Refuel Throwback: "The Pursuit of Happiness" Rev. Reginald W. Sharpe Jr 012423

1:45 Peace, peace. The Pursuit of Happiness. That was one of my least favorite movies in the world The Pursuit of Happiness I'm going to tell you why It just took him so long to get that job I mean the theater was cold that day I don't know if y'all know what I'm talking about Will Smith starred in the movie It was actually based off of a true story Based off of a true story The Pursuit of Happiness The theater was cold that day And I had to use the bathroom But I thought at any moment he was about to get that job and so I kept sitting there and it was freezing cold, had to use bathroom and I know that movie lasted for at least three days. He just, it was very hard for him. He was on a pursuit of happiness and it took him a long time to get there. I mean, an absolutely long time to get there. That was a one-time watch.

2:38 I cannot watch it again. It wore me completely out because it just looked like he could never get to happiness. happiness he just every I mean just kept going kept going and you know it's humorous kind of listening to me talk about that but some of you sitting here that are just like that movie you are on a search to just be happy again for something to break for something to work out have you ever been in a season where you're like God I just need one thing to go well if God if you just if you give me a crack in the door I'll bust it open you ain't got to worry about opening the whole door just just give me a crack in the door give me one opportunity let them respond back to me one time give me one interview give me one time to walk if they just meet me they'll see my spirit i just need i need to be happy again and then you got pseudo deep church people who say no the lord doesn't want you to be happy the lord wants you to have joy the lord don't want you to have any happiness the lord wants you to have joy but what we're about to learn is the lord does want us to be happy the lord it is god's will for you to have some happiness in your life to be able to do exactly what my sweatshirt says smile again god god does want us to pursue happiness in our lives and it's biblically based so come with me to matthew chapter five i'm going to read it out of the new revised standard version and then i'm going to read it out the message bible and i want you to hear this and i'm just laying the foundation today for the next few weeks um and listen i'm preaching one word today you'll see in a minute i'm preaching one word and either you grab it or you don't but it's one word i'm gonna read a lot but i'm preaching one word today matthew chapter five verse one through twelve listen at the beatitudes these supreme blessings matthew chapter five verse one through twelve new revised standard version reads like this when jesus saw the crowds he went up to the mountain and after he sat down his disciples came to him then he began to speak and taught them saying read it with me verse three blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs

4:44 is the kingdom of heaven blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness but they will be filled blessed are the merciful but they will receive mercy blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were message bible let's read let's read let's read message bible message bible message bible here we go let's read one two three read when jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds he climbed the hillside those who were apprentice to him the committed climbed with him arriving at a quiet place y'all reading he sat down and taught his climbing companions this is what he said you're Blessed when you're at the end of your rope.

6:07 With less of you, there is more of God and his rule. You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the one most dear to you. You're blessed when you're content with just who you are. No more, no less. Y'all reading, that's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought. You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. For those of you not fasting, read it again. You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat. You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being careful, you find yourselves cared for. You're blessed when you get your inside world, your mind and heart put right.

7:05 Then you can see God in the outside world. You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are and your place in God's family. Read it now. You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom. Not only that, count yourselves blessed airtime people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens. Give a cheer even.

7:59 For though they don't like it, I do. And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this. the doors of the church are open let us stand Did that not just preach itself? We are on the pursuit of what? Happiness. These are the beatitudes. These are the supreme blessings. It really does concern me when I preach or teach at a church and nobody's taking notes. It really does concern me. So somebody grab your phone. I am a teacher first. I am a professor first. I love teaching the word of God. I don't care how loud I holler At the depths of every sermon Is some lessons Some insights And some things you're going to need to pull back out And guess what a short pencil beats a long memory So everybody Especially my leaders I don't want to see you just sitting looking at me I need you to grab it Because I'm the vision caster You're the vision catcher And then we pass it to the vision carriers I'm just teaching and so you can't just sit and look you got to take some note you got to eat this up and so we're on the pursuit of what on the pursuit of happiness and we're talking about the beatitudes i'm about to blow your mind in a minute but let me tell you four things about the beatitudes four things about beatitudes is coming up on the screen these some big words with little meanings don't worry number one the beatitudes all these we just read verses one through twelve these are providential somebody say providential that means they're involving divine foresight divine insight or divine intervention is providential because jesus is talking and if you have a good king james bible king james version bible if you're reading it it's probably in red because it means jesus is saying that these are providential teachings because it involves divine foresight and divine

