A Recipe for Happiness

In Philippians Chapter 4, verse 4, it says:

“…Rejoice in the Lord always; again, he said, rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is near; be anxious for nothing, but let your requests be made known before God in every prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus…”

Here it is [inaudible] to call it A Recipe for Happiness. What do you think? Nice title, right? A Recipe for Happiness. Isn’t that right? If I put that on the Internet, I am sure that a great many people will search for it [inaudible] A Recipe for Happiness, or A Recipe for Being Happy, too.

To me, it is one of the densest passages in the Word of God concerning how to maintain peace in our hearts and how to remain happy and joyful even in the midst of trials. This epistle, which is the Epistle to the Philippians, was written to people who lived in the city of Philippi; that is why they were called the Philippians. That is what the citizens of this city of Philippi, where the Apostle Paul went, were called. He wrote this epistle to those people while he was in prison. He was in prison when he wrote this epistle.

As you know, Roman prisons were not like prisons in the United States, where you have air conditioning and color television and complain because what they served was rice with stewed chicken and not something more exquisite. Roman prisons were very, very harsh and extremely dark, cold, and terrible. They were torture in themselves. People were not treated very well.

In this case, the Apostle Paul was not even sure whether or not he would get out of that prison alive. So imagine: it would have been understandable if he had written this letter and sounded a little depressed and sad, wouldn’t it? After all, he was in a very difficult situation in his life. Nevertheless, this letter has been called the letter of joy, the epistle of joy, because it contains many forms of the word joy—rejoice, expressions such as my joy, be joyful. It is an epistle overflowing with joy, overflowing with serenity.

And one wonders, well, how could this man, in such adverse circumstances, not become depressed and write an epistle that instead calls those who hear him, those who are outside, to rejoice and be joyful, if he himself speaks.

[Inaudible] if you look at its very beginning, he is already mentioning it, the word joy. He says in the first chapter, verse 4:

“…Always in every one of my prayers, making supplication with joy for you all…”

And later he speaks about how he rejoices because his imprisonment has actually resulted in the advancement of the Gospel. And there are many passages in which this word joy is mentioned, as well as the confidence he has [inaudible]

Now, what was Paul’s secret? Why was he so joyful? It is not [inaudible] Paul knew that he was in God’s hands and that whether he died or lived, his life, his death, was under divine protection and supervision. And that everything that happened in his life had a purpose; there was something good for which it happened.

Now, he says, even while in prison I have realized that by being here I can testify to the guards surrounding me, and I see that the Gospel [inaudible] the palace of Caesar himself. So it is good that this is happening. He says that he knows that for him to die in [inaudible] the presence of Christ. That is, death no longer threatened him because he knew that death was simply a door [inaudible], and that is why he said, as for me, I believe [inaudible] because being with Christ—because he knew that dying was equivalent to being with Christ. And that is why many people are sometimes afraid of death: because they do not know what awaits them. Even many Christians are afraid of death. But when you think, I am going to be with Christ.

And he said, for me, being with Christ is much better. Then he said, if remaining in the world results in the advancement of the Gospel, well, that is fine; then I will remain. In other words, he resigned himself to living more than [inaudible], because for him [inaudible] to live is Christ, and to die is what? Gain.

That is how Christians should view it: life and death. So Paul had already surrendered all those attachments that keep us clinging to [inaudible]. Another thing he also said was, I know how to live in poverty and in wealth, in abundance and in poverty, in need. I am content with anything. That is what happens: I believe that the more [inaudible] eternity, the less this world and its ups and downs weigh upon us.

The more [inaudible] eternity becomes for us, the less the world should matter to us. There are people who, if others applaud and approve of them and are pleased with them, are happy. And if people criticize them, then they are not pleased with themselves; they want to shoot themselves because their happiness and sadness depend on what happens in the world. If all the [inaudible] God exists, that is good, but if they do not know where the next check will come from, then God does not love me, God does not exist, [inaudible].

Christians are convinced; they know that this world is temporary, that this world is illusory. If things are going well, glory to God; there is nothing wrong with [inaudible] a 42-inch television and even [inaudible]. If you have [inaudible], I will gladly accept it. But that is not what gives us happiness. We know that happiness depends on other, spiritual things. I believe that the more powerful the eternal becomes in our lives, the less [inaudible] should weigh.

[Inaudible] almost at the end of the epistle, Paul says, “Rejoice in the Lord always.”

Do you know that this is a call to believers? Do you know that God calls you to rejoice? The so-called joy is something emotional; it is almost [inaudible] a commandment, which would almost be a contradiction. You have to rejoice. But it is a call he gives us to rejoice.

