From Hopelessness to Happiness | A Deeper Look at the Ten Commandments

You're listening to A New Beginning with Greg Laurie, a podcast made possible by Harvest Partners helping people everywhere know God.

Visit our website and learn more about Harvest Partners at harvest.org. But we need to do more than memorize the commandments, we need to internalize the commandments because they're not obsolete, they're absolute. And if you keep these commandments, you will be a happy person.

If we thought about it, many of us could name our 10 favorite movies, our 10 favorite actors, our 10 favorite songs, our 10 favorite meals. But what about God's top 10 instructions carved on stone tablets and hand-delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai? Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us dig into those instructions as we return to a series called Water, Fire, Stone.

An enlightening study of the life of Moses. Good encouragement coming our way today. Hope. That is something that seems to be in short supply in this day and age. I read a headline from a news site the other day that says, quote, Americans are the unhappiest they have been in 50 years. 14% of Americans say they are very unhappy, down from 31% who said they were happy in 2018. This is because of the impact of the coronavirus and the stay-at-home orders and all the other problems that have come as a result of it. And people are feeling isolated, lonely, uncertain about their future, and in some cases, hopeless. Some are even finding themselves entertaining suicidal thoughts.

Tragically, some have even given in to them. So I want to speak to you right now. Anyone who has ever felt as though your life does not matter, nobody cares about you, no one would miss you if you're gone, let me say this to you.

You could not be more wrong. You are loved by God. You are loved by so many people, more than you realize. And your life has meaning, your life has purpose, you have a place, and we need you, so I want you to hang on. You know, sometimes when you're young, life can seem so unfair, and life can seem so hard, and you wonder, how am I gonna get through it? And look, this is one of the few advantages of age.

If I could trade, I'd rather be young again, but sometimes I feel like I'm a young person trapped in an old person's body. But let me just say this, if you're young and you're facing some crisis right now, no matter how bad it is, you're going to get through it. Whatever you're going through, it's going to pass ultimately. This too shall pass.

Now honestly, it may pass like a kidney stone through your system, but it is gonna pass, and you are gonna get through it. And listen to this, God can take all of the hurt and the pain that you have experienced in life and ultimately use it to touch other people and make you the man or the woman that he wants you to be. I'm not speaking from a vacuum. I was not raised in a Christian home. I didn't have a Christian mom and dad that tucked me into bed at night and read me Bible stories. I lived the opposite of that life. I think most of you know my story, raised by an alcoholic mother, married and divorced seven times, being drugged all around the country, a very crazy, tumultuous childhood. And it was hard and it was difficult, but when I came to faith in Christ, it changed the course of my life. And now I feel like I can take the pain and the hardship I've been through and help other people.

It's been said, if you preach to hurting people, you will never lack for an audience. I know I'm talking to some hurting people right now. We all could use some hope. A famous cardiologist wrote in his autobiography, and I quote, hope is a medicine I use more than any other. Hope can cure nearly anything, end quote. Could you use some of that medicine right now? Could you use some hope?

You want to talk about having a hopeless future? I can't think of anyone who faced a more bleak scenario than little baby Moses. Moses was chosen by God to save a nation, but before that was going to happen, Moses was a baby whose life was in danger.

You remember the story that the Pharaoh of Egypt had given a decree that all the Jewish baby boys should be put to death, and Moses was included in that number. But his parents did not obey that ruling of the Pharaoh, obviously, and they put him in a little basket and sent him cruising down the Nile River. And he was discovered by none other than the daughter of the Pharaoh, and he was taken into the home of the Pharaoh as a son. And some believe he was being groomed to be the next Pharaoh of Egypt. So God saved his life, and before we get further in the story and what God used him to do, just keep this in mind.

It was a hopeless situation that was turned around by God. Moses is an interesting character for sure. He was both a law giver, and he was a law breaker. He was born in poverty, but he was raised in a palace, and the wilderness became his home. At times he could be impulsive, impatient, and explosive, and at other times he could be unbelievably patient and persistent and faithful to what the Lord called him to do. Moses was both idolized and criticized, yet he remained humble and forgiving. How did this man do what he did? Can we tap into some secrets of this great man of God and learn how to face our own difficulties?

