I
GET DEPRESSED
*****************************
It
has been suggested that one
in five Australians will suffer from major depression
over
the next few years.
What’s
happened?
Twenty
or thirty years ago
depression
was
treated with the “Snap
out of it!” remedy,
but
it seems that this
prescription
isn’t
acceptable in these
days
of modern counselling
methods
and
psychology.
Is
this just a modern
phenomenon?
What
do we need to know
about man in order to rid us of
this
condition?
IS
THERE ANY HOPE OR ARE WE ALL
JUST SUBJECT TO THE “ENGULFING WAVES” OF DEPRESSION AS THEY CHOOSE TO
HIT
US OR NOT?
*************************************************************************************
We’ll look at-
What
the Bible says about man
and
his nature.
What
is depression?
Where
does it come from?
How
it can be cured.
***************************
“Giving
thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our
Lord
Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:20).
WHAT
IS DEPRESSION?
Depression
is the result of thinking about yourself.
WHAT
CAUSES DEPRESSION?
Thinking
about yourself.
HOW
CAN I GET RID OF DEPRESSION?
Stop
thinking about yourself.
WHAT’S
THE WORLD’S REMEDY?
More
thinking about yourself by not trying to think about yourself or
the opposite - thinking very highly of yourself.
.WHAT’S
THE
BIBLE SAY ABOUT DEPRESSION?
Depression
is a sin.
You see the
Bible says, “Giving thanks
always for all things
unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:20).
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will
of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1
Thessalonians 5:18
“Beloved, think It not strange concerning the fiery
trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto
you.” 1Peter
4:12
“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for
you.”
1 Peter 5:7
“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall Into
divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh
patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be
perfect and
entire, wanting nothing.” James
1:2-4
“...in thy presence is fullness of joy...” Ps16:11
“But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but
God meant it unto good...” Genesis
50:20
“Do all things without murmurings and disputings.”
Philippians 2:14
“God left him, to try him, that he might know all
that was in his heart.” 2 Chronicles 32:31
Rejoice In the Lord always: and again I say,
Rejoice.”
Philippians 4:4
“Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now I
have kept thy word.” Psalm
119:67
“It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that
I might learn thy statutes.” Psalm
119:71
“... the Lord thy God led thee these forty years In
the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was In
thine
heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.” Deuteronomy 8:2
“ But with many of them God was not well pleased.
for they were overthrown In the wilderness. Now these things were our
examples,
to the Intent we should not lust ...neither be ye idolators....
neither
let us commit fornication ...neither let us tempt Christ
...
neither murmur ye ...Now all these things happened unto them for
ensamples: and
they are written for our admonition ...”
1 Corinthians 10:5-11
“And we know that all things work together for good
to them that love God, to them who are called according to his
purpose.” Romans
8:28
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are
your ways my ways, saith the Lord.” Isaiah
55:8
When
we don’t obey the above Scriptures we are sinning by disobeying God
and we say to Him that we know better!
HOW
DOES THE BIBLE DESCRIBE MAN?
“As it is written, …There is none righteous,
no, not one:… There Is none that seeketh after God.
They are all gone out of the way, they are together
become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their
tongues they have used deceit the poison of asps is under their lips:
Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are In their
ways:
And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God
before their
eyes. (Romans 3:10-18)
You
might be thinking, “Man, this sounds a bit rough. I wonder who God
is referring to here - these must be dreadful criminals of the highest
order?”
No
my friend, this is God’s description of you and me. But wait, there’s
more,
“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed
evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness,
wickedness, deceit
lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride,
foolishness:”
(Mark
7:21-22)
“The heart Is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked. who can know it?” (Jer
17:9)
“Now the works of the flesh are manifest which are
these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry,
witchcraft
hatred,… Galatians 5:19
Now
don’t get upset, this is what the Bible says that you and I are like
- and it gets worse!
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our
righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf and
our
Iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (Isaiah
64:6)
“There is not a just man upon earth that doeth
good, and sinneth not” (Ecclesiastes 7:20)
“The fool hath said in his heart There Is no God.
They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that
doeth
good.
The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children
of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
They are all gone aside, they are all together
became filthy there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Psalm
14:1-3)
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory
of God.” (Romans 3:23)
“Every man at his best state Is altogether
vanity.’’ (Psalm 39:5)
Now
you have something to be depressed about! This is the real you and
what the Bible says about you and me and who we are.