You know, I believe that one of the marks of a sound, healthy believer who is [inaudible] fully committed to [inaudible] is having a reason to rejoice. Being able to laugh, being able to celebrate, being able to [inaudible] good music, a good conversation, a cup of cold café au lait, brown sugar, a little cinnamon [inaudible] enjoying the simple things in life—that is good.

The Christian life is a life of joy. I do not believe that [inaudible] there with our heads hanging and depressed, with a serious expression, [inaudible]. No, no, we have to rejoice. We have to cultivate rejoicing. Do you know that rejoicing is a decision, I would tell you. It takes as much effort to rejoice as it does to become depressed. In fact, it is a decision; reaching the point of being depressed requires as much effort as cultivating joy. We have to cultivate joy and understand that the believer’s natural position should be rejoicing; and if from time to time we have to get a little depressed, well, amen, what can we do?

But depression should be like something [inaudible] that comes like a mangy dog—go away at once. You do not let it come near for very long. That bird of ill omen [inaudible] wants to accept someone [inaudible].

But what happens? If you allow it, depression comes and draws near and puts its arm around you. And you sort of become [inaudible] depressed. And before you know it, depression embraces you, and you can already see how it has [inaudible]. No, the time to cut depression off quickly is when it begins to enter your life; immediately [inaudible], move, cast it out, far from your life. Pray, cry out, worship, call a good friend on the phone who will tell you a joke, or put on a worship CD, or dress nicely, or put on your [inaudible] and go out into the street [inaudible] something cheerful.

Rejoicing is a decision; it is an effort that one has to make in life. And sometimes you will not want to rejoice, but then, when you make an effort, you discover that you do have joy; but you have to do your part. That is very important. That is why Paul says, rejoice in the Lord always, because it is a call, it is a decision.

You can do it. Do not tell me that you cannot do it. You can rejoice. [Inaudible] I could not do it in the morning, but now I am doing it here—excellent, excellent, how wonderful. Thank God I have the strength to shovel snow. Father, send more, so that I can exercise more.

One should, because that is what I was telling Meche just now as we were coming here, and I said to her, “You know what? I am not going to complain about the snow anymore.” Sometimes when the neighbors come outside, we find ourselves like refugees from a war, three or four of us shoveling, each one at his own house, and we look at one another like survivors of a [inaudible].

With shovels in hand, we look at one another and [inaudible]. And then we say, “Oh, this is really bad!” [Inaudible] you know that I [inaudible] do something foolish, [inaudible] we keep shoveling, and [inaudible] at some point it gets tired; spring is already coming. In July, I doubt that [inaudible], so I [inaudible] April or May, around then, I already know that it gets tired of [inaudible]. So in the meantime I am going to enjoy myself—what else can I do?

If I complain a lot, [inaudible] inside me. So one has to learn to cultivate it; there are ways for us to cultivate [inaudible].

Here it says, rejoice in the Lord. Do you know that this is what makes the difference? It is when one is so full of the Lord. I believe that one always has to keep one’s battery charged in the Lord. When you are conscious of the Lord, that is when you can learn to rejoice. Because the devil wants to snatch away your joy and your awareness of Christ. He will want you to focus on the snow, focus on the bills you have to pay, on how difficult the work is, on that [inaudible] you detest, and all these things [inaudible] on that, concentrate on that, and take your [inaudible] away from the Lord.

So, rejoice in the Lord. I believe that believers have to remain very conscious of the presence of Christ at all times. And we have to cultivate it; that is why, as much as possible, one has to consider what you spend your time on and what things you devote your mind to, what things you devote your mind and thoughts to. I believe that, as much as possible, you have to try always to make yourself conscious of the person of Christ [inaudible].

If you are on the street, if you are driving, if you are somewhere… Sometimes I ask myself: if I had to preach right now, at this very moment, would I feel prepared? The truth is that many times I would not; I feel distant, I feel as though this world weighs too heavily upon me, and I would have to find myself [inaudible], sing some good [inaudible], so that I could then be in the mood to preach. I believe that a man should be ready at any moment to preach the Word, or to pray, or whatever it may be, because one is always cultivating the presence of Christ, awareness of the Lord, the awareness that Jesus is eternal.

Sometimes, singing a chorus or reciting a verse keeps that presence of the Lord alive in our lives. Rejoice in the Lord. There are also times when I will not want to rejoice in the flesh and in my emotions, and I will have to rejoice in the spirit. That means that often, perhaps on the surface, emotionally, I will not feel like laughing; but many times one can indeed feel and cultivate an inner rejoicing of the spirit. And that is important.

That is, rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say, rejoice. We have to be reminded of that. Then, “Let your gentleness be known to all men…”

Why do you think Paul said that? Let your gentleness be known to all men, immediately after saying rejoice. I believe so; I believe it is something… Look, a person who is [inaudible] and depressed is not going to be [inaudible], is not going to seem very gentle. Now, you know that a person who has a pleasant smile, who is happy, who has a positive attitude—people are going to think, “Wow! What a likable person,” aren’t they? One could say, let your friendliness be known to all men.