And I believe the answer is yes. Okay, so we're in a series that we're simply calling Water, Fire, Stone. It's called Water because God saved baby Moses from the Nile River and preserved his life. As I already pointed out, he was taken into the home of Pharaoh. Had he played his cards right, he could have become a very powerful man. But the reality is Moses was Jewish, and he saw how his fellow Jews were being mistreated by the Egyptians. And so one day he took matters into his own hands, and he saw an Egyptian taskmaster cruelly treating a Jewish slave, beating him. So Moses, the Bible says, looked to the right, and he looked to the left, and he killed the Egyptian.

He should have looked up. The Lord would have said, don't do that. Then he buried him in the sand.

By the way, if you're going to kill someone, don't bury them in the sand because the sand moves a lot, and it was quickly discovered. And the Pharaoh said, Moses is going to die. That brings us to section number two of this series, Fire, Water, Fire, Stone. Fire because it was at a burning bush that God recommissioned Moses. So the life of Moses can be divided into three 40-year sections. He spent 40 years in the court of the Pharaoh finding out he was a somebody. He spent 40 years on the backside of the desert finding out he was a nobody. And he spent 40 years finding out what God can do with a somebody who realizes they're a nobody.

God used Moses to bring the Israelites out of the bondage of Pharaoh into a land of promise. So that brings us to the third section, Stone. Stone represents that section that we're in now where God gave to Moses the Ten Commandments written on a tablet of stone. You know it's a funny thing we run around with our tablets today. We read our emails on them and we follow social media on them.

We watch movies on them. They're so much a part of our life. Well God had the original tablets and they weren't made by Apple or Android.

They were given by God and they were engraved with his words by his very finger. We call it the Ten Commandments and I want to look at those together with you. Barely 300 words long in English the Ten Commandments form the foundation of the legal system.

And they are at the heart of Western civilization. Someone summed up the Ten Commandments this way and I quote, The reason we have 17,000 pages in our law books in America is because we're unable to follow ten sentences written in tablets of stone. If we followed the Ten Commandments we would not be in the mess we're in. And politics will not solve our problems until God changes our hearts end quote. Well said. Now most people acknowledge that the Ten Commandments are important.

That they're true. Very few people know the Ten Commandments. A recent survey revealed that only 14% of Americans could name the Ten Commandments. Let me ask you can you name the Ten Commandments? Maybe you'll do that a little bit later with the folks that you know.

But I'm going to read them for you in just a moment. We know so many other things. For instance by comparison a quarter of Americans can name the seven ingredients in a Big Mac. Nearly one out of four know the names of all three Stooges. And one in three can name all the kids from the Brady Bunch. Really?

That's amazing. So we know that the Big Mac has two all-beef patties but we don't know thou shall not steal. Or thou shall not bear false witness. You might say well Craig it's hard to memorize them. Well we know other things. What are the names of the Beatles?

Well John Paul George Ringo of course. Well you can't memorize one commandment or two or three. I suggest you can memorize all of these commandments. But we need to do more than memorize the commandments. We need to internalize the commandments because they're not obsolete. They're absolute. Let me say that again. The commandments are not obsolete.

They're absolute. And if you keep these commandments you will be a happy person. Because someone 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. So if I keep these commandments I'll be a happy person. 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. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. You know when you've walked in the very land where Jesus himself walked you'll gain a whole new appreciation for the truth of scripture. Hey everybody Greg Laurie here inviting you to the Harvest Ministries Israel tour.

April 9 to 19, 2024. This will be an unforgettable journey through biblical sites and a unique opportunity to grow in your own faith. Listen, spots are limited. Be sure to sign up as soon as possible at Israel.Harvest.org Again it's Israel.Harvest.org Hope to see you there. Well we're considering the Ten Commandments today as Pastor Greg presents his message called From Hopelessness to Happiness. So let's look at what the commandments have to say to us. Exodus chapter 20 and I'm going to read quite a few verses with you so I hope you'll read along. Here we are, commandment number one, Exodus 20 verse 2.