WHAT
ARE THE ORIGINS OF DEPRESSION?
Depression
is inbuilt into our nature.
Your depression is the outworking of a life-time of sin and sinful
responses. 60%-70% of people in mental institutions are there as a
result
of unforgiveness and depression. Until you see that depression is a sin
and
that there is no known cure of man that can help, you’ll only be
spinning your
wheels trying to get rid of it.
BUT
I DON’T REALLY BELIEVE THE BIBLE
Well
I suppose that’s a choice we make. It’s neither here nor
there what you or I really think, it’s what God says on the matter that
counts.
God
created us, so He knows how we tick and that’s why the Bible gives
us direction.
If
you like, go to the New Idea and popular help magazines and believe
what they tell you about problems – “it’s really not anybody’s fault”
and
“we’re all victims of circumstance”.
If
you’ve probably been “dieting” on this for years, it’s no wonder you
may be depressed.
The
reason why people don’t like the Bible or won’t believe it, is
because it tells us exactly who we are - filthy, rotten, putrid,
contemptible
sinners. Unless you believe this, you’ll be running around for years
looking
for a solution, a guru, some self-help plan or some technique from the
“new
age” and in 5 years time you’ll be worse.
NOTE:
A reason people believe in evolution is that they won’t have to
believe in a Creator who made them and thereby hope to avoid
accountability to
Him.
BUT
CAN’T PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELLING HELP ME?
Absolutely
not! You see, modern psychology, New Age techniques and
psychiatry all start from the basis that man is good, was born good and
with a
bit of will power and perhaps some drugs, he will soon get better and
have a happy
life.
CAN’T
WE IMPROVE PEOPLE’S SELF ESTEEM IN ORDER TO OVERCOME DEPRESSION?
NO!
The most depressed person has far too much self esteem already. If
people really hated themselves they should be glad that they’re being
punished
by depression. But they’re not - in fact it’s just the opposite.
They’re very
upset that they’re depressed and it shouldn’t be happening to them –
they’re
far too good to be suffering. People should not be surprised that
depression is
one of the things that comes out of man and out of his very nature.
When man
takes His eyes off Jesus and His work on the cross, man will think
about
himself, his needs and wants, desires and how much their not being
fulfilled.
JESUS
CHRIST IS YOUR ONLY HOPE
When
a man turns to Jesus Christ, everything that then happens is
God working in that person’s life for His glory and that person’s
reward. Until
then, anything that man will do is doomed, society is a failure and
there is
nothing good that man has ever done, will do or can do, and he is
subject to
the complete wrath of God for all his efforts.
We’re
not born good, never were good, and till the day you die, we’ll
never improve. Upon death you will be judged for all your actions and
If you
don’t measure up to the perfect standard of Jesus Christ - who knew no
sin,
then you will be cast into the fires of hell for eternal torment and
unspeakable horrors.
Now
many people are going to stand before God on Judgment Day and plead
their innocence, or their good works, or their “doing their best”, or
their own
self righteousness, but God’s not going to have a bar of it.
WHAT
SHOULD I DO?
Get
saved! The Bible says, “Neither
is there
salvation in any other. For there is none other name under heaven
whereby we
must be saved.” (Acts
4:12)
Baptism,
confessionals, sacraments, good works, penances, being good,
church membership, religion, last rites, Saturday worship or church
rules CANNOT
SAVE YOU. Stop trusting in your “self-righteousness” and put your
trust in
Jesus Christ alone and “His righteousness”.
ETERNAL
LIFE IS A FREE GIFT!
YOU
CAN’T EARN IT, WORK FOR IT OR BUY IT! The Bible says, “...the GIFT of God is eternal life
THROUGH JESUS CHRIST
OUR LORD.” (Rom
6:23).
The Bible says “...Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners...”
(1 Timothy 1:15)
and it also says, “For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord SHALL BE SAVED.” (Romans
10:13)
Eternity is forever and hell is real, but if you want to be saved, trust alone in Jesus and pray from your heart: “DEAR GOD, I’m a sinner and deserve Your everlasting wrath in hell. I believe Jesus died for all my sins and His shed blood was payment. I completely trust Him alone to save me. Please forgive me. AMEN”
Harley Hitchcock
BULLSEYE!
ACCURATE
BIBLE
KNOWLEDGE!
QUESTION: “I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT GOD IS DOING IN
MY LIFE?”
www.AustralianBibleMinistries.com
