No One Will Take Your Joy from You

before I pray just a personal addition of my own welcome to the mothers among us on all the campuses and I want to take special note of the white roses that are on all of our campuses to my right and left and tell you in case you don't know why those are there we do this every Mother's Day weekend in order to acknowledge the sorrows of the day we think of miscarriages we think of still births we think of lost little ones from leukemia we think of lost 60 year old children so those bouquets of white roses are there for you to come and take one when we're done and please don't hesitate to do that and let it be sweet let it be sweet I hope enough time has gone by that perhaps the pain has mellowed into a sweet memory and so mark it it would be good for you probably at least that's our intention so we're glad you're here all of the mothers and I'm thankful for my mother the Jesus and I'm thankful for Noel who's with me and what a gift to have raised five children together Father in Heaven here we are now to meet you in the word and to be helped so speak to us help me to be faithful to the Bible and to be humble before the Bible submitted to the Bible to exult over the truth standing forth from the Bible so honor yourself now in this moment I pray in Jesus name Amen when I returned from the leave of absence a few months ago I Noel and I sat down with the elder care committee who's to watch over our pace of life and they suggested that on the weekends when I do five hours of teaching on Friday and Saturday I preached a classic sermon meaning one that's familiar and already in the 31 year revered repertoire whatever and I thought hmm hmm that's a good idea for two reasons one it does take some of the pressure off so I can just give myself to those five hours and and not think I'll not got to fit a sermon in here as well but the second reason is it enables me to go back and do some foundation building or pillar strengthening of what I would call just foundational seminal truths that we've loved for decades here and newer people may not even realize this because there are a lot of newer people around and so all the series that I've done on this or that way past they don't know that so this is one of those sermons I don't know whether classic is the right word but a pillar strengthening is and the pillar I'm choosing to focus on for the next 40 minutes or so is the pillar of the truth of Christian hedonism which is what I've been talking about all weekend and the reason I said the pillar of the truth of Christian hedonism is because I don't care about the name I care about the truth if you don't like the term Christian hedonism forget it doesn't matter won't offend me I'm just going to tell you what it is show it to in the Bible and give you about nine implications for our life together of what it is to be built on this kind of truth so that's that's where we're going together here's this the single one summary statement of Christian hedonism God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in him that's the one sentence summary of what I mean by Christian hedonism and it has astonishing implications for life and life together when you've been in a place for 31 years and you've been saying these kinds of things and people have been going and coming churches sort of get a mind about things and I feel about things and they're come into being documents that embody things after the Bible the most formative document of this church is the elder affirmation of faith and so what I did was review the elder affirmation of faith which all of your elders sign on to what they believe and what they teach to look for the truth of Christian hedonism so I'm gonna read you now a whole lot of paragraphs no it's just lines to move fast I would you to feel I want you to feel what I feel when I read the elder affirmation of faith so paragraph 2.2 this is online you can get it I do hope you read it it's a worshipful experience to know what your elders believe it's about 12 pages without text and 40 pages with text we believe that God is supremely joyful in the fellowship of the Trinity each person beholding and expressing his eternal unsurpassed delight in the all satisfying perfections of the triune God 3.1 we believe that God from all eternity in order to display the full extent of his glory for the eternal and everlasting enjoyment of all who loved him did by the most wise and holy counsel of his will freely and unchangeably ordain and or know whatever comes to pass for point one we believe that God created the universe and everything in it out of nothing by the word of his power having no deficiency in himself nor moved by any incompleteness in his joyful self-sufficiency God was pleased to create two in creation to display his glory for the everlasting joy of the redeemed from every tribe and tongue and people and nation 4.2 we believe that God directly created Adam and Eve Adam we believe that God directly created Adam from the dust of the ground and E from his side we believe that Adam and Eve are the historical parents of the entire human race that they were created male and female equally in the image of God without sin that they were created to glorify their maker ruler provider friend by trusting his all-sufficient goodness admiring his infinite beauty enjoying his personal fellowship and obeying his all wise counsel 12.1 we believe that the ultimate purpose of the church is to glorify God in the everlasting and ever increasing gladness of worship 