John Piper

SCRIPTURE

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INFLUENCE OF SCRIPTURE

“Our convictions and values will come from society around us (the world), or they will come as our minds are renewed by the Word of God.  There is no third option” Jerry Bridges (ref#192, p167-168).

FATHER, like no other book Your words change my very nature.  Externally I conclude, by the actions of the HOLY SPIRIT, that the Bible is unique in that every book in it agrees with every other book in it.  I also grasp the internal evidence.  I feel in my reading that it is Your Word explicitly.  The HOLY SPIRIT too, brings this to me. (ref#189, Dec 14th)

“The human task of thinking about God on the basis of his Word is the place where God ‘grants understanding.’  It is a gift….(Prov 2:2-6)” John Piper (ref#220, p285).

“…the word of God…performs its work in you who believe” (1 Thes 2:13 NASB).

“Many can bring the Scriptures to the mind, but the Lord alone can prepare the mind to receive the Scriptures” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, Jan 19th PM).  “…the Holy Scriptures cannot be penetrated by study and talent is most certain.  Therefore our first duty is to begin to pray, and to pray to this effect that if it please God to accomplish something for His glory—not for yours or any other person’s—He very graciously grant you a true understanding of His words….You must, therefore, completely despair of your own…ability and rely solely on the inspiration of the Spirit” John Piper (ref#220, p291).

“The Word of God…is the weapon that God designs to use in penetrating the kingdom of darkness and gathering the children of light…His whole redemptive plan for the universe hangs on the success of his word…” John Piper (ref#220, p222).  “The great design…is to reveal the love of God to His people, and thereby recover their love to God, that they may love Him again who first loved them” A.W. Pink (ref#269, p128).

SCRIPTURE

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THE POWER OF SCRIPTURE

“…’the Book’…is a fountain for spiritual thirst, food for the soul, a revelation of God, a living power and a two-edged sword” John Piper (ref#220, p292).

FATHER, the more familiar I become with Your Bible the more I approach it with respect and fear.  One read through cements the fact that it is indeed a supernatural book.  Ordinary books inform or entertain; the Bible changes my very nature.  UTMOST LORD, I thank You for providing the SPIRIT who guides me as I read.

I can easily fall back into reading with the mind of my flesh, using my natural “sense and reason without the Holy Spirit…” (Rom 8:6 AMP).  But by reading this way I’m only looking for information to help me.  Without the SPIRIT to help, Your Word is external.  It does not change me inside.  It only gives me advice to act independently of You.

“…the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:12 ESV).

“…the ‘word’ is pictured as God’s personal utterance, living, active, sharp, piercing, and discerning…with eyesthat expose….The Word of God then acts as God himself, so that one’s innermost thoughts and intentions are exposed.  This happens constantly in Christians’ lives” ESV Study Bible (ref#125, p2367, [Heb 4:12-13]).

If the ESV translation is hard to understand, try the Message: “God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what” (Heb 4:12-13 MSG).

I praise You, LORD, that Your Word “is a sifter…of the reflections and conceptions of the heart” Kenneth S. Wuest (ref#37, p519, [Heb 4:12]).  Its energy seeks to get into and stay with me. It has the ability to stir me and work in me to a degree that I can’t get away from it. Dietrich Bonhoeffer (ref#28, p83)

“We are being drawn more and more under the transforming influence of Scripture, or we are being progressively drawn into the web of an ungodly society around us” Jerry Bridges (ref#192, p171).

HOLY SPIRIT

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THE SPIRIT AS A GUARANTEE

“In him you…were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it…” (Eph 1:13-14 ESV).

“…in this word ‘sealed,’…is a message of safety and security in God’s love and power.  God sends the Holy Spirit as a preserving seal to lock in our faith, as an authenticating seal to validate our sonship, and as a protecting seal to keep out destructive forces. The point is that God wants us to feel secure and safe in his love and power” (ref: John Piper, Sealed by the Spirit to the Day of Redemption, https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/sealed-by-the-spirit-to-the-day-of-redemption).

“…By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete”(2 Cor 1:20-22 MSG).

