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CONNIE: What would it take to make you really, really happy? We want to wish you a happy new-year, so join us as we look at Jesus' counsel for finding true, lasting happiness, whatever comes your way. Giving God's trumpet a Certain Sound for more than 70 years, this is the Voice of Prophecy.

CONNIE: Hello, I'm Connie Jeffery,

LONNIE: …and I'm Lonnie Melashenko.

CONNIE: Welcome to our final program for the year 2001--

LONNIE: A year that's seen some major, drastic changes in our world, and in people's outlook. I think most of us started the year optimistically, hoping for great things. But then came that fateful day, September 11, 2001. Suddenly everything was different.

CONNIE: Suddenly we're at war. Suddenly you can't even open your mail without worrying about catching a deadly disease. Months later, our nation--and much of the world--remains on high alert for further terrorist attacks. The happy, exuberant lifestyle that many Americans enjoyed in the 90s has given way to something a little less optimistic, a little more wary and worried.

LONNIE: So, what does it mean to wish someone "Happy New Year"? The words don't roll off the tongue quite so glibly as they used to, do they?

CONNIE: But we've titled our program today "Happy New You," not "Happy New Year." We want to focus on finding happiness and contentment whatever our circumstances.

LONNIE: That's the theme of my message today, and to get us into the topic, we've invited a very special guest back to join us. You know, we began this year with a series of four programs we called "The Joy of Jesus," looking at how Jesus brought joy into people's lives, and the first program of the year featured an interview with Bruce Marchiano, who played the role of Jesus in the Matthew video series.

CONNIE: A very joyful Jesus!

LONNIE: That's right, he explained to us how their production team came to focus on the happiness of Jesus Himself, and the joy that He spread wherever He went. Bruce and I spoke recently about how Jesus can bring joy, even in more somber times.

CONNIE: And we have that interview for you right now. Let's listen.

LONNIE: Hello Bruce, welcome back to the broadcast.

BRUCE: Thanks Lonnie, it's good to be with you.

LONNIE: And it's great to hear your voice, especially with all that's happened in our planet this past couple of months and this year.

BRUCE: Yeah, we've had quite a year haven't we?

LONNIE: You know Bruce, we spoke together back at the beginning of 2001 about the joyful Jesus and how He brought joy into peoples lives.

BRUCE: Yeah.

LONNIE: Well, here we are at the end of the year doing a program looking forward to 2002 and we're calling our program today Happy New You, but so much has changed this year. People are apprehensive, aren't they? The economy struggling, the U. S. has begun a war that our leadership says could go on for years. Bruce, how does the joy of Jesus come through to a person out there who's maybe lost a loved one in New York or Washington? Maybe their son or daughter has gone off to war or lost their job.

BRUCE: Yeah, I'll tell you. There are so many things that spring to mind. You know, the obvious deception that we so easily fall victim to is you know, if Jesus is so good, why are these things happening to me? You know, there are a couple of things in the gospel of John, one of the last things Jesus tells the guys before He gets arrested, and I have to believe these last minute instructions were very important to Him, and I just picture the passion with which He said it to these guys because He knew the next three days would be terrible for them.

LONNIE: Right.

BRUCE: And He said, "In this world you will have trouble but take heart, I have overcome the world." And that meshes for me with Hebrews 12:3 and again I hear the hard cry of the writer. It says, "Consider Him, Jesus who endured such opposition from sinful men." And here's the line, "So that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Right now in these days where circumstances are pounding on all of us, there is only one place we can look to see any light at all and that's in the middle of His face.

LONNIE: Umm, beautiful and there is that text too, "Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world."

BRUCE: That's it.

LONNIE: So Bruce, in your busy life, acting career, you know, the screen, does the joy of Jesus, do you feel for people out there facing bad times right now, does that serve us in hard times as well as good times?

BRUCE: It services so much more in hard times. I mean if there is ever a time where I need to fight for the joy of Jesus in my life, it's now. For your listeners that have been specifically and particularly hard hit by the events of the past couple of months, there's never been a more important time to get on your face and fight for the joy of Jesus. Also, in the last supper in John, He says, "I told you all these things so that my joy might be in you and that your joy might be complete." The interesting thing is that we tend to wake up in the morning and you know, I just don't feel joyful today. Well, it's an unnatural thing that we've got to fight for.

LONNIE: Umm hmm.

BRUCE: We've got to fight for in the midst of a broken creation, especially when things are as broken as they are today.

LONNIE: Joni Erickson Tada had a testimony something like that. Some mornings she wakes up, she just doesn't want to face the world.

BRUCE: Yeah.

LONNIE: Well, someone also said and I like it, that joy, J O Y, Jesus first, others second and yourself last.

BRUCE: I like it, that's great. I love it. I've never heard that and I'll take it. I'm writing it down on my pad right now.

LONNIE: Bruce Marchiano, one last word. Joy, if somebody's out there today and things look grim, what's your counsel?