10:07 insight these are also number two paradoxical teachings the beatitudes are paradoxical let church say paradoxical whenever you see a paradox it means that it involves two facts or qualities that seem to contradict each other it seems to contradict each other it's paradoxical to say you had a big little smile on your face see a big little smile how do you have a big little smile that's a paradox it's a paradox and there's some other paradoxes out there but these are paradoxical teachings because jesus saying blessed are you and i'm waiting on him to say blessed are you when you buy a new lexus blessed are you when you get a new job and he's saying blessed are you which we'll find out in a minute what that word blessed really means in greek he says blessed are you wait when you mourn blessed are you when you're persecuted what blessed are you when when you are poor in spirit huh paradoxical it seems to contradict you using the word blessed and mourn blessed and and and thirsting and hungering it just it just seems paradox it's providential it's paradoxical number three is purposeful somebody say purposeful whenever you hear these teachings of jesus which is the opening of his sermon on the mount he's going to preach this sermon from chapter 5 of Matthew, chapter 6 of Matthew, chapter 7 of Matthew, the sermon of the mount, especially these beatitudes, is purposeful because there's an aim, there's a goal in mind, there's an aim, there's a goal, and what is it? He's trying to make sure that yes, you have a light, but can it be brighter? Yes, you are salt, but can it be saltier? Yes, you know Jesus, but can you know more of Jesus? Yes, you've been walking with God for 30, 40 years, but can you go deeper in your walk that's the purpose of jesus is teaching he is challenging he's not talking to everybody the bible says in verse one verse two he goes up to teach his disciples this is a small gathering and i need to tell you that jesus does some of his best stuff away from crowds

12:16 and some people like crowds but they don't like people that's another sermon he he uh he's away from the crowd he's talking to his leaders he's teaching his leaders that this is the spirit you got to catch and that's the purpose he knows these are some challenging teachings but it's purposeful it's providential it's paradoxical here's the last p is perennial perennial perennial somebody say perennial if you like gardening you've heard of this word perennial because the word perennial goes against the word annual you have annual flowers and you have perennials if you have a perennial flower it just you don't have to replant that it's coming back up it just it's going to keep coming back up it keeps coming back up it keeps and these teachings are perennial lasting or existing for a long and an infinite amount of time they're enduring they're continually reoccurring one reason i know they are perennial is because jesus said blessed are not something else blessed are so whenever you read it in that moment blessed are you i'm coming to that later on because that's going to get real good to be in a minute my my shoes might have to come off when i tell you what that really means blessed are any day you go to that text it is in the present tense blessed it's perennial it doesn't matter it's never gonna get old you're never gonna stop hearing about the beatitudes this is the opening of jesus's greatest largest body of work this is his sermon he opens up it's what number one providential number two is what paradoxical because it kind of it kind of contradicts each other number three is what purposeful number four is what perennial it's not going anywhere it's enduring and it's going to be continually reoccurring and it's always in the perfect present tense the very word be attitude is not in the bible tell the neighbor beside you who's struggling to stay awake the attitude is not in the bible that word is not in the bible let me tell you how we call these the be attitudes the reason why we call these the be attitudes is because in the fourth century saint jerome translated the new testament from the greek which is the original translation of the new testament into the latin

14:24 and when he saw that word blessed in the bible he translated it out of the greek into the latin and he got the word beatus beatus b-a-b-e-a-t-u-s beatus is that on the screen too yeah t sharp i'm trying be a t or be a t which means happy or rich or blessed or a state of supreme blessedness so we got the word beatitudes in the fourth century i'm gonna give you a quiz next week you better pay attention we got the word beatitudes in the fourth century because that was translated into what language latin so we got this word beatitudes which simply means supreme blessedness the word blessed means happy. The word blessed means rich. I said it too fast. The word blessed means what? Happy or rich or fortunate.

15:19 Another definition is oh the bliss. So when you read this again and you want to remix it, you don't just say blessed are the meek, blessed are the poor in spirit. You can say happy are the meek. Happy are the poor in spirit. Happy are those who are being persecuted which is why the sermon series is called the pursuit of Thank you. in verse 3 I want to just preach about one word blessed somebody say blessed that's all I want to talk about today everything I just told you was the introduction I'm trying to lay the groundwork so we all on the same page together somebody say blessed now we like to sing this word the Lord is blessing me when's he doing it right now oh right now Oh, the Lord. Come on, come on. What happened?

16:11 When's he doing it? When's he doing it? Diggins, Gerald? Don't act like y'all don't know this song. What happened? What did he do? What did he do? He. And then what else did he do? He... When's he doing it church? That's it right there. See, see, blessed, blessed, blessed. We're blessed in the city. We're blessed in... We sing these songs about blessed. Reverend Clay Evans wrote a whole song.