“…in most cases, the sealing of the Spirit is a…gradualwork.  It is a work of time.  The soul is placed in the school of deep experience and is led step by step, stage by stage.

The knowledge of self and of Christ increases,

deeper views of indwelling sin are discovered,

the heart’s treachery is more acutely felt,

the devices of Satan are better known,

the mystery of God’s gracious and providential dealings with His children are more clearly unfolded and better understood—

and all this may be arrived at through a process of deep and painful, yet sanctified, discipline…” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, April 14th).

FATHER, how precious it is to possess the SPIRIT.  For I know I need Him every minute of my unstable, always-changing life.  Move me to realize each trial You craft for me is so I might grasp the SPIRIT and find security only in You.

“How independent of outward circumstances the Holy Spirit can make the Christian” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, April 8th, PM)!

 

 

 

JESUS

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REASONS FOR THE APPEARING OF JESUS

Did JESUS come to appease an angry GOD?  From a human viewpoint that makes sense because I know I am a sinner and certainly GOD is not pleased with me.  But, no, “He has come to lift the veil and reveal the heart of a gracious, sin-pardoning God.  He declaring that the ‘Father Himself loves us,’ and that ‘he that hath seen me,’ so full of grace, ‘hath seen the Father’ (John 14:9); in other words, He affirms that He is a copy, or a representation, of the Father.  The love, grace, truth, holiness, power, compassion, and tenderness exhibited in such fullness of supply by Jesus, and distributed by Him so profusely, had their origin and their counterpart in God” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, April 24th).

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature…”(Heb 1:3 ESV).

“Why did God bruise his Son and bring him to grief?  He did it to resolve the dissonance between his love for his glory and his love for sinners….God-dishonoring sin could not be ignored….Because God loves the honor of his name….his Son…will demonstrate to all the world the infinite worth of the Father’s glory” John Piper (ref#220, p161).

“Righteousness and the glory of God are his passion….He came from heaven primarily to vindicate God’s glory and God’s honour, and not just to save us….the great motive was the glory of God, which had been violated by the Devil and by sin….His anger is roused against the enemies of his holy and righteous Father” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#265, p271).

“Jesus wants us to see that his willingness to lose his life is because of his love for the glory of the Father” John Piper (ref#220, p165).  “In that very moment when the Son was taking upon himself everything that God hates in us, and God was forsaking him to death, even then the Father knew that the measure of his Son’s suffering was the depth of his Son’s love for the Father’s glory” John Piper (ref#220, p176).

So, FATHER, to give You the deepest pleasure I need to give my life for Your glory—as one willing to show how much I love You.  Make me make it so.

CREATION

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MANHOOD AND WOMANHOOD

“The fact that God first created Adam, then after a period of time created Eve (Gen 2:7, 18-23), suggests that God saw Adam as having a leadership role in his family.  No such two-stage procedure is mentioned for any of the animals God made, but here it seems to have a special purpose” Wayne Grudem (ref#63, p461).

“…the curse brought a distortionof Adam’s humble, considerate leadership and Eve’s intelligent, willing submission to that leadership which existed before the fall” Wayne Grudem (ref#63, p464).  “Differentiated roles were corrupted, not created, by the fall. They were created by God” John Piper, Wayne Grudem (ref#274, p35).

“God made Eve for Adam…I will make him a helper fit for him” (Gen 2:18)” Wayne Grudem (ref#63, p461). Before the Fall, Eve’s role was to assist Adam in his endeavors.  But after the Fall GOD informed Eve of her now deprived nature:

“…Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you” (Gen 3:16 ESV).

“These words from the Lord indicate that there will be an ongoing struggle between the woman and the man for leadership in the marriage relationship…” ESV Study Bible (ref#125, p56, [Gen 3:16]). “Eve will have the sinful ‘desire’ to oppose Adam and to assert leadership over him, reversing God’s plan for Adam’s leadership in marriage. But…Adam will also abandon his God-given, pre-fall role of leading, guarding, and caring for his wife, replacing this with his own sinful, distorted desire to ‘rule’ over Eve” ESV Study Bible (ref#125, p56, [Gen 3:16]).  “…the word…has nuances of dictatorial or absolute, uncaring use of authority, rather than considerate, thoughtful rule” Wayne Grudem (ref#63, p464).