BRUCE: My counsel is again and I'll take them right back. Consider Him. I will never forget, I was in South Africa when September 11th hit and I'll never forget standing in this little African hotel room staring up at my TV and it was probably September 13th or 14th and the people whose families were victims, they were showing them holding up their pictures and listening to their stories one right after the other and I was drowning Lonnie. I just can't tell you the black cloud as I watched this stuff come over the screen.

LONNIE: That's my home back there.

BRUCE: Yeah, oh gosh, there was so much whirling around me and just the horror and the death and I tell you man, I was sinking and sinking. You know the Lord, the ways He deals with me, He just prompted me in my heart and He said, "Bruce, turn that TV off and consider me so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Get on your faces gang, cry out to the living God because He is our only rock and that's never been more clear than it is today.

LONNIE: Bruce, Happy New You in 2002.

BRUCE: That's great. Thank you.
Well Connie, it was great to talk to Bruce and I think he's got some key counsel as we look through the door into the New Year.

It was the apostle Paul who, after his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, wrote about finding the key to happiness, or contentment, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want" (Phil sent your requests to God" (NIV).

CONNIE: That was the Heritage Singers with "Give Thanks," from their album ACappella.
LONNIE: We really appreciate the music and ministry of the Heritage Singers, who incidentally celebrated their thirtieth anniversary this year.
CONNIE: They've really brought a lot of joy into people's lives through the years with their happy, upbeat music.
LONNIE: They have indeed, and they're also very Christ-centered in their ministry, carrying the joy of Jesus with them everywhere they go. And, speaking of the joy of Jesus, we hope that joy is with you today as well.
CONNIE: If you'd like to experience that joy more deeply, and then share it with someone else, we have a great little book we'd like you to have. It's called The Joy of Jesus, and it's one we put together ourselves earlier this year after we'd done our four-part series by that title.
LONNIE: Connie, I think one of the best chapters in that book is the one you wrote about going to interview Joni Erickson Tada, and how this woman who's been in a wheelchair for so many years lifted your spirits.
CONNIE: Well thanks, Lonnie. That was a really moving experience for me, because it came at a time when I was feeling kind of down, after the loss of my father, but I tell you that visit gave me a real lift.
LONNIE: You can read all about it--and much more of course--in the book The Joy of Jesus. It's yours for the asking, as our end-of-the-year gift to you. Just call us at 1-800-872-0055, and request The Joy of Jesus.
CONNIE: That's right. We're giving away the joy of Jesus today--and we'd like you to have it--for yourself, or to share with someone else who could use a little more joy in their life. So, give us a call at 1-800-872-0055, and we'll send you The Joy of Jesus.
LONNIE: We hope you will call or write to us this week.
CONNIE: Right now let's listen as Lonnie shares today's message, "Happy New You."

Happy New You

I'm looking right now at the picture of a very happy young man. From the smile on his face, and the very evident boyish glee, you might expect to see holiday decorations in the background, and you might think that he's just received the very latest video game box for Christmas, but that's hardly the case.
Although he's 13 years old, Naeem has never celebrated Christmas. And if you gave him a Nintendo or a Playstation, or an X-Box, he probably wouldn't have much idea what to do with it.

He does have nimble fingers though--so maybe he could learn quickly how to play video games. But his fingers now have other tasks to do. They're an important asset in the work he does every day from sunup till sundown. Naeem, you see, is an Afghan refugee living in Pakistan. He and his five brothers, ranging in age from 7 to 15, are what's known as "garbage kids." All day, every day, they scavenge through garbage heaps and open sewers, looking for little bits of plastic, glass, and paper, even used syringes discarded by heroin addicts, that they can collect and sell at a recycling center. On a really good day, the five of them can bring home $1.50! That's total--for all five. Most days they make less than a dollar to carry back home and share with their mother and their three-year-old brother who isn't yet quite old enough to join them in their work.

It's a rough life, one that provides few opportunities for happiness. But still--as I look at Naeem's picture--he has the cutest, happiest smile you could ever hope to see on a youngster's face. He's overjoyed because in his hands he holds three items: a small plastic bag with some fresh meat, another bag with a few curried vegetables, and a tea cup--all gifts given to him by a family that's taken pity on him, pays him about 25 cents a month to take out their garbage, and allows him to take whatever he wants from their garbage. One Thursday recently, they gave him a bonus--the little bags of meat and vegetables, and the tea cup. He's on his way home with them, where he and his mother and six brothers will have a veritable feast. No wonder he looks happy!

Most of us, living in the United States, wouldn't be quite so overjoyed with such a meager gift. You may have even put more food down the garbage disposal after Christmas dinner than Naeem took home to share with his whole family.
So, is happiness just a relative thing--controlled by an ever-escalating set of expectations? "The more you have, the more you want!"

Or is there a way to find lasting happiness that's not just a put-on, or an exhausted resignation to fate? What sort of good news would it take to make you really, really happy on a lasting basis?