16:52 I'm blessed. And then he got boldly saying, Truly blessed. I got my health and I got my strength. Thank God. Thank God. Oh, I'm blessed. Find my key, find my key Truly blessed, truly blessed That was the wrong word but it's still good And I won't complain Now, the problem is we sing it, but we don't live it. happy are you fortunate are you all the bliss all the excitement fortunate happy blessed are you why you don't live like it why don't you talk like it why don't you dress like it why don't you shift atmospheres like it why do you let mess in your atmosphere when you're blessed I don't have space for mess I'm blessed Happy are you Happiness is supposed to be a part of how you thrive How you live How you go into your And Jesus gives us these providential paradoxical Perennial and purposeful teachings Because he's trying to push us To be more and do more Now if you cool with how you are And where you are and what you're doing You don't want to grow this not for you Some of y'all say I'm good I'm good preach I don't need none of that I'm straight on that Well, you sit right there and be straight on that.

18:29 And your whole life, you're going to wonder why. Why am I so sad? Why does negativity always find me? Because sometimes you attract it. okay okay here are the four little insights on the word blessed and i promise you we're about to get out of church on good time because that's my promise the word blessed word blessed word just one word blessed number one here's what i want to show you and here's what jesus was trying to show you he was giving a a word of divine concern divine concern somebody say divine concern if blessed are the poor in spirit blessed are those who mourn blessed are the meek happy are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness watch the inverse whoever's not doing this it's a word of warning when you don't have a poor in spirit which does not mean poverty it just means that you're a humble person means your spirit is not haughty you are not full of yourself jesus said blessed are you all who are not full of yourselves bless i don't expect no amens today it's okay blessed are you who don't think you all that in a bag of chips but while blessed are you who don't think you are letting the bag of chips curses be on those who do think they are that and a bag of chips cursed are you i mean literally look at the opposite see wherever there is good news there is also the possibility of bad news if jesus comes and teaches a message and says the last shall be first and the first be last that's good news if you're in the back it's bad news if you've been pushing your way to the front the whole time blessed are you who mourn well cursed may be you who don't have any compassion for others cursed are you who are heartless well if blessed are you who are meek who are down to earth approachable a gentle breeze in greek the word meek means a gentle breeze it's just something

20:36 smooth about you it's something easy going about you well it's a divine warning it's a word of concern for those who are not meek See, that's when you get deep, Ms. Walterine. Ms. Walterine is a teacher of teachers and professors of professors. And I like teaching this kind of stuff, Ms. Walterine, because it makes you go deeper. All your life you heard about the Beatitudes. You've seen it in Sunday school. Read about it in Vacation Bible School. Have you ever flipped it and said, wait a minute, what if I'm on the other side? It's a word of divine concern. It's a word of divine concern. The word blessed in Greek means happy, fortunate. Oh, the bliss. happy, fortunate oh the bliss happy, fortunate, oh the bliss you wait on me to move on, I'm waiting on you to act like you got it happy, fortunate, oh the bliss happy, fortunate oh the bliss, happy, fortunate oh the bliss, this I still ain't got it happy, fortunate oh the bliss, balcony ain't said nothing happy, fortunate, oh the bliss praise team, halfway paying attention happy, fortunate, oh the bliss I'm just kidding happy, fortunate All the bliss.

21:44 and so i don't want to be on the other side of this where i'm getting cursed watch this y'all the last word of the old testament is the word curse the first word of jesus's sermon is the word blessed because Jesus has come that you may live a blessed life to get us out of the cursed life he's come to move you into blessings stop tittle-daddling in the curses And then some of y'all really are funny because you want to blame the devil. No. The devil didn't do some of the stuff we did. No. We tipped and we dipped and we sipped and we flipped and we... Somebody say, oh, the bliss.

22:43 Happy, fortunate, oh, the bliss. The second teaching of this word, blessed, let me give it to you. It speaks of divine continuity. Somebody say divine continuity. When I became the pastor of fellowship, one thing Pastor Jenkins helped me to understand. He said, you got to understand the power of continuity. Power of continuity. He said, this is a church that understands continuity. That's why the transition was so smooth. He said because Reverend Evans' legacy fueled Jenkins' ministry. And Jenkins' ministry fueled my ministry. And there is a sense of continuity. Which is why we had that picture made with Evans Jenkins Sharp. Because we were always on the same page.

