Pat's Ponderings

"Holy Ambition: To Preach Where Christ Has Not Been Named" - I stumbled across this excellent sermon by John Piper about missions to the unreached. He makes some excellent points on what our ambitions should look like and how they should be defined. Piper also clarifies and casts a vision for the relationship of the church regarding evangelism and missions. Again, just an overall good word from Bethlehem Baptist.

This post categorized under Linkin' Logs, Sermon Commentary, and Missions.

I just got back from an intensely edifying, challenging, and mind-twistingly awe-inspiring discussion with a few good brothers concerning the idea of Christian Hedonism - a doctrine espoused by John Piper but tracing through the ancient catechism and back, necessarily, to Jesus Himself. The catechism states, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." Piper says it like this, "God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him." Christian Hedonism explains how these two ends - glorifying God and enjoying Him - are in no way contradictory but rather integrally connected and mutually producing the same end. The same thought concludes that, "The chief end of God is to glorify and enjoy Himself forever." This flies in the face of what most of us seem to have been raised to believe. The objections are numerous - How can God act with such selfish motives? What about Luke 9:23, where Jesus calls us to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily in order to follow Him? The answer is that He alone is God! I can by no means claim to fully wrap my finite intellect around this doctrine in its entirety but take great joy and peace in the Lord's response to Job in Chapters 38 - 42. The Lord's passionate response is well summarized by Paul in Romans 9:20-24:

But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory-- even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

Wow!! He is God; who are we to question Him? But praise be to Him for it!!

There are so many other aspects to these thoughts that I'd love to expound upon, but time is short. It all comes full circle with the fact that "God would be unrighteousness if He valued anything more than what is supremely valuable." It would be idolatry for God to not desire His own glory above all else. But, His glory and our good are in no way separable. It is our ultimate pleasure to know and glorify God. If the best pleasure for God comes from glorifying His Name, how awesome is it that He grants us also to partake in that same ultimate joy! His love toward us, His children, is absolutely glorious.

Let us truly find our deepest and most enduring happiness as we glorify God and enjoy Him forever!!!

This post categorized under Personal Thoughts.

The Journeymen have been pumping out the good stuff recently. Check them out:

• Where Faith Must Be...: A passionate exhortation to place our faith in Jesus Christ alone
• A Cleaner Way to Hell: A passage from Thomas Brooks, one of the old-school men of faith, lit on fire in a convicting charge against man-based self-righteousness
• Self-help, Self-serve, Self-less?? Less Self & What About Me?: EP and Hank both chime in with lengthy thoughts on the state of selfishness in our society and in our own lives

This post categorized under Linkin' Logs.

I was reading in Acts this morning and came across the story about Simon the magician. Simon's audacious request first seemed obnoxious and barely applicable. The second time, however, it got me thinking. Check it out again:

Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, "Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity." And Simon answered, "Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me."

-Acts 8:18-24 (ESV)

How often do we approach the Lord offering up our money (or time, abilities, passions, etc.) hoping to receive His blessings and gifts in return? The problem with Simon was not his desire for the gift but his "heart [was] not right before God." His motivation was blatantly impure. He wanted the gift for his own benefit: fame, popularity, and personal glory. This brought me to examine my own motivation and desires and recognize the tendency to desire blessing either for the enjoyment of the blessing itself or for my own personal advancement. Rather, knowing Jesus more and magnifying His Name more should be the central motivation.

Let us view the Lord's blessings properly, using them for His purposes and the glory of His Name!

Jesus, rectify the selfish desires of my heart! Cut off that in me which desires to exalt myself.

This post categorized under Personal Thoughts.