In the Gospels we find Jesus bringing happiness wherever He went. Matthew 4:23, for example, says: "Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people" (NIV). You just know there were a lot of happy people wherever Jesus went!

OK, I can hear it . . . you're saying "Well, of course I'd be happy if Jesus came and we all went to heaven!" Or, "Sure I'd be happy if Jesus came to my town and healed all the sick people!" After all, that's the very definition of Good News, or Gospel--the coming of Jesus.

When you talk about good news--well, what could be better news than the Second Coming of Jesus? And that's what we all as Christians long for.
But friend, when Jesus was on earth, He couldn't go everywhere and bring His blessings to every village and town. And when He ascended to heaven, He knew that it would be many years before He could return and bring His blessings to the whole world. So, surely He must have given us some prescription for finding happiness in the meantime.

Of course He did. In fact, right after Matthew 4:23 we find that Jesus took His followers aside and talked to them about the true meaning of blessing and happiness--how to have true blessings and happiness in their lives all the time.
We call it the Sermon on the Mount, and it begins this way:

" 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs 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.' " (Matthew 5:3-5, NIV).
You recognize those verses don't you--they're from what we call the Beatitudes. Nine quick, pithy pronouncements of blessing by Jesus.

Now, translators have always been hard-pressed to bring the meaning of these Beatitudes into English. Because the Greek word translated "Blessed" in most English translations doesn't really have an equivalent in English. As The Oxford Companion to the Bible puts it, the problem is "How to do justice to the conjunction of divine and human activity [implied in the Greek word] in a language that limits itself to human relationships."

Our English language just doesn't give us an adequate word to express Jesus' meaning, so some modern translations have substituted the word "Happy" for "Blessed" in the Beatitudes. The intent of the original word implies a general overall satisfaction with life that comes about because things are the way they ought to be--in our relationship to God, each other, and the universe. At its root the word refers to enlargement, or lengthening. This is what Jesus wants for us--for our lives to be enlarged, opened up, made right.

So, how is this to be accomplished? What does He prescribe in order for us to find this kind of enlarged, happy, blessed life?

Well, there are nine Beatitudes in all--nine groups of people that Jesus pronounces as blessed, or particularly happy. Of the nine characteristics of the happy, six are based on character traits or actions that we can have some direct control over ourselves. The other three are based on external events, but even these Jesus takes and turns around and says they can be turned into a blessing.

But in the few moments remaining today, I'd like to begin to focus in on the six characteristics Jesus listed that we can do something about ourselves--by the grace of God of course.

Here they are:

1. "Blessed are the poor in spirit. . . .
2. "Blessed are the meek. . . .
3. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. . . .
4. "Blessed are the merciful. . . .
5. "Blessed are the pure in heart. . . .
6. "Blessed are the peacemakers. . . ." (Matthew 5:3, 5-9, NIV).

Two of these keys to happiness spring from within us, from a sense deep in our own hearts that we are spiritually in need of blessing from God.

Are you there, today, friend? Sometimes when everything seems to be going along just fine, the bills are paid on time, family members are in good health, and you have time to get a good eight hours of sleep every night and get out on the golf course once a week or so, it can seem like all is right with the world, and you don't need much. But then suddenly something comes along that calls you up short. Illness, an accident, a pink slip at work, a prayer that seems to go unanswered week after week, month after month. A disaster, a terrorist attack . . . something unexpected throws you off your stride, and suddenly you're left wondering whether you ever were all that spiritually strong in the first place. Doubts creep in, you find yourself swayed by temptations that never even rippled the surface of your mind last week.

And suddenly you realize that all is not well with the world, all is not well even with your own soul. And where do you turn? What do you do? Can you recognize, in this unwanted state of affairs, that suddenly you have become poor in spirit? That suddenly you are a spiritual beggar, standing on the street corner, tin cup in hand, begging for handouts of faith? If so, Jesus says, you are blessed. You are happy. Because you see yourself as you really are, and feel the need of His blessing in a deeper way than you ever have before.
And if, from that experience, you develop a new hunger and thirst for righteousness, then Jesus says, you are doubly blessed. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. . . . Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."

Friend, do you see it right there in the Beatitudes--even when life seems to have kicked you in the stomach, and you've had the wind knocked out of your spiritual sails, it's not a time for despair. It's a time to renew that longing for God's presence that brings His blessing, and His righteousness--His rightness--into your life.

There's much more here in the Beatitudes, but the clock has not particularly blessed us today! It's run on, and we've run out of time, but join us again next week at we look at four more of the Beatitudes--things we can do to choose a happier, more fulfilling life.

We started out today talking about Naeem--a boy who certainly recognizes his physical poverty, and knows how to find joy in the little things of life. But spiritual poverty is just as real. And if you're spiritually in want right now, remember: Jesus says that's a blessing--because if you turn to Him in your need, your hungering and thirsting after righteousness, you will be filled. With Him, and His righteousness. That's the "blessed assurance" He gives us.