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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1999-11-10, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1999. From the Minister's Study Minister asks, ‘What is happiness?’ By Rev. Dave Wood Huron Chapel Evangelical Missionary Church Auburn What is happiness? And don't tell me it's Marineland or yelling Bingo! What would it take for you to be truly happy? Money? It wx>uld be nice, but for how long would it last? Friends? That would be nice too because we don't like to be alone. Health? Definitely something we take for granted and often it's only when it's gone we realize its value. I have noticed a big resurgence in pur­ suit of health and fitness but still, while there may be a lot of people in the gyms, they don't look too happy. Family? Until something goes wrong! A job? A hobby? A purpose? What is it that really makes us happy? We want to be happy, we want to be content, we want that something in our lives that ends the struggle and ceases the wandering and gives meaning, focus, content­ ment. and peace in return. We build toward it. We seem to need it because there is no one not pursuing it. But despite the best attempts, despite the noblest ambitions, it con­ tinues to allude our grasp and far too often, the race of Adam is left floun­ dering in despair and dejection. Our world longs for happiness and it seems our society is bent on trying to provide it but the best it can offer is merely a shadow of what could be and one day will be. You see, despite what you have been told, we are not alone, we are not vagabonds on a pointless journey which is sprinkled with a few choice moments only to be hampered and darkened by the rigors and demands of life. There is a God in Heaven. There is a God who is present and He holds out His hand. He extends His hand of mercy and He offers to you free of charge hap­ piness, contentment, peace, an end to the struggle and to the meaningless existence to life. If you want more, if you want to put an end to the futility and heartache of the parody that we call life, you need to know that an invita­ tion has been issued and the Engraver has placed your name upon it and all that awaits is your reply. Take a trip with me to the dawn of time for it was a time unlike any other in the history of our race! It was utopia, it was Paradise. The Lamb lay down with the Lion, the Creation was in synche. And yet, was it mere fantasy as some would have us believe? Is the account of Eden folklore and the wishful think­ ing of hopeful hearts? Not in the least for Eden was the gift of God. It was the plan of the Creator and the Word of God says it existed and thus it is true. Our finite minds cannot grasp the mind of God, our limitations serve to confine us to that which we can see and yet our hearts tell us, our soul cries out that there is more. When one looks at the beauty of creation, the stars in a shimmering sky, the vastness, the richness, the panoramic beauty of God's handiwork, the heart is silenced, it is awed and the spirit exults within. It cries out, the heart wells up with praise and it knows, it just knows, that there has to be more, and it has to be better. Eden was better, it had to be. God made it and Adam and Eve, man. they had it all, no copies, no shad­ ows, they had the original, a blessed life and they were happy, they really were! A perfect environment, no sickness, no disease, no threats from within or without, they had it all but they also had something beyond all the externals, something or someone whose very presence gave them what this material world cannot give. For His presence lent peace. His close proximity brought contentment and His vast love gave perfect fellow­ ship. The Word says God walked with them, God the Father had fellowship with them and the man and the woman were blessed, they were happy. Can you see it? What a picture! God walking with you, beside you. in plain view! But you know as well as I do that it would not last, that the scene of perfection would be marred by the act of rebellion. All they had, all they had been given freely and without cost, would be sacrificed, would be compromised, would be jeopardized and then it would begin. The down­ ward spiral, the emergence of shad­ ows, the birth of guilt and fear, the gaping chasm! How hard this lesson must have been for Adam and Eve for remember, they walked with God. they knew God. His presence. His peace. His provision and now ... what a sense of loss they must have felt. They chose a poor copy in place of the original. Once you have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, once you have walked with God and have known the joy that He brings, every­ thing else pales in comparison. He is a great God. He is the best of friends, and all He wanted, was that they walk with Him. The repercussions of their choice, the fruit of their action has been passed down throughout the line of Adam to this very day for in Adam, the Word says, all have died and have fallen under judge­ ment for where there was once fel­ lowship with God, where there was once peace and blessed living, there is a chasm that cannot be bridged through any effort of man and the race of Adam stands condemned. Follow the thread back to Eden, because what is crying out for fulfill­ ment and happiness, the blessed life that you long for, is the passion for pleasure in God, the desire to walk with God and beside this, everything else pales in