23:24 So nobody could get in between and mess something up or say something, do something, try to create something, split something, ruin something. because that was what continuity it just it just kept going it was it kept going that's what i was trying to reach with that word perennial and now if i get loud y'all excuse me i'm gonna try to keep it together because i want to be didactical and pedagogical and we shout a lot over here and i want to prove that we got other ways to act in church now let me try to hold it together jesus said blessed are not blessed shall be he said blessed are now there are some shall be but not at the blessed side because it's not about what you shall be it's about what you already are it speaks to divine continuity i'm already blessed it ain't a shall be it's not a fixing to be it's not an almost no i'm blessed right now every time i breathe it's proof that i'm blessed the roof over my head is proof i'm blessed i've survived stuff that should have taken me out that's proof I'm blessed this day two years ago was our last Sunday in church pre-pandemic and I'm in church again on the second anniversary after millions didn't make it that's proof you're and then for the person that did lose their loved one and your heart has been broken the fact that you have the strength to get up Tell somebody around you I'm blessed Now don't say it loud Don't say it loud because the room gonna shift Don't get to talking about how blessed you are Because you're not gonna be able to hold yourself together I'm trying to act like I got good sense But the truth is I'm blessed And people got the nerve To try to get beside themselves Why they gotta be so loud Why they gotta be so demonstrative Do we have to shout all the time Absolutely he's blessing me right now why can't I shout right now if he was just gonna do it tomorrow

25:33 I save it for tomorrow but he woke me up this it's a continuity bless bless bless right now right now tell somebody right now right now I'm waiting on some stuff but I'm blessed everything ain't perfect but I'm blessed my family is going through some right now but I'm blessed I do have a doctor's appointment to go to But I'm blessed I do have some stuff I want to shift And change And everything is not perfect But I Blessed are Not blessed shall be Oh, I want you to walk into tomorrow with your chest stuck out. I want you to walk into tomorrow with some godly confidence.

26:20 That you are, you're not waiting on the blessing. You're waiting on another blessing. you waiting on a new blessing but you are blessed some of y'all still sitting there talking about you're blessed One of my favorite scriptures, Pastor Pope, is now are we the sons of God. Now are we the daughters of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be. The late Gardner C. Taylor says we get stuck on that it doth not yet appear. He says I'm becoming something but I'm already something. He said now are we. Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. The sons and daughters of God. I know it doth not yet appear but right now I'm God. Let's go. before David was a king he was a shepherd and he had to do some work in his shepherd season that was going to prepare him for his king season but if you can't be faithful right now in your pasture you don't deserve palace privileges what are you doing right now with the blessings that are already on you Teach sharp, I'm trying.

27:40 Say it again because it sounds so sweet. Tell somebody, be faithful in your pasture so you can qualify for your palace. You're blessed right now. Act like it. You're favored right now. Live like it. You're touched by God right now. Speak like it. Work your work. Do your thing. Raise these babies. Work that job. Start that business. And you may be broke, but you're still blessed because money ain't everything. Thank you. So it speaks to divine concern. Speaks to divine continuity. Because it says blessed are not blessed shall be. Thirdly it speaks to divine contentment. Divine contentment. Somebody say contentment. You know what contentment means? It means, it's what Paul said, I have learned to be content whatever circumstance i'm in i can be well fed i'm content i can be a little hungry i'm content i can have the job of my dreams i'm content i can be working in a place god if you shift me right now i'd be very happy but i'm content it's a peacefulness it's a settledness now i gave you the reason why we talk about beatitudes is because it was translated into what language latin we got the word beatitudes from beatus that's latin saint jerome translated the greek translation of the new testament into latin in the fourth century y'all got that y'all so smart got church full of scholars and now when you deal with the greek the original greek so the new testament was originally written in what greek and so when you look at this word blessed or blessed in the greek i might pronounce it wrong but i'm gonna get the definition right it it says like this makarios say that with me makarios write it down m-a-k-a-r-i-o-s

29:46 makarios m-a-k-a-i-r-i-o-s m-a-k-a-r-i-o-s it's on the screen oh i laid this thing out the ancient greek word for bless is makarios which was originally used to describe those who lived in another world far from the problems and worries of others those who were blessed seem to be free from earthly cares and struggles. That word makarios, one of my favorite preachers is right down the street, Dr. Charlie Dates. Dr. Charlie Dates earned his PhD. He's mainly one of the reasons why I'm in my PhD program. He recommended me to the program. And so sometimes when we're talking, we stumble into talking about what we're going to preach. And so a couple of weeks ago, a couple of weeks ago, a couple of weeks ago, I'm teaching right now.

