Greg's Notes

From Hopelessness to Happiness

Deuteronomy 6, Exodus 20
Series:

Hope is something that seems to be in short supply in this day and age. Are you feeling hopeless right now? Are you terrified of the future and you don’t think you can ever be happy again? If so, you want to hear what I’m about to say to you from the Word of God.

Practical Principles

  1. If you keep God’s Commandments, you’ll be a happy person. The Commandments are not obsolete; they’re absolute. If you keep these Commandments you will be a happy person because Psalm 1 says, “Blessed [or happy] is the man that does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in it does he meditate day and night.” 
  2. The Commandments are not given to punish you, but for your good. The Commandments are not like the bars of a prison to keep you inside. They’re like walls of protection to keep evil out of your life. They’re given for your own good, so you can go from hopelessness to happiness.
  3. If you love God, you’ll keep His commands. You’ll do the right thing because you are loving God and want to obey Him. As Augustine once said, “Love God and do as you please.” If God is number one in your life, everything else will find its proper balance. If God is not number one in your life, everything else will be in chaos.

Relevant Reminders

  • God can take all of the hurt and the pain that you’ve experienced in life and ultimately use it to touch other people and make you the person He wants you to be.
  • God can take the hopeless situation in your life and turn it around.
  • Moses spent 40 years in the court of the Pharaoh finding out he was a somebody. He spent 40 years in the backside of the desert finding out he was a nobody. Then, he spent 40 years finding out what God can do with a somebody who realizes they’re a nobody. 

Applicable Actions

The Commandments are given to show us how unholy we are. They’re given to open our eyes and shut our mouths. Every one of us have broken these commandments, and the Bible says that if we offend in one point of the law, we’re guilty of all of it. We don’t want to admit to God that we’ve sinned and broken His commandments but that’s what we need to do. The Ten Commandments are given to show you that you need Jesus.  They drive you into the open arms of Jesus for forgiveness. He can send a rush of hope into your life right now and change it for the better.