do that how do you consistently make that decision to praise god even in bad circumstances by learning to look at everything from god's perspective not your own let me say that again the way you make this first choice is by learning to look at everything in your life from god's viewpoint god's perspective not my own it's a life skill you're going to have to learn if you want to be happy no matter what happens in your life now listen closely you must choose to look at every situation in your life from god's viewpoint that's called wisdom happy people have a larger perspective happy people see a bigger picture they look past the pain the people the problems and the pressure and they see a bigger picture what is the bigger picture romans 8 28 that we know that no matter what happens god is working for good in our lives let me show you paul's example of this principle it's verse 12 of philippians chapter 1. paul says this i want you to know dear brothers and sisters that everything circle that word everything all what had happened in the past four years that i told you about everything that has happened to me has helped to spread the good news that's a whole different perspective rather than a pity party saying god is using this for good let me explain you see paul had dreamed for many many years of sharing christ in the center of the empire at that time rome was the empire it was the roman empire and i'm sure his idea was let's go to rome rent the coliseum have a harvest crusade every night with paul preaching that was his idea of taking the message and getting it spread all through the roman empire god's idea was to make him a royal prisoner of nero nero was the emperor at that time now as a royal prisoner he had an opportunity to share christ with many key people that even other prisoners wouldn't wouldn't be able to do he's chained he's not only in a roman prison he's chained 24 hours a day to a palace guard what's the palace guard they were the elite hand-picked uh security agents of caesar and they guarded uh prisoners in four hour shifts now follow me on the math of this paul was in prison in rome for over two years he's chained to an elite hand-picked crack agent guard every four hours that means over two years there would be 4 380 different guards who would be attached to him what's going on here he's dealing with people of influence and he's got a captive audience no pun intended you know when i think about this he's chained to these guards nearly five thousand or fourth over four thousand guards who's the real prisoner here you're chained to paul and he and you you are a captive audience and he talks to every one of these guys about the lord the bible tells us that there were two results of this in chapter 4 of philippians it tells us that some of nero's own family had come to christ did you know that some of nero's own family had become christians because paul is witnessing to the prison or the royal guards you might call that a chain reaction because he's chained to these guards paul is for that's the first benefit second benefit is this instead of paul going out and preaching in the coliseum paul was forced to sit still in his prison cell and you know what he did during all that two years he wrote the new testament over half the new testament letters of paul to different churches including this one to the people in philippi and and so he's writing the new testament and uh and and the expenses are paid by nero now write this down face every situation with faith not fear if i want to be happy i must face every situation whether it's people pain problems or pressures face every situation with faith not fear get the bigger perspective learn to see your problems your pains your pressures the people in your life from god's point of view not just your own now before we go to the second principle i want to practice this first one so i want you to bow your head right now okay wherever you are whatever campus or if you're listening on daily hope if you can pull over to the side of the road if you're driving don't bow your head while you're driving pull over the side of the road and here's the first thing i want you to do think of a situation that you're facing right now that is either scaring you or it's causing you unhappiness think of a situation in your life that's either scaring you or it's causing unhappiness now i want you to say this in a prayer to god say god just say that god help me help me to see this from your perspective help me to see this from your perspective this situation help me to face this problem with faith not fear amen amen now what you just did is the first step to perpetual happiness any time by the way you face a situation in faith rather than in fear and you trust that god knows what he's doing and you and you remember that he's working out his plan two things happen when you face your problems with faith not fear first it's a witness to unbelievers every time you have faith instead of fear verse 13 philippians chapter 1 says this paul says for everybody here he's talking about in the prison everyone here including all the soldiers in the palace guard knows that i'm in chains because of christ okay so it's a witness to unbelievers when you act in faith toward your problems rather than in fear so witness to unbelievers it's also number two an encouragement to other believers it's an encouragement to believers verse 14 he says this and by the way because of my imprisonment many of the christians here the believers here have gained confidence they become bolder and they become more bold in telling others about christ any time you react to the pain pressures problems or people in your life from god's perspective than your own it's going to be a witness to unbelievers and it's going to be an encouragement to believers you know when our youngest child matthew died and took his life during a period of great mental illness kaye and i noticed that both of these things happened with us because we saw god's perspective and we