30:39 A couple of weeks ago, I was working on this. A couple weeks ago, I was working on this. Not last night, a couple weeks ago. And so we talking about it a couple weeks ago. And I told him, he said, what you working on? I'm about to jump in this series called Pursuit of Happiness. He said, man, I've never preached the Beatitudes. He said, but I have done some studying. Charlie Dates is a brilliant guy, brilliant preacher. I love him. And I love the fact that you can have a brother in ministry and ain't nobody competing. We're trying to help each other. I love Pastor Charlie Dates. And so he started helping me. He said, man, I did some research on that word blessed. he says it captures the image y'all watch this, watch this now there's straight dates, this ain't sharp there's dates, but I'm going to sharp it out by the time I finish Date says Makarios captures the image of an island. And there was an island called Cyprus.

31:36 And the Cyprus island needed no imports. Because it was independent of all external things. Whatever this island needed, it was already on the island. it didn't need anything imported in because the island was self-sufficient on its own and the very word makarios in greek captures the image for us that because we are blessed we don't need a whole lot of external things to add to us because our sufficiency is in the god that's already on the island with us. So it's a word of divine contentment because I don't have to need a lot.

32:30 I don't want a lot. I'm not reaching for a lot. I don't have to have a lot because I already have so much in my relationship with God. Which is why I ain't got to be at Bloomingdale's and Neiman Marcus. I can shop at TJ Maxx. And I can shop at Ross. And by the time I finish putting the outfit together, you'll think I've been somewhere expensive. It ain't that I'm expensive. It's just I know how to put it together like it is expensive. I don't need anybody in that season of your life. I don't need a lot. People, what you need? What you want for your birthday? Nothing. I'm glad to be alive. I got enough right here on my end. I'm trying to talk to the mature saints. because some of y'all are talking about I want something, I want a new iPad, I want a new phone, I want a new car. There's a season you're going to grow to where you're going to be so content with where you are and what you have that you say, God, if you don't do another thing for me, you've already done enough. Can I just talk to 50 of y'all?

33:26 Anybody online that can just write in the chat, I'm good. I'm good right up and through here. I don't need any imports. I don't need any liquor. I don't need any weed. I don't need anybody to like me. You ain't got to bite me to your party. You don't have to accept my friend requests on Facebook. I don't need to be in your clique. I don't care if y'all went out to eat and then call me and I see the picture on Facebook. I'm going to like it anyway and scroll on. Because obviously that wasn't the arena for me to spend my energy in anyway.

33:59 Somebody holler, I'm blessed. I am content. Am I talking to somebody You know what I'm talking about Oh my lord That's a part of getting older I'm getting old now My knees feel different I don't wear shoes to impress nobody anymore I used to stuff my feet See some of y'all gonna feel this right here I used to stuff my feet in shoes Cause it looked good now I'll be in the store with Bree I put that shoe on I said number one number one is uncomfortable I ain't wearing it if I can't be in it comfortable in it and shout in it it ain't meant for my feet I'm trying to show you that's an example of contentment I don't have to wear nothing expensive to impress you it ain't about what I got on it's about who's on me ain't about what I drive it's about what's driving me ain't about what I wear it's about the anointing that's already on me Somebody look down your row and say, I'm content.

35:15 Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm. You better learn how to Netflix and chill by yourself. You better learn how to have church by yourself. You better learn how to be your own friend. When you get bored, call the house phone from your cell phone. And say, hey, you, what you doing? Absolutely nothing, girl. Just in here chilling. Well, where you going tonight? Nowhere. I'm just going to be here all night. Well, I'm going to be in here with you. All right then, I'll see you soon. Continue. I used to want people to like me now I don't care you know what I'm saying I used to want them to like me are you going to embrace me are you going to hug me because now I realize if you don't like me that's your problem how you feel about me is your business not mine so keep your business to yourself come on somebody say contentment contentment contentment contentment contentment Alright, I'm done I think I've already preached This word blessed speaks of divine concern.

36:23 This word blessed speaks of dying continuity. This word blessed speaks of divine contentment because it's like an island that needs no imports because it's sufficient on its own. Oh man. Oh man. I ain't got nothing else to say. I just think that's the flow and the flavor You gotta walk in next week Put your air pods on Get your hair phones on Get you a good playlist Like Lady Bree said earlier Find your groove Find your flow Protect your energy Stop feeling the need to respond to everybody And just groove with it And just walk with it Just swag with it Just enjoy the Lord with it this is the word of the Lord for the people of God let everybody say thanks be to God if you received this word today give God some praise