Jesus teachings

on Happiness as
expressed in the
Beatitudes

English Class
Teacher: Fernanda Bacellar
by Jnatas Ayumi Suzuki

What is the secret of

happiness?

The search for happiness

A FRENCH PHILOSOPHER once said, The whole world is on a mad

quest for security and happiness.

A former president of Harvard University observed, The world is

searching for a creed to believe and a song to sing.

A Texas millionaire confided, I thought money could buy happinessI

have been miserably disillusioned.

A famous film star broke down: I have money, beauty, glamour, and
popularity. I should be the happiest woman in the world, but I am
miserable. Why?

One of Britains top social leaders said, I have lost all desire to live,
yet I have everything to live for. What is the matter?

A man went to see a psychiatrist. He said, Doctor, I am lonely,

despondent, and miserable. Can you help me? The psychiatrist
suggested that he go to a circus and see a famous clown who was said
to make even the most despondent laugh with merriment. His patient
said, I am that clown.

The search for happiness

The Christian, on the other hand, has a different

perspective on the meaning of happiness. C. S. Lewis said,
Joy is the serious business of heaven. He added, All His
biddings are joys.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta says, True holiness consists of

doing the will of God with a smile.

Jesus declared, I am come that they might have life, and

that they might have it more abundantly ( John 10:10).
Or again He stated, These things have I spoken unto you,
that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might
be full ( John 15:11).

3 things we search for

First, we search for peace. As we have just seen, the

whole human race is consumed with a search for inner
peace, happiness, and joy.

Second, we search for purpose. Man is confused and

perplexed, wondering where he came from, why he is
here, and where he is going. He wants to know if there is
truth in this universetruth which will be like a polar star
to guide him and give him meaning.

Third, we search for a relationship with God. Even when

men vehemently deny Gods existence, they still are
searching for something to fill the vacuum in their souls.

The secret of happiness (1955)

backcover

Happiness. It's what we all long for, what all human beings seek in our jobs, our
relationships, our activities. We try so hard to be happy, and all too often we end
up empty and unsatisfied. Why?

Because, says Billy Graham in this classic work, we are looking for happiness in all
the wrong places. Instead of looking for happiness in the temporal pleasures of
this world, we need to learn the secret Jesus taught in the astounding set of
teachings we call the Beatitudes that true, lasting happiness is a by-product, a
bonus that comes when we seek what is really important.

Presented with Dr. Graham's characteristic simplicity, this landmark book teaches
us to live above the circumstances of life and rest in the true happiness God wants
us to have.

Billy Grahams Biography

Born

Parents

Ruth McCue Bell, 1943 (deceased 2007)

Children

William Franklin (deceased 1962) and Morrow Coffey Graham (deceased 1981)

Married

William (Billy) F. Graham

November 7, 1918
Charlotte, North Carolina

Virginia, 1945
Anne Morrow, 1948
Ruth Bell, 1950
William Franklin, III, 1952
Nelson Edman, 1958

Grandchildren

19 grandchildren, numerous great-grandchildren

Billy Grahams Biography

Residence

In the mountains of western North Carolina

Education

Graduated, Florida Bible Institute (now Trinity College), 1940

B.A., Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, 1943

Vocation

1939: Ordained to the ministry by a church in the Southern Baptist Convention

1943-45: Pastor, First Baptist Church, Western Springs, Illinois

1950 : Founded Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Minneapolis, Minnesota

1950 : Began weekly Hour of Decision radio program

Wrote his 29th book in 2011.

More than 210 million in 185 countries attended to his conferences.

TV and radio audience was about 2.2 billion in 2008.

Billy Graham in Brazil

1974 Crusade in Maracan
Stadium, Rio de Janeiro

He came 4 times in Brazil for Evangelistic Crusades, 1960, 1974, 1979

and 2008.

