4 Barriers of Happiness

1. Pain
2. People
3. Pressure
4. Problems

Philippians 1:12-30 (New Living Translation)(NLT)

¹² And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. 

¹³ For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ.

 ¹⁴ And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear.

¹⁵ It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. 

¹⁶ They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. 

¹⁷ Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincere, intending to make my chains more painful to me. 

¹⁸ But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.

¹⁹ For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance.

²⁰ For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. 

²¹ For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. 

²² But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So, I really don’t know which is better. 

²³ I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. 

²⁴ But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.

²⁵ Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith. 

²⁶ And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me.

²⁷ Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. 

²⁸ Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. 

²⁹ For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. 

³⁰ We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.

4 Habits - I can be happy, no matter what if I...

1. Look at every problem from God's viewpoint.
2. Never let others control my attitude.
3. Always trust Got to work things out.
4. Stay focused on my purpose, not my problem.

Pauls says there are 4 kinds of people in your life: (3 are killjoys, and 1 is the good kind):

1. Critics: “trying to slander me.”

2. Comrades: “my friends.”

3. Competitors: “preaching out of rivalry.”

4. Conspirators: “just want to make my life worse.”  

Matthew 5:10-12 (NLT)

Jesus said:

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The reason most people are miserable is because they think happiness comes from self-gratification.

It's not true.

The way to happiness is self-sacrifice, not self-gratification.

And that means serving others.

Note: All Scriptures are New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise noted

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