13 we believe that the we believe the ultimate aim of world missions is that God would create by his word worshipers who glorify his name through glad-hearted faith and obedience 14.2 we believe in the Blessed hope that at the end of the age Jesus will return to this earth personally visibly physically and suddenly in power and great glory we believe that the righteous will enter into the everlasting joy of their master and those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness will be consigned to everlasting unconscious misery 14.3 we believe that the end of all things in this age will be the beginning of a never ending ever-increasing happiness in the hearts of the redeemed as God displays more and more of his infinite and inexhaustible greatness and glory for the enjoyment of his people and there are others but you get you get to feel joy in God is woven through the doctrinal affirmations of this church we're built on it we believe it that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him and so it's it's fitting from time to time that we rebuild some of the pillars so here's what we're gonna do I'm gonna take you to Philippians 1 and if you wonder why John was read I'm gonna close with it Philippians chapter 1 if you would ask me what one passage of the Bible would you go to for the most for the clearest defense of the sentence God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him where would you go and my answer is philippians 1 22 23 so i'm just gonna walk through that briefly with you and then we're gonna unpack 9 implications of this truth so verse 20 and just a little aside june 13 jul 18 will be method first anniversary here i candidated for this job that I've had in February of 1980 and that sermon is on line every sermon I've ever done is there it's just I'm so I went back and listened to 34 year old me preaching this text I listened about five minutes and I couldn't take any more how you stood I don't listen to me this is weird doesn't even sound like me you know who is that but it should say something to you that the first word I delivered in 1980 is this word okay because this is the most central word about why we're on the planet I know so starting in verse 20 it is my eager expectation and hope and that's what I felt as I came to this church it still is it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not at all be ashamed but that with full courage now as always Christ who is God incarnate Christ will be now some of the translations are honored magnified will be made much of Christ will be honored in my body whether by life or by death okay the pause there what's his goal in life that Christ be magnified in his body when his body talks when his body looks a face it makes a face when his body stretches out its arms and his body walked everything he does in his body I want Jesus to look good that's the point I want Christ to be honored magnified made great in the world that's his goal because that's the goal of the universe I'd take an hour to VIN that statement if if there's a seminar but we just sum it up so here's his goal I want Christ to be magnified now the next sentence begins with four and explains and under pins how can that be how can Christ be magnified when you die and when you live so I'm just gonna take the die piece because it's the one that's clearest okay listen let's see them both though as we read it for to me to live and that corresponds with whether by life is Christ and to die and that corresponds to or by death in verse 20 is gain now ponder with me this is what we do at Bethlehem we we read text then we ponder meditate think my goal is that Christ be magnified so that's the first half of Christian hedonism God or Christ who is God is most magnified in Paul when you know where are you getting Paul is most satisfied in him and I'm getting it from the word gain in death to think with me Paul says I'm going to magnify Christ at any cost in my life and death so I'm gonna magnify him in my death for to me to die he's gain just think it through for a minute how does that work how is Christ made to look magnificent in the death of a human being answer if the human being counts death gain but now we're assuming something we're assuming verse 23 I'm hard pressed between the two that is living and dying my desire is to depart and be with Christ that's what death will mean for Paul okay now we know what gain is gain is Christ gain is more of Jesus now I have his spirit but I live by faith and not by sight I look through a mirror dimly down I want him hold clear and crisp and verbal and tactile I want all of him and I want to be done with sinning so I can see him clearly and Paul says that's what happens when I die and therefore no let me fill it out I lose everything on the planet if he were married like I am he would say I'm gonna lose my wife I'm gonna lose my children I'm gonna lose my grandchildren I'm gonna lose retirement plans whatever that is I'm gonna lose I mean death means it's over it's over everything you've felt everything you touched here is going away there will be a resurrection someday but death you've been stripped of your body this is very painful and he says when I consider all that I'm losing here which was once gained to me and gaining Christ I say such a deal which I just take to mean he's more satisfied in Jesus than he is the world I don't know any other way to make sense out of gain so that's where I get it Christ is more magnified in Paul's death because in death Paul is more