comparison! Beside it, everything else is fake and shallow, a mere copy, unfulfilling, a shadow of what could be and can be if you want it to be for remember, the invitation has your name on it and it is up to you to accept it. But you have a problem here, because first of all, to get to this blessed life, to truly be happy, you need to get across the chasm! I am sure by now that you may have noticed that Jesus Christ was quite a unique and special individ­ ual. He was and is One of a kind! And His teaching. His words were revolutionary, they were new, they were fire in the hearts of the hearers and life to their weary bones. “Blessed are you when you are poor in spirit”. “Blessed are you when you mourn”. “Blessed are you when you are meek”. “Blessed are you when you hunger and thirst for right­ eousness.” What? This is the content of the Blessed life? This is the direction in which we should go! To you and me. these words might ring a different message, but to the Jewish listener they understand full well what Jesus was saying. The Hebrew word for blessed translates to “happy” so that sheds a lot more light on the subject. To be blessed, to be happy, is to find the right path! Have you found it? Are you happy? The world is offering many paths leading to happiness. There is the path of compromise and the path of worldliness. There is the path of religion, the path of intellect, the path of rebellion, the path of compla­ cency, and path after path, promise after promise, road after road, they are offered and they don’t deliver!- They all lead to the same place: nowhere, end of the line, empty, hol­ low and still searching. To be happy, to be blessed is to find the right path. If you are sur­ rounded by many confusing ways and find the right way to go, then you are happy, this is the meaning of blessed! Jesus tells us we are on the right path when we know of our own hunger, when we are sensitive to our own heartfelt need. In fact, Jesus teaches that happiness, the blessed life is to be found on this pathway and why? Because friends, it brings us to the end of self. It shows us our hearts, it reveals our hopelessness, it gives to us the view of the uncross­ able chasm and yet it challenges us to go on. But to where? The chasm has been breached, the bridge has been built and the chal­ lenge is for you to come across. The invitation still stands, the offer is still open and the way has been made. All you have to do, is come across, accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and learn what it means to be blessed, to have the happy life, to be changed. Belgrave WMS meets The WMS held its meeting on Monday, Nov. 1 at the home of Ivy Cloakey. The purpose was read in unison and Freda Scott read a Call to Worship. Lottie Scott led in prayer. Ivy read scripture, then Freda read a story on The Passover. The roll call was answered by a verse on Remembrance. Margaret Siertsema gave the sec­ retary report and Mrs. Cloakey the treasurer’s report. Mrs. Siertsema had the new calen­ dars. It was decided there would be a dedication for the church banner. Rev. Cathrine Campbell closed with prayer. you are ‘Welcome at the BLYTH COMMUNITY CHURCH OF GOD 9:45 a.m. - Sunday School for Children and Adults 11:00 a.m. - Morning Worship Bible Studies - Wednesday 10 a.m. & 7:30 p.m. Phone 523-4590 McConnell St., Blyth Blyth United Church Come Worship The Lord With Us Sundays - 11:00 a.m. Worship Service & Sunday School Minister ~ Rev. Ernest Dow ALL ARE WELCOME 523-4224 THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA /flirt ua Ma Sunday Morning Worship Service - 10 a.m. Evening Worship Service ~ 7:30 p.m. For you created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13, 14 BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH you are welcome this Sunday NOVEMBER 14 - PENTECOST 25 MORNING PRAYER Trinity, Blyth St. John's, 9:30 a.m. Brussels Wheelchair accessible 11:15 a.m. Rev. Nancy Beale - Rector - 887-9273 Rev. Adrian A. Van Geest Hwy. 4, Blyth 523-9233 Wheelchair accessible BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE HURON CHAPEL EVANGELICAL MISSIONARY CHURCH Auburn - 526-7555 PASTOR DAVE WOOD - 523-9017 ASSOCIATE PASTOR - YOUTH - JEREMY SHUART 523-9788 Sunday 8:45 a.m.- Morning Worship Service 10:00 a.m.- Family Bible Hour 11 a.m.- Morning Worship Service 8 p.m.- Evening Service Wednesday 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.- Family Night (Kids'Club) Friday 7:30 p.m.- Youth MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS 11:00 a.m. - Morning Service - Sunday School 9:30 a.m. - Belgrave Service Wheelchair accessible Nursery care available We welcome you to come and worship with us. Rev. Cathrine Campbell - 887-9831 . ■ UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA Church Office 887-6259 E-mail: bepc@wcl.on.ca November 14, 1999 9:30 a.m. - Ethel Morning Worship 11:00 a.m. - Brussels Morning Worship 1:00 p.m. - Brussels/Ethel Congregational Meeting re: Joint Needs Assessment Committee Report at Brussels United Church IN THE MORNING AND AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN, WE SHALL REMEMBER THEM. Communion - 9:45 - 10:30 Family Bible Hour and Sunday School 11:00 - 12:00 Prayer & Bible Study Tuesday 8 p.m. Cornerstone Bible Fellowship < Ethel John 14:6 - Jesus said, "I am the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE, no one comes to the Father, but through Me." Everyone Welcome For more information call 887-6665 ■ ■