God Raised Your Great Shepherd from the Dead

God Raised Your Great Shepherd from the Dead from Desiring God on Vimeo.

Pastor John Piper's Farewell Sermon

Life Together at the End of the Age

Life Together at the End of the Age from Desiring God on Vimeo.

Why Did God Create the World?

The Supremacy of Christ Sermon Jam

What is Preaching?

When a Lover of Good Thinks About Evil

Psalm 51 Sermon Jam - Restore the Joy of Thy Salvation

Future Grace

Future Grace (Session 1)
Future Grace (Session 2)
Slides (PDF download)

The Word of God Is At Work In You

A — I admit I can’t in myself do what needs to be done.
P — I pray for God’s help.
T — I trust a particular promise he has given.
A — I act to do whatever God is calling me to do.
T — I thank him for his help when I am done.

Christopher Hitchens, the Mission of Desiring God, and God's Word About Death

Three things came together in the last thirty-six hours to create this post. The death of Christopher Hitchens, the Desiring God Board meeting Thursday, and the word of God.

1. Christopher Hitchens died Thursday night. He was, perhaps, the most aggressive of the “new atheists.” I am sobered and made quiet by the probability (though we do not know his final hours) that he is in torment today awaiting his final judgment and the lake of fire.
2. Also on Thursday the Desiring God Board clarified and refined the Ultimate Goal, the Mission, and the Core Strategy of Desiring God. The Mission of Desiring God is to help people everywhere understand and embrace the truth that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.
3. Pondering these two events in connection to God’s word I asked myself: How shall we be satisfied in God in the face of, and the hour of, our death?

There are more answers than we can give here. But here are some. I can be satisfied in God at the moment of my death. . . .

Because the sting of death is removed by the work of Christ.

O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:55–57)

He satisfied the law’s demand for my perfection and for my punishment. I may  weep, but not because of the sting.

Because Jesus stands to greet us.

But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. . . . And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:55–60)

The satisfaction in Christ can be so deep that all revenge vanishes.

Because death is the last great occasion in this life for glorifying God

Jesus said to Peter: Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God. (John 21:18–19)

Death is not after a life of glorifying God. It is our last supremely meaningful, God-glorifying assignment.

Because the Spirit of glory and of God will rest on us in our final crisis.

If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. (1 Peter 4:14)

I have often feared that my present faith would be inadequate for a time of torture. But I infer from this verse a precious truth: God comes to his own in the hour of final trial and rests on them with the Spirit and the glory so that we are able to endure.

Because the hairs of your head are all numbered and you out-value the unforgotten birds.

I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Luke 12:4–7)

Fear God, not death. For in the fear of God, there is nothing to fear. Fear not what displeasing man will mean, but fear what failing to trust God will mean.

Because in death not a hair of your head will perish.

Some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. (Luke 21:17–18)

Even if beheaded, not a hair will be lost. We are held in his hands and raised more whole than when we fell asleep.

Because you have passed from death to life and will not come into judgment.

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (John 5:24)

As we die we say: I am not going to judgment. My judgment happened 2,000 years ago. I am going home.

Because Jesus is the resurrection and you never die.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11:25–26)

There is a sense in which we die. But most essentially, most personally, we simply do not die. There is no millisecond in which our fellowship with God is broken.

Because death will not separate you from the love of God.

I am sure that neither death nor life . . . nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romams 8:38–39)

We are inseparable from God’s love for reasons more solid than the pillars of the universe. That is the point of Romans 8:29–39

Because to die is gain — it is to be with Christ more fully and more intimately.

To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. (Philippians 1:21–23)

More of Christ is superior treasure than all that we leave behind.

Because Jesus is the Lord of the dead and the living.