satisfied in Christ than anything and that makes Christ look really good that's it I could go to other texts but that's enough that's where I get it Christ is most magnified in me when I am most satisfied in him especially at the moment when I lose everything but him and call it gain implications here we go number one there's nine of them and we'll see how much how much time there is God himself most fully revealed in Jesus is the supreme value in the universe that's why verse 20 reads the way it does it is my eager expectation and hope that now as always Christ might be honored from him through him to him are all things to him be glory forever so foundational in this church know if you're newer here God is the supreme value in this church not me not the building not the program not the music God is the supreme value here and we seek ways to experience that show that number to joyfully treasuring Jesus above all things in life and death splays that value better than anything joyfully treasuring Jesus especially at moments when great losses happened to you in your life valuing Jesus at those moments of loss are the moments when Jesus will look most precious to you from the people around you we believe that Bethlehem that God is glorified in worship when we delight to worship not dutifully worship and our favorite story my favorite story anyway is the rose story so raise your hand if you've ever heard the Rose story not many that's ok good I get to tell my story again I wasn't gonna tell it if everybody raised his hand so here I am we could do it from mother's day let's do it for mother's day I'm making it I'm making this up alright we did it once no Ellen I didn't in fact we put it on video so I show up tomorrow let's say and I have bought oh let's let's say they're yellow daisies Noel for good old times that was the what we did for years is yellow daisies on every occasion so I've got a huge bundle of yellow daisies and I ring the doorbell and Noel comes to the door and she's perplexed why would you live here why are you ringing the doorbell and and I say happy Mother's Day Noel and he goes oh honey they're beautiful why did you and I say it's my duty I've told that story a hundred times and people always laugh you almost didn't laugh people always laugh they laugh at duty duties a beautiful thing a good thing and that people are laughing at it why it's a good thing you left you should laugh because you're laughing at the stupidity of this husband my duty that's why I brought you these flowers that's what husbands do I've read the books what's wrong with that I'll tell you what's wrong with it Noel does not feel honored at that moment there's something about dutifully worshiping it just doesn't honor so let's rerun the tape and do it right all right ding-dong come to the door happy anniversary happy happy Mother's Day Noel and says oh honey they're beautiful why did you and I say I couldn't help myself I love to buy flowers to you in fact I've made arrangements for tabatha we're going out tonight because there's nothing I'd rather do tonight they'll be with you and never in a million years would she say you are so selfish are you everything about what makes you happy now that was a totally a totally my joy statement I just made wasn't it I can't help myself I love buying you flowers I have a plan to do what I really want to do tonight namely spend it with you what I really want to do what why doesn't she get upset at my selfishness because she's a Christian hedonist that's why she knows this awesome truth that wives are more glorified when their husbands are more satisfied in them and now I'm just saying that's an analogy to worship in this room when we're singing if you're here and you're saying to God I'm sure this is what I was supposed to do I read the book Christian's do this we come to church on the weekend and we sing and we pray and sometimes we lift our hands that's what I'm doing I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing God be impressed he's not honored but if you come and you say to him I'm here because I want to be here I love you Denny's honor that's number two joyfully treasuring Jesus above all things in life and death displays his worth number three since God is the most glorious of all beings and since that glory shines most brightly when we are most satisfied in him therefore here's the here's the controversial radical piece of christianism therefore it is our duty to pursue the greatest longest happiness in God every hour of every day forever did i overstate it not at all it is your vocation to pursue your joy in God 24/7 till eternity is over which it never will be that's the implication of this Psalm 16 tells us where the greatest and longest happiness can be found you show me the path of life in your presence is fullness of joy at your right hand are pleasures finish it forevermore if you can offer me pleasures for 800 years 99% proof I'm saying no thank you because I know a place where it's 100 percent proof for ever and I'm taking nothing less if it kills me I'm taking nothing less and it's killed thousands this is not this is not a health wealth safety security prosperity gospel this is helping you get so satisfied in God you really die to get more of God and to help other people get more of God because that helps you get more of God in them some 100 we are commanded to pursue our joy make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth serve the Lord with gladness come into his presence with singing delight yourself in