Awards and Honors

Ten Most Admired Men in the Worldfrom the Gallup Poll since 1948 a total of 58 times, including
52 consecutive in 2014 more than any other individual in the world, placing him at the head of the
overall list of those most admired by Americans for the past five decades

Whos Who in America annually since 1954

Freedoms Foundation Distinguished Persons Award (numerous years)

Gold Award of the George Washington Carver Memorial Institute, 1964, for contribution to race
relations, presented by Senator Javits (NY)

Big Brother of the Year Award, at the White House, Washington, D.C.,1966, for contribution to the
welfare of children

George Washington Medal Award for Patriotism from Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge, 1974

Direct Selling Associations Salesman of the Decade award, 1975

First National Interreligious Award, American Jewish Committee, 1977

Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nations highest civilian award,1983

Good Housekeeping Most Admired Men Poll, 1997, #1 for five years in a row and 16th time in top 10

Congressional Gold Medal, highest honor Congress can bestow on a private citizen, 1996

Honorary Knight Commander of the order of the British Empire (KBE) for his international
contribution to civic and religious life over 60 years, 2001

Many honorary degrees

Youre Blessed (The Message)

Matthew 5:1-12
When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside.
Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving
at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what
he said:
1-2

Youre blessed when youre at the end of your rope. With less of you there is
more of God and his rule.
3

Youre blessed when you feel youve lost what is most dear to you. Only then
can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
4

Youre Blessed (The Message) Matthew

5;1-12
Youre blessed when youre content with just who you areno more, no less.
Thats the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that cant be
bought.
5

Youre blessed when youve worked up a good appetite for God. Hes food and
drink in the best meal youll ever eat.
6

Youre blessed when you care. At the moment of being care-full, you find
yourselves cared for.
7

Youre blessed when you get your inside worldyour mind and heartput
right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
8

Youre Blessed (The Message)

Youre blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of
compete or fight. Thats when you discover who you really are, and your place
in Gods family.
9

Youre blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The

persecution drives you even deeper into Gods kingdom.
10

Not only thatcount yourselves blessed every time 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 happensgive a cheer, even!for though they dont like it,Ido! And
all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and
witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.
11-12

Makarios the original word in greek

Greek usage: is at first a poetic word and refers to the blessedness of the gods.
Later, used for the freedom of the rich from normal cares and worries. Aristotle
used first as a technical term for beatitude. A set form develops in Greek to
extol(exalt) the good fortune that accrues (come into possession) to a person.

In LXX and Judaism, Makarios always refer to persons, never to things or states.
Blessedness is fullness of life and relates to such things as a wife, beauty, honor,
wisdom and piety. Old Testament states that the true blessedness is that of
trust in God, forgiveness of sins, righteousness even in affliction, and final
deliverance.

In Judaism, Formal beatitudes are not common in Philo. For him God alone is
truly blessed, and humans can know blessedness only as they share the divine
nature in their bearing of earthly sorrows and their philosophical endeavors.
Rabbinic Judaism, however, stays closer to the usage of the Old Testament.

In the New Testament, the special feature is use of the term for the distinctive
joy which comes through participation in the divine kingdom.

(Font: Theologycal Dictionary of New Testament)

Happy are ye! (Blessed you are!)

Happy are ye

Jesus first words were: Happy are ye. In those three words He was
telling us that there is an answer to our search! We can know peace.
We can know the truth about our lives. We can know God. And
because of that, we can be blessed!

But is that possible, or is Jesus simply speaking some high-sounding

words which have no substance? To answer that, look first of all at
Jesus Himself. Certainly if anyone had genuine happiness and
blessedness, it was Jesusin spite of the controversy, abuse, and
eventual injustice of His death. He knew the secret of true happiness,
and in these Beatitudes He unveils it to us.

Who is Jesus?

The Beatitudes are not the whole of Jesus teaching, nor is even the
Sermon on the Mount. (You can read the entire Sermon on the Mount
in chapters 5 through 7 of the Gospel of Matthew.) There is much else
that Jesus taught during the three short years of His public ministry.
But Jesus was more than a great teacher. Who was this man Jesus,
who never traveled outside His native Palestine and yet changed the
entire course of human history?

Some have said that Jesus main role was as a social reformer, coming
to change society and liberate people who were bound by injustice
and oppression. Others have said He came merely as an example,
showing us by His acts of love how we should live. Still others have
dismissed Him as a misguided religious reformer with no relevance to
a modern, scientific age.

Who is Jesus?

But none of these are adequate to explain Jesus Christ as we see Him
clearly pictured in the New Testament. The Bible, in fact, makes a
startling assertion: Jesus was not only a man, but He was God
Himself, come down from the glory of heaven to walk on this earth
and show us what God is like. Christ is the image of the invisible
God (Colossians 1:15). More than that, He is the divinely appointed
Savior who died for sinners, bearing their transgressions upon the
cross.

He died to save all who had disobeyed God and who were slandering
Him in their unregenerate natures. And He demonstrated beyond all
doubt that He was the Divine Savior and Lord by being raised from the
dead. The gospel is the good news of God concerning his Son Jesus
Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the
flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the
spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:3.4).