I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. Commandment number two, Exodus 20 verse 4.

You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that's in heaven above or the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. Nor shall you bow down to them or serve them for I the Lord your God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity on the fathers, on the children of the third and fourth generations of those who hate me and showing mercy to thousands to those who love me and keep my commandments. Commandment number three, Exodus 20 verse 7. You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain.

The Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. Commandment number four, Exodus 20 verse 8 and 9. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Commandment number five, Exodus 20 verse 12.

Honor your father and mother that your days may be long in the land that the Lord has given you. Commandment number six, you shall not murder. Commandment number seven, you shall not commit adultery. Commandment number eight, Exodus 20 verse 15. You shall not steal. Commandment number nine, Exodus 20 verse 16. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor or don't lie. And then one final commandment, Exodus 20 verse 17. You shall not covet your neighbor's house or covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or female servant nor his ox or his donkey or anything that is your neighbor. So there they are. Those are the 10 commandments. Start working on memorizing them.

Then start working on internalizing them. So let's start with commandment number one. You shall have no other gods before me. I read a survey that revealed that 76% of Americans consider themselves completely faithful to the first commandment. Wow.

76%. Is that true? Is it true that most Americans have never had another god in the place of the true god? Well maybe we need to understand what the Bible is saying here.

It all starts with the place of God in your life. Reason being you will serve what you worship. I remember Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. And Satan said to Jesus, why don't you bow down and worship me? And Christ responded, you shall worship the Lord God.

In him only shall you serve. Interesting the devil didn't say anything about serving. He just said, give me the momentary pleasure of worshiping me and I'll give you what you've come for. Because scripture says Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. Effectively the devil was saying, Jesus I'll make you a deal you cannot refuse.

Bad imitation of the godfather. I'll give you what you've come for. I know you've come to die on a cross for the sin of the world. I know you've come to purchase back that which was lost in the garden of Eden.

I'll give it to you on a silver platter if you'll just worship me. Jesus says, it is written you shall worship the Lord God only. In him only shall you serve. The devil said nothing about service but Jesus did.

Why? Because Jesus knows that we will end up serving whatever we worship. 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. Notice here that God gives them and us the motive for keeping these commandments. Verse 2, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage. The Lord does not begin by threatening or scaring them. He starts by reminding them of what kind of God he was.

A loving caring God who delivered them from their misery. You know sometimes people say, well the God of the Old Testament is harsh and mean. And the God of the New Testament is loving and kind.

That's nonsense. There is one God of both the Old and the New Testament and he is a God of love. He is a God who is gracious. He is a God who is full of mercy.

But he is a holy God and he is a righteous God and he gives us absolutes to live by. Basically the Lord is saying, let's paraphrase, hey I took care of you guys. I delivered you from your bondage in Egypt. You were a slave there. Now we hear that and we say well that's nice but I am not an Israelite who was delivered from bondage in Egypt. Yes but you were a sinner who was delivered from the bondage of your sin were you not?

If you put your faith in Christ. So the idea here is think about all that God has done for you. And then as a result you should want to honor him in the way that you live.

You should want to reciprocate. The Bible says we love him because he first loved us. So the Lord is saying, hey I took care of you. Now I want you to keep these commandments.

He has certain expectations of us. My love for God should be a response to his love for me. So you know we will say oh Lord I love you so much but effectively we have another God in our life. Or we will say Lord I love you so much but we will be breaking his commandments left and right. But listen here is what the Lord says. Look at Exodus 20 verse 6. I the Lord your God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me. But showing mercy to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Now let's throw some people. What do you mean he is a jealous God? Has God that insecure that he has to be jealous? And we tend to think of jealousy always in a negative sense. I believe it was Shakespeare who referred to jealousy as that green eyed monster.