Do you know what drives many people away? The Christian who is [inaudible], sanctimonious, [inaudible], always with a spiritual word on his lips, who does not laugh with anyone, does not laugh at a joke; everything is bad, everything is sin. That person is not attractive. Now, when someone has joy in their heart and is cheerful, people see that and say, “Wow! What a likable person. How pleasant.” To me, that is one of the most attractive things about a Christian, and one of the things that most attracts people to the Gospel is the joy of the people of God.

I like it when people are [inaudible] and smiling [inaudible], and they always say, “Wow, your church…” On Sunday, this Jewish brother came [inaudible] and [inaudible] a city in England. And I went in to greet him, thank him for coming and all that, and he said to me, “Look, your church is so lovely, so joyful; the people are so friendly. They treated us so well. You have a beautiful church. The praise is so lovely, and we felt right at home.”

I believe that [inaudible] that, right? Of course. And you know what? People come—we have many faults—but one of the things people always say is that we are a friendly church, a hospitable church, the people… And please, we have to cultivate that. I wish there were 500 people here so I could tell them that we, as a church, have to cultivate that; we have to cultivate harmony, joy, gladness, laughter. I like it when people laugh during the service, instead of having that attitude of, “Oh, glorious Holy One, and [inaudible] we praise You, oh Jehovah.”

Instead of saying to Him, “Father, we love You. How good You are.” God does not need a formula. God does not need so much [inaudible]. God is a simple God. And we have to be that way. Laughter pleases the Lord. Come into His sanctuary with gladness, with joy and rejoicing. The Lord likes laughter.

Then it says, “your gentleness”—that is a very profound word. [Inaudible] That word is such a wonderful word that it also means your grace, your affection. It is a word that means that when you give yourself to people, you assume they are good and they have to prove to you that they are bad before you believe it; but first you believe that [inaudible] when it turns out that they are bad.

It is also an attitude, like the attitude of a grandfather who tolerates a great deal, forgives a great deal, and assumes the best about people. That is what the word gentleness means: treat people with grace, mercy, and love; forgive them, bless them, tolerate them. Grace is a precious quality that we Christians must cultivate, brothers and sisters.

For me, I believe [inaudible] is worth more than—listen—that attitude of grace and warmth should be the most precious thing for a child of God. As the years go by, I want to become more pleasant to people, more appealing to people, more cordial, because that is what reflects the character of Christ Jesus. [Inaudible] Sweeten me, sweeten me, because it is necessary.

Many of us look as if we have been saturated with a dose of sour lemon. [Inaudible] And they cultivated us for days and days and days. Lord, sweeten us. Because [inaudible] Lord, sweeten us.

[Inaudible] Let your gentleness be known to all men. And do you know what, brother? Look, when you have to give yourself to others, that is one of the greatest antidotes to depression. Many people live depressed because they judge others, are always criticizing others, and are always assuming the worst about others. They believe everyone is against them; there is so much resentment in their hearts.

But when you forgive, when you tolerate, when you show grace toward others, you will be a healthier, more functional person. And you will feel joy about [inaudible] and peace in your heart. You will sleep more peacefully.

The person who criticizes, the person who is always seeing the bad in others, cannot express [inaudible] love and affection toward others. That person—that critical attitude—turns [inaudible] inward and causes depression; it contaminates their inner landscape. So that is one of the antidotes to depression and sadness. And one of the things that most makes a person feel joyful is precisely that: showing grace toward others.

I am almost finished. It says here, “The Lord is near.” Why does he say that? After saying, “Rejoice,” he says, “Let your gentleness be known,” and then he adds, “The Lord is near.” [Inaudible] The Lord is near. Do you know why? The Lord is near—why? Why is that important? When a person knows that Christ is near [inaudible].

Now, what does “the Lord is near” mean? That can be interpreted in two different ways. “The Lord is near” may mean that the Lord is coming soon—the coming of the Lord. We do not know exactly what Paul meant by this expression: “The Lord is near.” He may have meant that the Lord is coming soon.

But it seems to me that I could understand that. Yet if that is so, [inaudible] how can feeling that Christ’s coming is near help us have a happier life? Can anyone tell me? How can that affect my joy? When [inaudible] is near, that the word of the Lord [inaudible] because I am nearer [inaudible]. In other words, one could say that the Lord is right at the surface; that is why He says, “I am at the door [inaudible] with him, and he with Me.” [Inaudible]

The moment you seek Him, you find Him. Exactly. I believe that when it says, “Rejoice in the Lord always,” [inaudible] to be near [inaudible] tomorrow [inaudible].

That is one way, and it is true. Both interpretations are close. Over here.

