Go Do What Makes You Happy - Things Jesus Never Said Part 2 | Pastor Craig Groeschel

Go Now and Leave Your Life of Sin

Scripture References

• John 8
• Psalm 16:1

Overview

Happiness was never Jesus’ primary offer; freedom and holiness were. Working from John 8, the preacher showed that what Jesus did not say to the woman caught in adultery—“Do whatever makes you happy”—highlights the power of what He did say:

“Neither do I condemn you… Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Sin advertises quick pleasure but always costs obedience and eventually brings pain. True and lasting joy is found on the higher path of holiness, not in the lower promises of the world.

Main Points

1. The Adulterous Woman: A No-Win Trap

• Religious leaders dragged a woman “caught in the act” before Jesus (John 8).
• Their aim: trap Jesus—condone stoning and lose His reputation for grace, or let her go and break Moses’ law.
• Jesus knelt and wrote “against” (kata-graphen) them in the dust—possibly listing their own sins.
• He challenged them: only the utterly sinless and even free from the desire to sin may throw the first stone.
• Accusers slipped away; only Jesus and the woman remained.
• What He didn’t say: “Go follow your heart.”
• What He did say:

  “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
  Urgent, loving, liberating.

2. Sin’s False Promise vs. God’s True Joy

• Hebrews calls sin “the fleeting pleasures” of this world: fun for a moment, destructive after.
• Refrain (repeated):

  “Sin promises satisfaction at the cost of disobedience to God and eventual pain to you.”

• Our relativistic culture says “live your truth.” Without absolute truth, happiness becomes the only standard, so whatever feels good is labeled good.
• The real conflict is a lie: holiness vs. happiness. In reality, holiness is the pathway to deep happiness.
  • Psalm 16:1—In God’s presence is fullness of joy; at His right hand are pleasures forever.

3. Illustrations That Expose the Lie

• Story: The preacher imagined how the woman’s affair could have unfolded step by step—subtle compliments, secret messages, escalating touches—showing sin’s gradual pull.
• Illustration: A fish flops miserably on a beach; give it cash, parties, margaritas, even “Play-Fish” magazine—still miserable because it wasn’t made for land. “Lower your expectations of earth; you were created for God.”
• Illustration: Classic video game Asteroids had a “hyperspace” button for escape. In God’s kingdom there is no hyperspace, but there is “hyper-grace”; He always provides a way out.

4. Temptation Is an Invitation to Depend on Christ

• Paul: God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear and will always provide an exit.
• Every temptation invites deeper reliance on Jesus, not stronger self-effort.
• Personal testimony: the preacher’s spiral into alcohol nearly cost his scholarship and life. Grace intervened, and pouring out the beer became a decisive step into freedom.

5. Remorse vs. Repentance — “It’s All About the ‘Re’”

• Remorse = “I feel bad I got caught.”
• Repentance = returning from lower to higher, from sin to God.
• String of “re” words: rebuke, return, repent, receive, reborn, renewed, rebuilt, reconciled, reap, revival.
• Jesus’ call is urgent: “Go now” — immediate repentance that leads to real life.

Key Truths

• What Jesus withholds saying is as instructive as what He says.
• Holiness and happiness are not enemies; holiness is the doorway to durable joy.
• Relativism makes personal happiness the moral compass, but that compass is broken.
• Sin always over-promises and under-delivers.
• God’s faithfulness guarantees a way of escape for every temptation.
• Repentance, not mere remorse, ushers us into freedom and revival.

Response

• Reject the lie that personal pleasure is the highest good.
• Examine hidden or “browser-history” sins and bring them into the light.
• Take the immediate exit God provides—pour it out, delete it, walk away, confess it.
• Replace self-reliance with moment-by-moment dependence on Christ’s grace.
• Pursue holiness as the true source of lasting joy.
• Share the story of your freedom so others can find their way out.

Closing

Jesus never said, “Follow your heart.” He looked into shame-filled eyes and offered freedom:

“Neither do I condemn you… Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Because God is faithful, there is always a road out of temptation, always a place for repentance, always “hyper-grace” for the trapped soul. Holiness is not a life of misery; it is life to the fullest, the only beach where a fish can truly swim. Step out, take His way of escape, and walk in the joy you were created for.

Prayer

The pastor led the congregation in two prayers:

1. A prayer for believers—thanking God for grace, asking for courage to take His provided way out, and seeking freedom from every bondage.
2. A salvation prayer—confessing sin, surrendering to Jesus, asking to be made new, and committing to walk in His truth by the power of the Spirit.