faced this horrible crisis in our lives with faith not fear and as a result we were able to witness to millions of unbelievers for instance being on the cover of people magazine and doing a one-hour interview on cnn and a lot of other things we were able to witness to millions of unbelievers and we were able to encourage and even still today encouraging many believers who are struggling with mental health issues in their family or personally or thoughts of suicide so the first thing i do if i want to always be happy regardless of the circumstances how to be happy in spite of whatever happens i remember that god can bring good out of bed second here's the second thing i can be happy no matter what happens in my life if i choose to do this number two never let others control my attitude never let others either by their words or by their actions control my attitude they can't control you unless you allow them to control you by their words or by their actions now while paul was in prison there were people who criticized his ministry while he's down they're kicking him always down they slandered paul they judged paul they criticized there were those who were his friends who supported his ministry they were companions and friends there were those who competed with this ministry while he's in prison taking advantage that he's off out of circulation and there were those who undermined his ministry they actually attacked him and tried to destroy him while he was in prison and in philippians chapter 1 the next couple of verses verses 15 16-17 paul describes four kinds of people three of these four kinds of people are kill joyce and guess what you're going to have all four of these hope in your life hopefully you're gonna have companions but there are critics there are companions there are competitors and there are challengers you're going to have all four of these in your life and if you don't know how to deal with them you're not going to be happy much of your life first in verse 15 paul had critics and he says this it's true that some people preach christ because they're jealous of us and they like to argue they're jealous of us they like to argue you know the word there uh heiress in greek means they love to argue they love conflict they enjoy creating controversy these people hang out on social media they're contentious they're divisive they're critical they love conflict they they love to bait people into in the controversy they're on social media all the time they've ever heard a preacher on the radio or the television like that he baits everybody by being provocative and and being critical of somebody else ever read a blogger or somebody in social media like that uh no notice that paul says that critics motives is off are often jealousy and and they want to they want to have the influence you've got and so they start trying to tear you down now there are a few things in life that cause you to lose your happiness faster than criticism i mean we all want people to like us okay but here is an important principle you need to remember if you're going to be happy in life you don't need other people's approval or permission to be happy you don't need other people's approval to be happy you don't need other people's permission to be a happy happiness is a choice you're happy as you choose to be so he deals with critics in verse 15 then in 16 he talks about his companions now these are the good people you want these people in your life he says other people preach from genuine good will and they do so out of love and they know that god has given me the work of defending the gospel you want to have some friends in your life you don't need a lot but you need a couple really good friends that's why we always talk about being in a small group if you're not in a small group you need to get in a small group you need a group of companions who will help you through the tough times in your life the small group i'm in right now i've been in i think over 20 years and it has helped me many times they are a source of encouragement and happiness for me in the next verse paul says you know you're going to have competitors in life and he says this other people preach christ insincerely from a spirit of selfish ambition you know they're going to be people in your life you're going to have competitors people who want to compete with you they're ego driven and one of the things they do you can tell them that they're competitive is they put down others in an attempt to make themselves look good now let me just say this whether you're a business person or you're a teenager or you're a homemaker whatever competitors who are trying look like they're trying to compete with you over what your house looks like or what your job is or who's your best friend at school competitors will rob your happiness if you let them but you can't happiness is a choice then the second part of verse 17 he says there are challengers there are people out there who really just don't like you they're enemies and he says others want to stir up more trouble for me you know what what a thing people actually want to stir up trouble for other people yeah they do and they find their value in creating trouble for other people i heard about somebody in in a neighborhood once and they said she's only happy when she's making trouble for your neighbors he says others just want to stir up more trouble for me and add pain while i'm in prison prison now these are the troublemakers and the crazy makers of life and you know what their primary tool is gossip gossip gossip can ruin your happiness very quickly too just like criticism can now you're going to have all four of these in your life critics and and uh you know companions and uh you know uh the people who compete with you and then they're these crazy makers are they're always just trying to tear you down now regardless of the people in your life people are the second killjoy in your life look at paul's attitude it's the next verse philippians chapter 1 verse 18.