the Lord Psalm 37:4 I was in a seminar one time with a person a leader you'd all know if I if I told you it was I'm not going to tell you because I'm in a critique and this person said to me I don't think you should say pursue your joy I think you should say pursue obedience we were in England doing a seminar together do pursue obedience and I said we think about that that's like saying don't eat apples eat fruit is John Piper saying pursued your joy in God pursue your joy in God here's this person saying no no no no don't do that pursue obedience I'm saying wait a minute what is obedience do what the Bible says what does the Bible say delight yourself in the Lord that's apples of course we should pursue obedience I'm just talking about one of them one of them that people forget all the time one of them that people are afraid to pursue because it feels wrong to pursue it the Bible commands us rejoice in the Lord and again I say rejoice serve the Lord with gladness delight yourself in the Lord it's a command if you pursue obedience you pursue that we're talking about one of those pieces of obedience I don't think it convinced that person to change but it confirmed me number four when we say you should pursue your joy in God all the time no exceptions we do not make a God out of joy we say that you have already already made a God out of what you find most pleasure in we don't worship joy we say joy in God is worship get it we don't worship joy joy not the object of our worship worship is delighting in God treasuring God cherishing God embracing God trusting God these affections that are rising to eat the bread of life and drink the fountain of living water and cleave to the infinite treasure that Christ is these are not our God that's our worship he's our God so if somebody comes along are you Christian hedonist you mix God out of joy I see what you make a God out of everything you take joy in supremely so tell me that tell me what you take joy in supremely and up name your God that's true number five the aim of corporate worship is to awaken and Express awaken stir up and Express together our joyful admiration of all the wonders and works of God I will go to the altar of God to God my exceeding joy and I will praise you with the lyre Oh God my god you have never ever ever in 31 years heard me criticize you for coming to this service to get rather than to give which some pastors do I have heard pastors whip and spank their congregations if you folks would just come in here to give and not to get all the time we'd have some life in this church what God is not served by human hands as though he needed anything but he himself gives to all men life and breath and everything if I were hungry I would not tell you I don't eat the blood of bulls eat the flesh of bulls are drink the blood of goats the world and everything in it is mine call upon me in the day of trouble I will deliver you and you will glorify me I'm the giver in this affair don't come to me and make me a beneficiary of your beneficence on Sunday morning or Saturday night I'm the giver here come hungry come thirsty come bankrupt come foolish come needy come if you come to me to eat you come to me to drink you come to me to get fullness you come to me to get wealth I will be glorified it really does create a certain feel in the worship service if you believe that God is supremely honored when needy broken hungry thirsty people admit they can't find what they need anywhere in the world and they're coming here to find Jesus and they want from me a banquet this is my see this is a separate one and I think this is here yeah my job you don't know what's your job at Bethlehem my job is to take this barn full of glorious food and spread a banquet for you every week where your hungry soul can taste and see that God is good that's my job as a Christian hedonist I'm after 1 main thing the glory of God magnified in your being satisfied in him by his Spirit through his word that's what I'm after it dictates my life how I think about my own prayer life my own quest for joy and my own life what I do with this book as I'm studying at home I am NOT into merely altering your ideas about God the devil has right ideas about God he doesn't love him he doesn't enjoy him he hates him what would that do but if I could give you right ideas and so exalt over those ideas soap pray the Holy Spirit down on you maybe you would start being satisfied in him this is what I'm after number seven the aim of all de cycling all Christian relationships is to help each other maintain increase and maintain our joy in God above all things what's the small group about what's personal disciple about it's all about helping each other increase and maintain joy in God listen to this amazing statement from second Corinthians 124 about Paul's goals for his ministry this is this should be your goal in your small group you know all your friendships and all your relationships this should be your goal not that we lord it over your faith but we work with you for your joy that's the Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit describing what his apostolic ministry is and I think it's every Christians ministry I don't you get in a small group a small group leader shouldn't say I'm not here to lord it over your face I'm here to work with you for your joy that's what he should say when you have a one-on-one discipleship you're trying to help brand new believer grow in grace you should get the other say I'm not here to lord it over your faith that's God's