We think of a jealous person as someone who may fly into a rage for the slightest reason. But when the Lord uses this word I am a jealous God he means it in a different way. He is showing to the people of Israel that he cares about them. A father who sees the potential of his children. A father who is broken hearted when these things are not realized or worse when their lives are wasted.

He is a father who loves his children and wants the very best for them. That is what it means when the Bible says he is a jealous God. That means he is in charge of your life. You are not in charge of your life. God cares about you. So you know we can be a jealous parent. And by being a jealous parent it means we understand it is our responsibility to take care of our kids.

So we will say sit up straight. Clean up your room. Show better manners when you are talking to an adult. Do this.

Don't do that. That is the role of a parent. A parent that wants the best for their child. It is not our position to go to somebody else's child and tell them what to do. But we have a responsibility to tell our own children what to do. Because we belong to God.

Because when we put our faith in Christ we become children of God. He says I have certain expectations of you. I have a future for you. I have a wonderful plan for you.

And I don't want to share you with anyone or anything else. Pastor Greg Laurie with an important look at the Ten Commandments today and why the Lord has given us those instructions. And there is more to come from this message here on A New Beginning, a study titled From Hopelessness to Happiness.

Well the new movie Johnny Cash, The Redemption of an American Icon is now out on DVD. And it is thoroughly entertaining and interesting to watch. But it is more than that. Pastor Greg, it could be used as a real spiritual tool.

This could help people reach their friends for the Lord, couldn't it? Yeah, and I want you to know we don't offer cheesy Christian films at Harvest. Okay, if we're going to send you a film it's going to be good and I think you know that. You've seen the films we've done in the past. Dave McQueen, The Salvation of an American Icon, A Rush of Hope, most recently Jesus Revolution. This documentary is first rate, high quality, beautiful cinematography. Some amazing people that joined us to be a part of it and wanted to talk about Johnny Cash.

Sheryl Crow, Tim McGraw, Winona Judd, Marty Stewart, members of Johnny's family as well. But the reason we made this film was to tell a spiritual story. There are other documentaries out on the life of Cash that are quite good but none of them do what this film does.

We do talk about his musical career and his life and so forth. It's a very honest film, very straightforward, but we talk about how God gave Johnny second chances. That's what the title of it is, Johnny Cash, The Redemption of an American Icon. This is a film that offers hope. Do you know someone that needs to be redeemed? Do you know someone that needs a second chance?

Maybe you're that person. This would be a great tool that you can watch and find inspiration or share with someone else that needs this hope. So we want to send you this special edition of Johnny Cash, The Redemption of an American Icon on DVD. That, yes, has a streaming code but it also has bonus content including a presentation of the gospel that I did. So after you watch the documentary film, you could watch this little presentation of the gospel complete with a prayer for someone to accept Christ. You could have a watch party in your home and see people come to Jesus Christ. This film is done by the same team that brought you Jesus Revolution, the Kingdom Story Company. So let us send you now your copy of Johnny Cash, The Redemption of an American Icon on DVD for your gift of any size. Now let me explain. We want you to be extra generous as you send that gift so we can continue to preach the gospel and teach the word of God through our radio broadcast, A New Beginning.

But also so you can invest in the kingdom of God because you lay up for yourself treasure in heaven when you invest in a ministry like ours. So get your copy of this great resource. Here's Dave to tell you more. It's a film you're really going to love, and we'll send it your way just as soon as we hear from you. Thanks for your partnership with us in bringing these studies each day. And to thank you tangibly, we'll send you Johnny Cash, The Redemption of an American Icon. And we'll only be able to mention this resource a short time longer. Just call us at 1-800-821-3300. That's a 24-7 phone number, 1-800-821-3300. Or write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514.

Or just go online to harvest.org. Well next time, Pastor Greg brings us more insights on the practical application of the Ten Commandments as he continues his series, Wood, Fire, Stone. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher, Greg Laurie.

This is the day, the day when life begins. Hey everybody, thanks for listening to this podcast. To learn more about Harvest Ministries, follow this show and consider supporting it. Just go to harvest.org. And to find out how to know God personally, go to harvest.org and click on Know God.