I believe Paul is an evangelist. I believe that [inaudible] gentleness is an attitude; it is a command. We see it as gentleness, as a [inaudible]; it is a fruit. [Inaudible]

I believe all these interpretations are appropriate. [Inaudible]

When it says, “The Lord is near,” I can feel it as though He were [inaudible].

The nearness of the Lord. [Inaudible] To have Him so near must be [inaudible] so many things [inaudible] complicating your existence [inaudible] your life, because the Lord is near. We do not know when [inaudible].

So I believe that is the important thing: there are many ways. This is an expression that is very rich in its explanations. [Inaudible] Christ is coming soon, and if Christ is coming soon, why should I worry? Soon He is going to put an end to this cruel world. No more [inaudible], no more danger, no more falling on the ice—the Lord is near. All this tragedy in life will soon [inaudible]. That is one way.

The other way is: the Lord is near me. The Lord is right there beside me. He hears you. He is as near as your heart, and then [inaudible] at any moment. [Inaudible] your help; He has an answer for every need. So there is the nearness of the Lord; He is not so far away.

There is a passage—I do not remember exactly—[inaudible] so far away that [inaudible]. That is to say, when you know that Christ is so near to you: “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” [Inaudible] because You will be with me. “I stand at the door and knock; if you open the door to Me, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.” There is an ongoing relationship.

And so, if Christ is that near to you, you can speak to Him at any moment. He is your strength; He is your security. So you do not have to feel forsaken. In other words, the Lord is accessible, and He is as near as your next prayer. [Inaudible]

The Lord is near. Then it says, “…be anxious for nothing, but let them be made known before God in every prayer and supplication with thanksgiving…”

Do not be anxious about anything, brothers and sisters, but rather [inaudible]. Prayer is a release valve for me. When I am anxious [inaudible], I cry out to the Lord, and afterward I [inaudible], “Lord, I need [inaudible].”

For me, praying is not so much giving the Lord a recipe, a shopping list, as it is letting out my anxiety, my fear, my anguish—talking with my great friend, my Father, my God. And that gives me peace. You know that [inaudible] like a good psychiatrist for an hour [inaudible]. Of course it does. For me, prayer is more that than anything else: it is being conscious of eternity, being conscious of the nearness of my God, literally a brainwashing in which I immerse myself in the waters of eternity.

Look, stop being anxious; pray. Spend fifteen or twenty minutes praying. If you want to cry, cry before God. You have to remain [inaudible] with God. If you are happy with God, speak to Him respectfully, [inaudible], but share your annoyance with the Lord. God is not bothered when you complain. Many of the Psalms are complaints before God: “Why have You saved me? Why have You left me?”

So use that resource of prayer. “Be anxious for nothing, but let them be made known through [inaudible].” [Inaudible] Why did I not receive? Because you do not ask. Present your requests to the Lord again and again; cry out to the Lord. That too is an antidote to depression, anxiety, [inaudible], and sadness.

Cry out to God. Have a good cry before the Lord. Let Him know your requests, your needs, your sorrows, your fears, and that will bring peace to your spirit. The Lord will hear you.

So notice that there are many things: gentleness and grace toward others; cultivating rejoicing as something valued in life; being conscious of the presence of God and cultivating the presence [inaudible] in your life, and continually succeeding.

I will tell you something, brothers and sisters: when I need to pray, if I go too long without praying, the real Roberto immediately comes to light—a neurotic, anxious, and somewhat depressed guy, a monster. It is like Frankenstein, coming out of me all over the place [inaudible]. My true nature manifests itself. I have to take prayer pills every two hours to keep my true nature at bay. If I do not pray, the monster comes out. So I [inaudible] to pray continually, and how could I live, [inaudible], feel, and hand over all the pressures of life and ministry if not by always staying close to His world [inaudible]?

I tell you, brothers and sisters, that it works. I am addicted to prayer, because if I do not have it, I begin to tremble [inaudible] and become neurotic.

“Be anxious for nothing, but let your requests be made known before God in every prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving.” And what was the result of that? “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will keep your hearts in Christ Jesus.”

The result of all that is peace, joy, rejoicing, rest. The peace of God will keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus [inaudible].

Do you want to enjoy life and remain content in the midst of trials? Cultivate resources. Resources. [Inaudible] of the Christian life: being a gentle, warm, forgiving person, full of grace; cultivating a sense of Christ’s presence in your life and of His second coming; and praying always as a hygienic practice, [inaudible] the valve [inaudible] will cause peace to come to your spirit, and then it will keep your heart and your mind. Where do anxiety, fear, anguish, and depression reside? In the mind.

So if those things are kept in Christ Jesus, you will be a healthy person, you will be a joyful person, and you will be able to live in peace. So there you have a teacher’s recipe: a recipe for happiness.