business to create and I'm here to come alongside you and work work with you for your joy that's what we should say transforms everything in the way you think about it that's number seven number eight seeking your greatest and longest joy in God severs the root of sin this is huge so what's what's the view of this church about the best way to help people stop sinning holiness sanctification what's the best way do we believe and it starts like this we don't believe anybody sins out of duty you'll get up in the morning say I don't want to sin but I really should so will nobody sins out of duty why then do you sin answer sin makes promises to you and you believe them it promises you happiness that's a pure and simple why people sin sin lies to you convinces you this pornography might be short-lived but it'll be worth it getting out of this marriage yep but that's the best way to do it that's the best way to get happy take your sin the one you you do why do you do it feels good that's why I may be short but it feels good so how are you gonna fight this fire promises are being made to you by seeing you'd be happy here you'd be stronger you'd be more famous or whatever it's just lying to you like crazy and the answer is you sever the root of that sin by a superior promise namely joy listen to this let's take a concrete example suppose you struggle with the sin of covetousness and greed you want money you want money money you just have to have more money and money makes you feel secure makes you feel peaceful makes you feel powerful and money is your God are you gonna kill that are you gonna sever that route listen this is Hebrews 13 5 and 6 keep your life free from the love of money how be content with what you have how for he has said I will never leave you or forsake you so we can confidently say the Lord is my helper I will not fear what can man do to me so how do you fight covetousness then you pursue contentment how do you pursue contentment with what you have by reminding yourself of the promise and believing it it is more valuable to hear Almighty God who owns the universe say to you I will never leave you then it is to have all the money in the world that's how you kill covetousness you sever the root with the power of a superior promise to hear God Almighty say I will never forsake you therefore we can confidently say what can man do to me that's number eight finally number nine the pursuit of joy in God is essential in other words we're saying here now that feelings of joy in God contentment in God resting in God delighting in God pleasure in God satisfaction in God pick your favorite word is not icing on the cake of commitment it's part of the cake of Christianity it's right at the core of what it means to be saved start over the pursuit of joy in God is essential not only because God is glorified by it but people are loved by it pursuing your joy in God is essential to loving other people I close with this one because it seems the most unlikely a life devoted to your happiness sounds to some people like you're just selfish that's what you are you're not a loving person you're just all concerned by yourself and you don't give a rip about other people and if that's the fruit of Christian hedonism then it's wicked because the bible says the end of our charge is love the goal of our charge is love from a pure heart sincere faith faith and faith unfeigned why do I think that here's a story from 2nd Corinthians 8 of Paul motivating the church in Corinth with the amazing love and generosity of the church in Macedonia so I'm going to read a 3 verse description of Paul's description of a church that he is in awe of because of their love and I want you to ask as I read it to you what is love what is love 3 verses not defining love just describing it in action here goes we want you Corinthians to know about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia to grace is coming down powerful grace transforming grace saving grace coming down for in a severe test of affliction oh dear the people that got saved or are coming into affliction in a severe test of affliction their abundance of joy which obviously isn't based on circumstance because affliction just increased and their extreme poverty so the grace that saved them didn't take away their poverty this abundance of joy has overflowed in a wealth of generosity that's just wild wow that's so what's your definition of love now on the basis of that story I'll say to you grace came down in Macedonia affliction increased around the people who are are being saved affliction their poverty which is extreme didn't go away and that joy that they had in the affliction in the poverty overflowed in what liberality generosity for the poor Saints in Jerusalem I call that love so did Paul in verse eight here's my definition of love then love is the overflow I'd get that word right out of verse two is the overflow of joy in God's grace which meets the needs of others that's my definition of love love is the overflow of joy in God's grace that meets the needs of others if you look up this grace inside of you and it doesn't produce any outward impulse to draw others into it you don't have it because there is something about joy in grace joy in a crucified Savior joy in a loving God there is something on that kind of joy that just pushes it it pushes out it wants to expand itself into the lives of other people I'll put another way love is the grace enabled impulse to increase itself by including others in it the grace enabled impulse love