Celebrating John Piper’s 33 Years at Bethlehem

[Music] [Music] the glory of christ is infinite eternal indestructible gladness in the presence of god indomitable joy does not mean that there is only joy was he then divided torn between joy and sorrow can an infinitely glorious soul be troubled yes troubled but not torn and disunited christ was complex but he was not confused there were divergent notes in the music of his soul but the result was a symphony 142 years ago god planted first swedish baptist church a congregation of 22 members which is now bethlehem baptist church and it's to this church that he called his servant our pastor john piper in some ways it would have been hard to find a less likely candidate in his younger years he had been horrified to even stand and speak in front of people but god overcame his paralyzing fear and called him to be his instrument for our faith and our growth and our joy bethlehem values preaching there is a big heavy pulpit it sits at the front and the center of the room that has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the preeminence of the word of god preached after completing his education this young man from the south began teaching nearby at bethel college and i was one of his students the bethlehem that he found in 1980 was not the bethlehem we know today the congregation was made up of several hundred members much fewer attenders and most of those had gray hair and god brought to them a 34 year old rookie preacher his first hire was someone to work with the college students and he asked me i joined him on staff two weeks after his first sermon in the summer of 1980. from his first sermon as pastor of bethlehem baptist church on sunday july 13 1980 to his final sermon as pastor of bethlehem on easter sunday 2013 john has been committed to making the main point of the bible the main point of his messages he wanted us to see what god had shown him in his word and he would repeat and point and yell and gesture with every ounce of his being to get our noses and our hearts deep into the text i remember early in his ministry he invited the congregation to turn to a certain portion of scripture and all you could hear was the swish of pages turning john interrupted his sermon and he looked up and he told the congregation i love that sound his faithful work in the word formed categories in us for how to know god john has truly been our lead worshiper modeling for us how to come to god with gravity and gladness we've become serious about deep and lasting happiness in him and it's created a powerful counter-cultural environment for us to meet and enjoy god together we worship differently because of what god has done through this man my teacher my pastor and my friend [Music] our family was drawn to bethlehem in 2002 because of the unique way the body ministered to us as a family especially to our children because of john and noel's example and the examples of dozens of families around us we embrace transracial adoptions as the norm [Music] we began our first adoption of samuel after pastor john's sermon in january 2003 on the sanctity of life hearing john preach that day god broke our hearts wide open to welcome all the children he had prepared for us we saw that one way to care for the unborn and promote life was to care for the fatherless after samuel we adopted two more children abigail and elijah let's start with the fighter verses tonight joshua 1 9 elijah have i not commanded you be strongly gracious do not be frightened and do not be dismayed for the lord your god is with you wherever you wake up we love seeing a god-centered christ-exalting legacy being established in the next generation pastor john has fueled this as he owned supported and cast the vision for family discipleship he has modeled a belief that from a very young age children can understand and rejoice in a big god and in the big truths of scripture our church loves all children because our god loves all children this works itself out in a thousand ways but we've been especially blessed to be a part of a people who see the beauty of god's good design in children with chronic disease and disability recently we listened and learned from over 20 years of pastor john sermons on the cause for life as he faithfully applied the bible to this topic for these past decades god ordains with his hands he knits together in the womb every child the disabled and the abled and he has a destiny and a purpose for his glory and the good of this person and anyone else who will trust him we've prayed with him and with bethlehem for god to end abortion we have grieved the losses millions of babies we want him god to be first in our day and first around our dining room table and first in our marriage and first in our children's minds and hearts he is worthy of that place in our home [Music] there has never been an era when too many people thought too deeply about god or knew him too well it is impossible to know god too well he is the most important person who exists and this is because he made all others and any importance they have is owing to him any strength or intelligence or skill or beauty they have comes from him on every scale of excellence he is infinitely greater than the best person you ever knew or ever heard of i first heard john piper in october of 1984 when i came to bethlehem as a visitor i found a church and a pastor with a god-sized vision for the nations missions is our way of saying the joy of worshiping jesus is not tribal it's not ethnocentric it's global missions is a means not an end well over the next three years this idea took root in my life and that of my wife lori and became a joyful urgent message to be shared with the unreached peoples of the world we teamed up with others here at bethlehem and eventually a team was propelled out to share this message with the manica people an unreached people group in guinea west africa thanks in part to john's consistent call 259 units have gone out since he came in 1980 and there are more than 100 units on the field right now those not engaged with unreached peoples are translating the scriptures among the bibleless peoples of the world doing community development and urban ministry among the poorest of the poor initiating discipleship in church planting training the next generation of church leaders to face global challenges and faithfully serving behind the scenes in oversight and administration at more than 10 different agencies and bethlehem has sent dozens of teams over the years to support our missionaries hundreds of bethlehem men and women have experienced missions firsthand over a week or two weeks or longer through our short-term trips i love that pastor john has been about winning worshipers around the world god has used his example his messages his books powerfully in my life through years of ministry