and paul says this you know what other people do all these four he just mentioned what others do doesn't really matter this is the bible what others do doesn't really matter the important thing is that in every way whether for right or wrong reasons the message of christ is being shared so circle this i am happy circle that i am happy and i will continue to be happy circle that what is paul modeling here he's saying i'm not going to let anybody whether it's a critic or a companion or a competitor or a crazy maker or it's an enemy whatever he says i'm just not i'm not gonna let anybody steal my happiness not only can pain not take it away people can't take it away now the fact is the more blessed you are in life the more you're going to be attacked sometimes i'm asked by people about the people who criticize me and my response is always what is this what other people think of me in no way controls what i think of them and i don't have to worry about it you know a lot of times you're worried about what other people think let me tell you something they're not thinking about you most of the time they're thinking about themselves so why why worry about it philippians chapter 1 verse 28 verse 28 in the same chapter says this be fearless be fearless no matter who opposes you it will be assigned to them of their downfall and the god is with you and that he's gonna save you you know i can identify with this after matthew died uh we were subjected can i to the most vile uh accusations and things and criticisms and armchair psychology and people used matthew's death to really try to harm us and they said some of the most mean-spirited thing and yet we made it through and then i i actually after we went through that gauntlet of months six months of it uh i really thought is that all you got is that the worst thing you can say and and and i remember telling kay one time after going through all of the criticism after matthew's death was to honestly i said to her okay honestly i feel fearless i feel like i've been through the worst possible situation and the worst criticisms and attacks you could imagine and i'm still standing by god's grace and by the power of the holy spirit and i feel fearless what more can they do and it almost it didn't completely cure me but it almost cured me of caring about what other people think jesus said it like this when he gave the beatitudes and the sermon on the mountain matthew 5 he said blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake he said rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven for so persecuted they the prophets who are before you in other words don't worry be happy now paul explains why you can be happy no matter what in verse 29 and 30 of philippians chapter 1 he says this for you have been given you christians you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in christ but also the privilege of suffering for him did you know that's part of being a christian the privilege of trusting christ the privilege of suffering for christ we are in this fight together the bible says you have seen me suffer paul's talking you have seen me suffer for him remember he's in prison as he's writing these words you've seen me suffer for him in the past and you know that i'm still in the midst of a great struggle i'd say what i want to say on this second point summed up is this if you live for the approval of other people you get your happiness from the approval of other people whether it's likes on your facebook page or how many people give you a thumbs up on your instagram or whatever if you live for the approval of others you will die by their disapproval okay that's the wrong way to find happiness you have to learn you don't need anybody else's approval to be happy you are as happy as you choose to be first thessalonians 5 18 no matter what happens that's the theme of this message no matter what happens always be thankful for this is god's will for you who belong to jesus christ notice this is god's will you want to be in the center of god's will always be grateful and thankful even no matter what happens no matter what other people say what other people do okay now let's review i've already given you two principles you can be happy no matter what happens in your life if you choose to do two things the first remember that god can bring good out of anything that's romans 8 28. and so you look at the situation with faith not fear just start saying god help me to look at everything that happens in my life with faith not fear look at problems look at pain look at people look at pressure with faith not fear and then number two never let what other people say or what other people do control your attitude these are powerful we could just stop right there but paul has two more keys to being happy in life no matter what happens third number three i can be happy no matter what happens if i choose to write this down trust god to always work things out that's the third key i must trust god to always work things out whether it's pain or pressure or problems or people this is the third faith factor in happiness you're going to either worry about what's happened in your life or you're going to worship you're going to panic or you're going to pray you're going to have faith or you're going to have fear this is verse 19 in philippians chapter 1. he says this i will continue to rejoice now circle again the word will if you're taking notes on the outline that's a choice it's a choice of the will it's a decision i will continue to rejoice why for i know that as you pray for me and as the spirit of jesus christ helps me all that happened will all turn out for my deliverance remember he's writing this from prison he has no physical evidence of this this is a statement of faith not of fear now in that verse i just read if you're looking at it still paul gives four sources of strength in tough times i want you to circle these four sources first i have god's perspective on my problem that helps me be happy notice it says for i know circle the word no that's god's perspective i know i don't guess i don't imagine i don't hope i don't think i know i have god's perspective i'm looking at my situation the pain the problems the pressures the people i'm looking at from god's point of view i have god's perspective on my problem i know second i have people praying for me did you notice that circle the word pray you're praying for me that's that gives makes me happy number three i have the holy spirit helping me he says i've got the spirit of god in me and then number four he says i have the faith that god will work it out for good therefore i choose to be happy he says i will that's a choice now trusting god when you don't see the the the the whole picture and you can't see the end of the story trusting god gives you hope it gives you courage and it gives you happiness look at the next verse there in philippians chapter 1 verse 20.