To this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.” (Romans 14:7–9)

Not the Lord of the living only. But of the dead. Which means the dead are not dead. For God cannot be the God of the dead (Matthew 22:32).

written by John Piper, December 17, 2011 [http://www.desiringgod.org]

Desiring God Regional Conference (Part 3)

Desiring God Regional Conference (Part 2)

Desiring God Regional Conference (Part 1)

Why God Created the Universe — For Good Friday

1. The apex of God’s display of his own glory is the display of his grace.

“God predestined . . . according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace” (Ephesians 1:5–6). Grace is the endpoint in the revelation of God’s glory.
This is seen in the way wrath serves to make God more glorious for the vessels of mercy. “Desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, God has endured with much patience vessels of wrath . . . in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy” (Romans 9:22–23).

2.  God’s glorification of his grace was planned before creation.

“God chose us in him before the foundation of the world . . . to the praise of the glory of his grace” (Ephesians 1:4–6).

3. God’s glorification of his grace was to happen through the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

“He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ . . . to the praise of the glory of his grace” (Ephesians 1:5–6).
“God called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” (2 Timothy 1:9).

 4. From eternity the apex of God’s glorification of his grace was designed to be Christ’s crucifixion for sinners.

Before there was any human sin to die for, God planned that his Son be slain for sinners. We know this because of the name given to the book of life before creation. “Everyone [will worship the beast] whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain” (Revelation 13:8).

5. God’s glorification of his grace in the crucifixion of his Son for sinners was the ultimate purpose for creating the universe.

“All things were created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:16). For all eternity we will sing “the song of the Lamb” (Rev. 15:3). We will say, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain” (Revelation 5:9).

6. Therefore God planned from eternity that the revelation of his glory would be the ultimate reason for creating the universe.

This glory would be supremely displayed in God’s grace. This grace would be supremely glorified in Jesus. And the apex of that glorification in Jesus would be reached when he was slain to save a people who would spend eternity magnifying the greatness of that grace.  In other words the universe was created for the glorification of God’s grace at Calvary, echoing through eternity in the Christ-exalting joys of the redeemed.

 [John Piper from desiringGod.org]

Japan: After Empathy and Aid, People Want Answers

Priorities

First things first.

When Christians see suffering they feel empathy. We too have bodies (Hebrews 13:3). Therefore, love commands, “Weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15).

Then comes aid. We want to help relieve human suffering—all of it, especially eternal suffering:

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10).

And that includes enemies:

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you (Luke 6:27);

If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink (Romans 12:20).

But sooner or later people want more than empathy and aid—they want answers.

Proclamation and Power

When love has wept and worked, it must have something to say about God. It doesn’t need to have all the answers. Only God does. But it has the Bible, and the Bible is not silent on this matter.

No earthquakes in the Bible are attributed to Satan. Many are attributed to God.¹ This is because God is Lord of heaven and earth.

He commands even winds and water, and they obey him (Luke 8:25);

He sends forth His command to the earth. . . . He gives snow like wool; He scatters hoarfrost like ashes. He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs; who can stand before His cold? . . . He makes his wind blow and the waters flow (Psalm 147:15-18);

He looks on the earth and it trembles . . . touches the mountains and they smoke! (Psalm 104:32);

[He] shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble (Job 9:6).

Earthquakes are ultimately from God. Nature does not have a will of its own. And God owes Satan no freedom. What havoc demons wreak, they wreak with God’s permission. And God has reasons for what he permits. His permissions are purposes. That's the point of Job 1-2 and Luke 22:31-32.

Purpose

God does nothing without an infinitely wise and good purpose:

He is wise and brings disaster (Isaiah 31:2);

The Lord is good (Psalm 100:5);

All his works are right and his ways are just (Daniel 4:37).

Therefore, God has a good and all-wise purpose for the heart-rending calamity in Japan on March 11, 2011 that appears to have cost tens of thousands of lives.

Indeed, he has hundreds of thousands of purposes, most of which will remain hidden to us until we are able to grasp them at the end of the age:

How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! (Romans 11:33);

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us (Deuteronomy 29:29).