is the grace enabled joyful impulse to include others in it and you are any veteran Christian in this room knows that when God uses you by a word or your hands to bring some of his joy in you into others yours doesn't get smaller and gets bigger you know that you put your head on the pillow at night and you sleep better for having been a giver it is more blessed to give than to receive acts 20:35 so I'm gonna argue you better not be indifferent to whether you're joyful in God for the sake of love that's what love is love is joy in the grace of God extending itself into the laws of other people two illustrations of this leaders and husbands I'm a leader at Bethlehem by definition that's what elders are and here's a text addressed to you and me as to how my joy relates to your benefit this is really important I'll read one verse Hebrews 13:17 obey your leaders and submit to them that's what you should be enthusiastically supportive as long as your leaders aren't sinning or taking you into some wicked plan enthusiastically supportive of their dreams for the church obey your leaders and submit to them for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give an account and here comes the key sentence let them do this let the pastor's the elders do this with joy not with groaning for that would be of no advantage to you now think this through there's no these these think things okay if he says pastors should do their work joyfully not groaning because if they do it with groaning it will be of no advantage to the people and I want you to get an advantage from ministry so I must pursue my joy in my ministry for you if I say it's just a matter whether I'm happy here what medicine without do my duty preach is it evangelize counsel administer I get it done I don't like it this would become a sick Church it would become a sicker Church we're all sick it would become a sick Church happy pastors make healthy people because the Bible says so read the sentence again let them do this with joy not groaning for that would be of no advantage to you now husband's husbands the point here is you can't love your wives if you don't pursue your joy in God in them and I'll read it to you from Ephesians 5 husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church gave himself up for her so that he might present the church to himself in splendor you start to get the feel like oh Jesus really died for us so that he have a pretty bride he likes having a pretty bride verse 28 in the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies he who loves his wife loves himself for no one ever hated his own flesh but nourishes and cherishes it you don't intentionally stick your thumb under the hammer and if you hit it you don't say get out away stupid you cradle your thumb that's a little picture of no one ever hated his own flesh but nourishes and cherishes it just as Christ does the church because we are members of his body that whole argument is love your wife because you're your wife find her happiness because it's yours seek her happiness it's yours if you then say oh I don't buy that I'm not gonna seek my joy and loving my wife now we're back at the door ding-dong I'm here because it's my duty no way this is a miracle guys we are called to find our God centered joy in the god centered joy of our wives and therefore you should study them like it says in 1st Peter 3:7 live together her according to knowledge as a fellow heir of the grace of life she's a queen you're a king you're heading for glory together find your joy in her joy don't be indifferent to your happiness just seek it in the right place and in the right way okay closing the implications could go on and on and on God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in him that's Christian hedonism that's one of the pillars of our our church and you've heard 9 of its of its practical implications therefore you should be relentless and unwavering in your fight for joy it should be your vocation that's why you read your Bible that's why you do everything you do to crucify all the temptations to be more happy and other things and to seek to find your fullest satisfaction in God and now I close by pointing to the text that was read and this is a great note to end on in the Gospel of John chapter 16 verse 22 Jesus says to the disciples who are about to be sad because he would die but they would be glad because he came back to life he said this so also you have sorrow now but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice and no one will take your joy from you that is an amazing statement the sovereign Christ of the universe says nobody will take your joy from you I won't let them ever so the joy you may have in Jesus Christ in knowing and trusting Jesus is a joy that is full and solid and eternal and invincible nobody can take nobody let's pray it's a father the reason for this sermon is to help us pursue and fight for fullest joy not in our circumstances and not in the people around us mainly but in you supremely so that the axe is laid to the root of all our sinning and the power to love people pours through us so we ask that in Jesus you

Channel: Desiring God

Views: 12,488

Rating: 4.9307957 out of 5

Keywords: Desiring God, John Piper, God, Jesus Christ, Christianity, Christian Hedonism, Joy, Happiness, Sin, Love, Pleasure, Delight, Sermon, Faith, Hope, Santification, Salvation, Church, Saints, Promise, Gladness

Id: x4jLHTveK_o

Length: 50min 0sec (3000 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 04 2018