across cultures whether it's been here in minneapolis or in far-off lands [Music] worship is ultimate not missions because god is ultimate not man when this age is over and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of god missions will be no more it is a temporary necessity but worship abides forever worship therefore is the fuel and goal of missions august of 2004 was a tough month everything had changed after i was fired from my job it really was a dark time in my life i experienced a deeper depression than i ever thought possible it was at that time that i met john piper through hip-hop one of my favorite artists timothy brindle used clips of john's sermons on his album killing sin so he introduced me to piper piper introduced me to reformed theology his preaching gave me words and concepts that helped me understand how i was saved and how to walk through that dark night of my soul in 2008 i came to my first desiring god conference and met pastor john for the first time four short years later i'm sitting in class at his school bethlehem college's seminary the work with seminary students started with a few interns in 1980 just guys that worked from the church and learned under its leadership eventually in 1998 it grew into a class of guys who studied together for two years while being mentored by bethlehem's elders and pastors the program was called the bethlehem institute it offered tracts for future elders and future missionaries as well as classes for our lay people in 2009 the elder track of tbi evolved into a seminary with a four-year masters of divinity shortly after that our one-year insight program for college freshmen welcomed his first four-year undergraduate students and so bethlehem college's seminary was born all under the visionary leadership of his chancellor john piper we believe that this way of educating leads to humble courageous conviction in a fallen world where christ urges us to live peaceably with all men as much as it lies within us and not to shrink back from telling the truth that is often controversial pastor john's courage and convictions have shaped our curriculum our staff and us as students [Music] we're small but we're already seeing god do amazing things through the men who have gone out from bethlehem our graduates are pastors church planners missionaries college and seminary professors parrot church workers on university campuses and in the inner city and some have gone on to earn their phd pastor john's ministry has inspired and shaped my future ministry as much as anyone i want to shepherd god's people with his word and be an instrument by which he calls and equips more and more christian heatedness especially in the inner city lord let your love flow from your saints and may it be this that even if it costs our lives the people will be glad in god let the peoples praise you o god let all the peoples praise you let the nations be glad and sing for joy take your honored place o christ as the all-satisfying treasure of the world with trembling hands before the throne of god and utterly dependent on your grace we lift our voice and make this solemn vow as god lives and is all i ever need i will not waste my life i had spent 26 years seeking justice for the poor and the oppressed in the city i saw nothing in common with desiring god or or reformed theology it seemed like we had a completely different set of values a different understanding of what was required to alleviate oppression and suffering it really seemed like a different christianity on one hand i saw them as concerned with you know proclaiming the gospel and i really wanted to display it in 2010 i was working for a youth ministry training organization i thought having john piper speak would be a good draw for our audience so when i was offered the opportunity to attend the desiring god pastors conference in february i saw it as a chance to do some recon on piper and the tribe who came to his events three things i remember about attending that event i felt totally out of place walking into a room full of white folks who spoke a language i couldn't understand there were lots of shun words like justification and sanctification and glorification and propitiation secondly i remember thinking how cool it was to see eric mason on the desiring god stage and and how well this african-american pastor from philly was received by this crowd what's up people lastly i thought you know this piper guy he he really isn't that bad after the conference i got to work filling out the speaking request for john but needed to know what i was supposed to say so i began reading the bethlehem elder affirmation of faith john couldn't come but as i read that scripture drenched document full of new truth for me i knew something was happening in me god was working through his word to soften my heart of stone and draw me closer to him so i wasn't completely surprised when god called me to bring my family to bethlehem to pursue membership there submit myself to the authority of the elders and profess publicly what god had done in my heart this is why i'm praising god today for he has used john piper's ministry it has helped me to seek something new i never knew i could satisfaction in god john's ministry revealed to me what i had always missed like those guys on the road to emmaus that that the burning in my heart was from beholding the glory of god in the face of jesus i never tire of saying and savoring the truth that god's passion to be glorified and our passion to be satisfied are one experience in the christ-exalting act of worship we get the mercy he gets the glory we get the happiness in him he gets the honor from us [Music] we are deeply thankful to god for 30 plus years of extraordinary grace in and through john and we're thrilled for what's ahead for years now john has felt an increasing sense of calling to wider ministry across the country and around the world through desiring god and now as john closes this chapter as a local pastor we're anticipating even greater things to come by god's grace in john's wider focus and investment in the broader church in desiring god we want to help people everywhere understand and embrace the truth that god is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him that's the message of john's life and that's the message that we're excited to continue proclaiming at desiring god and all the more now in this new season of ministry as john joins the staff full-time and desiring god please pray with us that god would powerfully use this next season in unprecedented ways for the advance of the gospel and for contagious joy in jesus you

Channel: Desiring God

Views: 41,430

Keywords: Desiring God, John Piper, God, Jesus Christ, Christianity, Christian Hedonism

Id: eeoB1OM4jps

Length: 18min 58sec (1138 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 17 2021