Yet there are possible purposes revealed in the Bible that we may pray will come to pass:

1. The end-time earthquakes in the book of Revelation (see above) are meant as calls to repentance—to warn people who deny Jesus Christ that a day is coming when unbelievers will cry to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Revelation 6:16).
   
   
2. The end-time earthquakes in Matthew 24:7-8 are meant to be interpreted as “the beginning of the birth pangs.” That is, they are a wake-up call to this world that God's kingdom will soon be born. So be alert and prepare to meet Jesus Christ.
   
   
3. God's unilateral taking of thousands of lives is a loud declaration that “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away” (Job 1:21). The message for all the world is that life is a loan from God (Luke 12:20) and belongs to him. He creates it and gives it and takes it according to his own will and owes us nothing. He has a right both to children (2 Samuel 12:15) and to the aged (Luke 2:29). It is a great gift to learn this truth and dedicate our lives to their true owner rather than defraud him till it is too late.
   
   
4. The power felt in an earthquake reveals the fearful magnificence of God. This is a great gift since “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10). Most of the world does not fear the Lord and therefore lacks saving wisdom. The thunder-clap summons to fear God is a mercy to those who live.
   
   
5. When the earth shakes under our feet there is a dramatic sense that there is no place to flee. In most disasters the earth is the one thing that stands firm when wind and flood are raging. But where do you turn when the earth itself is unsafe? Answer: God.

Pray

And let us pray that in this catastrophe the Lord fulfills two other purposes:

1. That Christians repent of worldliness. “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3).
   
   
2. That Christians in Japan and around the world would step forward with extraordinary, sacrificial love to show more clearly the mercy of Christ who laid down his life in the midst of the Father's judgment. The suffering and death of Jesus Christ for the sin of the world is the one place where empathy, aid, and answers meet. He invites everyone to come for all three.

O how fragile this life is. The world, and all its life-sustaining processes seem so sure and solid. They are not. One thing is sure and solid:

Let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe (Hebrews 12:28).

¹ 2 Samuel 22:8; Isaiah 13:13; 24:18-20; 29:6; Psalm 60:2; Nahum 1:5-6; Revelation 6:12; 8:5; 11:13-14; 16:18

(This post is adapted from what I [John Piper] wrote August 18, 1999, in response to the earthquake in Turkey that cost 17,000 lives. desiringgod.org)

I Am the Light of the World

No One Ever Spoke Like This Man!

Out of Your Heart Will Flow Rivers of Living Water

Brad Pitt: Why Emphasize God’s God-Centeredness

In a 2007 interview for Parade, actor Brad Pitt describes how he stumbled, as C.S. Lewis and Michael Prowse and Erik Reece before him, over God’s ego.
Pitt was raised a conservative Southern Baptist. For a while, his religion worked. But not for long.

Religion works. I know there's comfort there, a crash pad. It's something to explain the world and tell you there is something bigger than you, and it is going to be alright in the end. It works because it's comforting. I grew up believing in it, and it worked for me in whatever my little personal high school crisis was, but it didn't last for me.

Why not? He points to the ego of God.

I didn't understand this idea of a God who says, “You have to acknowledge me. You have to say that I'm the best, and then I'll give you eternal happiness. If you won't, then you don't get it!” It seemed to be about ego. I can't see God operating from ego, so it made no sense to me.

So there it is again.
God is infinitely wise, just, holy, strong, and good. But God’s command that we see him for what he is, and be glad about it, is the reason Pitt found God unintelligible. God’s god-ness has always been the main problem.
There is an answer to the seeming egomania of God, and his demand that we embrace him as the supreme—and supremely satisfying—Treasure of the universe:

Reason #1 — He is supremely valuable and supremely satisfying.
Reason #2 — Receiving him as such is the only way we will find full, everlasting joy.
Reason #3 — Therefore, his demand that we do so is love, not egomania.

Pray for the thousands of Brad Pitts to see that God’s demand for worship is a demand that we enjoy what is supremely enjoyable.

[John Piper - www.desiringgod.org]

Willing God's Will As a Way of Knowing Christ's Word