it is my eager expectation that's faith and hope that's hope it's my eager expectation and hope that i will not be ashamed remember he's in prison as he's writing this but that with full courage now as always christ will be honored in my body whether by life or by death he goes i don't know the end of my story i don't know if i'm going to get out of this prison and be a free man again or if they're going to you know feed me to the lions or i'm going to be set in with gladiators or uh just be hung or crucified he said i don't know whether by life or death i i am trusting god i love this verse hebrews 10 35 there on your outline it says this in the living bible do not let your happy trust in the lord die away do not let your happy trust in the lord die away don't let it fall away no matter what happens he says remember your reward that's long-term perspective short term i see all the problems in the pain and the pressures and the people long term i see the reward don't let your happy trust circle the word phrase happy trust happiness and trust go together if you don't trust god you're going to be fearful and unhappy for most of your life you must choose to trust god just like you have to choose to be happy and no matter what it looks like so let's just review now again i can be happy no matter what happens in my life if i one choose to remember that god can bring good out of bad out of anything god can bring good out anything god specializes in that if i look at every situation with faith not fear would you start saying god help me to look at every situation with faith not fear if i never let what other people say or do control my attitudes and if i trust god to always work things out i know this is not the end of the story some of you you're at the end of a chapter in your life but you're not at the end of your story now finally there is a fourth principle in this philippians chapter one powerful passage on how to be happy finally i can be happy no matter what happens in my life if i choose to do this fourth thing number four write it down stay focused on my purpose not my problem stay focused on my purpose the purpose of your life god's purpose not your problem now again remember what paul is experiencing as he writes these words paul is old he's in bad health his body aches he's in a dank dark depressing roman prison in a dungeon he's awaiting death by persecution or execution they've taken away everything they've taken away his freedom they've taken away his friends they've even taken away his privacy he's chained to a guard 24 hours a day he doesn't even have any privacy but they couldn't take away his purpose god's purpose for his life and that's why paul says this in verses 22 to 25. of philippians chapter 1. he says if by continuing to live i can do more worthwhile work for christ he goes if if i continue to live and i can do more worthwhile work for christ then i'm not sure which i should choose he says i'm pulled in two directions i want very much to leave this life and be with christ he's talking about in heaven which is a far better thing no more sadness sorrow sickness tears suffering i i want to very much to leave this life and be with christ it's a far better thing but he says for your sake it's much more important that i remain alive and he says i am sure of this so i know that i will stay on with you all so i can add to your progress and joy in the faith he says the reason i'm here is not for my benefit the reason i'm still here is for your benefit i'm writing these letters to all the different churches which became the new testament so i can add to your progress in joy now notice here paul has a purpose very clear he even explains what his purpose is he says i'm living for your benefit and for the glory of god but paul has a purpose not just for living paul has a purpose for dying too he said i really don't know whether it's better for me to stay here and go on to heaven you listen you're not ready to fully live until you know clearly what you'd die for what are you willing to live for what are you willing to die for paul says on earth my purpose is to serve god by serving others after i die my purpose is to be with god forever in heaven and paul is saying i just stay alive for the sake of others wow he says you know selfishly it'd be better for me to go on to heaven no more problems no more pain no more no more pressures no more picky people now don't miss this fourth secret principle of happiness i'm going to say it as clearly as i can say it happiness does not come from self-gratification living for yourself happiness does not come from selfishness it doesn't come from living a self-centered life all about me me me myself and i the kingdom of me happiness never comes from selfishness happiness doesn't come from self-gratification happiness comes from self-sacrifice living for the benefit of the glory of god and in order to serve others now paul sums up his entire purpose and the entire reason he is happy regardless of what happens in his life he sums it up in a single sentence one of the most famous sentences in the bible philippians chapter 1 verse 21.