Who is Jesus?

The best modern scholarship is discovering once again that even the Sermon
on the Mount, and the Beatitudes as well, cannot be isolated from the fact of
Jesus saviorhood. The Old Testament had taught that the Christ was to be
meek. He was to turn mourning into joy; righteousness was to be His meat
and drink; even upon the cross it was His deepest hunger and thirst.

He also was the One who would show Gods mercy to those who were
separated from God and in need. He likewise would be pure and without sin.
Most of all, He would not flee the persecution that would come His way, but
would bring peacepeace with God, peace within the human heart, and
peace on earth.

Who is Jesus?

The best modern scholarship is discovering once again that even the Sermon on
the Mount, and the Beatitudes as well, cannot be isolated from the fact of
Jesus saviorhood. The Old Testament had taught that the Christ was to be
meek. He was to turn mourning into joy; righteousness was This is another way
of saying that, in reality, Jesus Christ is the perfect fulfillment, example, and
demonstration of the Beatitudes.

He alone, in the history of the human race, experienced fully what He tells us
about the happiness and blessedness of life. What He tells us, He tells us as the
Savior who has redeemed us and who is teaching His followers. But more than
that, He is the One who gives us the power to live according to His teachings.

Christs message when He was upon the earth was revolutionizing and
understandable. His words were simple yet profound. And they shook people.
His words provoked either happy acceptance or violent rejection. People were
never the same after listening to Him. They were invariably better or worse
better if they accepted Him, worse if they rejected Him. They either followed
Him in love or turned away in anger and indignation. There was a magic in His
gospel which prompted men and women to decisive action. As He clearly said,
He that is not with Me is against Me.

The invitation to a journey

I invite you to go with me on a thrilling, adventuresome journey. The object of our search? The
secret of happiness. The place? Galilee! Let us roll back the pages of time almost two thousand
years.

The air is tense. It is a moment to be captured and held for eternity. The crowd hushes as Jesus
climbs atop a large rock and is seated. In the valley on the deserted road, a lone camel rider
wends his way along the trail toward Tiberias. A quiet falls upon the multitude as their faces gaze
expectantly at Jesus. Then He begins to speak.

What He said there on that Mount of Beatitudes in faraway Palestine was to go down in history as
the most profound, sublime words ever spoken! There in reverent, measured, simple words He
revealed the secret of happinessnot a superficial happiness of time and space, but a happiness
which would last forever.

His first word was happy. Immediately His listeners must have pricked up their ears, as we are
prone to do. In the pages to follow it is my prayer that you will do even more: prick up your
ears . . . open your heart . . . surrender your will. Then you will begin living Life with a capital L,
find a contentment and joy that crowd the futility and vanity out of the daily walk, and discover
the secret of happiness!

Jesus secrets for happiness:

Happiness Through Poverty

Happiness While Mourning

Happiness Through Meekness

Happy Though Hungry

Happiness Through Showing Mercy

Happiness in Purity

Happiness Through Peacemaking

Happiness in Spite of Persecution

Chapter 2 - Happiness Through Poverty

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew
5:3

The meaning of the Spiritual Poverty

FIRST: If we are to be poor in spirit, we must be aware of our spiritual

poverty.

SECOND: If we are to be poor in spirit, we must receive the riches that Christ
has provided by His death and resurrection.

THIRD: If we are to be poor in spirit, we must be conscious of our dependence

on God, our spiritual bankruptcy.

FOURTH: If we are to be poor in spirit, we must willingly deny ourselves that

we might better serve Christ.

Chapter 3 - Happiness while Mourning

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Matthew 5:4

Which mourning is blessed? 5 kinds of mourning:

First, there is the mourning of inadequacy.

Another kind of mourning is the mourning of repentance.

There is, third, the mourning of love.

Another kind of mourning which brings comfort is, fourth, the mourning of soul travail
(agonia).

Another kind of mourning we shall deal with is, fifth, the mourning of bereavement. (perda)

Last, there is the mourning of blank despair.

Chapter 4 - Happiness Through Meekness

Meekness Means Gentleness

Meekness Involves Yieldedness

The word yield has two meanings. The first is negative and the second is
positive. It means to relinquish, to abandon; and also to give. This is in
line with Jesus words: He that loseth [or abandoneth] his life . . . shall find
it (Matthew 10:39).

Meekness Denotes Forbearance

Meekness Suggests Patience

Happiness and Meekness for You