“This is the way God meant it to be before there was any sin in the world: sinless man, full of love, in his tender, strong leadership in relation to woman; and sinless woman, full of love, in her joyful, responsive support for man’s leadership.  No belittling from the man, no groveling from the woman.  Two intelligent, humble, God-entranced beings living out, in beautiful harmony, their unique and different responsibilities…” John Piper, Wayne Grudem (ref#274, p52).

 “We are not sinless any more.  But we believe that recovery of mature manhood and womanhood is possible by the power of God’s Spirit through faith in his promises and in obedience to his Word” John Piper, Wayne Grudem (ref#274, p52).

The discerning HOLY SPIRIT within us proves the authenticity of His Word.  To discover the Truth we must ask ourselves: Is our viewpoint a rebellion against GOD or is our stance affirming Him?

ADORATION

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TRIBULATION TO PRAISE

“All of life is meant to reflect the infinite value of Christ” John Piper (ref#124, p115).

FATHER, if I bring glory to CHRIST in every circumstance then my attitude should be the same in both easy and hard circumstances. I pray to choose to not let this difficult circumstance affect my countenance negatively at all.

If I am entirely void of self-love, I can be plunged into an abyss full of tribulation without exciting any emotion in myself (ref#128, p459). FATHER, give me enough confidence in You that my natural frightened, angry emotion will evaporate.

Stay my mind on You (Isa 26:3). The bride in the Song of Solomon delights in attempting to describe her divine Bridegroom (Song 5:10-16); make this my work.

Empower me to rehearse the qualities of the heavenly Bridegroom. Make it sensible to me that joy can come when I recount His excellencies which are the most important to me (ref#128, p463).   And, with the praise welling up because of such activity, push me ahead that I may exclaim, “He is superior to all attributes and qualities” Madame Guyon (ref#128, p463).

FATHER, give me a revelation of CHRIST so shocking that I focus on CHRIST and forgets my tribulation. Cause worldly thought to be silenced with the captivating love of CHIRST (ref#128, p463). May my words to CHRIST simply be, “You are altogether lovely” (Song 5:16). May I be so humbled with my relationship with CHRIST that I be unmoved in any situation.

CONFESSION

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WORKING OUT MY OWN SALVATION

…FATHER, I don’t want to go to hell. I want to be forgiven and avoid Your wrath and to go to heaven. Reconciliation with You—everybody wants that (if they’re honest with themselves) (ref#93, p28-29).

But, the important question is, “Do I want these things for my own security?” or “Do I want them because they bring me to the enjoyment of You” John Piper (ref#93, p29)?

FATHER, only You can change my nature so I’m able to concentrate on You and reject my attention to preserving myself. When You provide a new nature it sets me on the path of working out my own salvation—working out selfishness and working in ever-increasing happiness in You.

“as ‘a nail is driven out by another nail, habit is overcome by habit’” Erasmus (ref#130 p49).

“…become shares (partakers) of the divine nature….adding your diligence [to the divine promises], employ every effort in exercising your faith to develop virtue…knowledge…self-control… steadfastness…godliness…brotherly affection…Christian love” (2 Pet 1:4-7 AMP).

“Wherefore, brethren, exert yourselves the more, and bend every effort to make for yourselves your divine call [into salvation] and your divine selection [for salvation] things that have been confirmed” Arthur S. Way (ref#37, p559, [2 Peter 1:10]).

SUPPLICATION

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NON CHRISTIAN, Resisters

[We all have friends and family that do not want anything to do with Christianity so it is up to us to pray for their salvation. Here’s an opportunity to pray for them. Fill their name in the blanks.]

FELIX-LIKE

screen-shot-2017-02-20-at-4-01-20-pm“As Paul continued to insist on right relations with God and his people, about a life of moral discipline and the coming Judgment, Felix felt things getting a little too close for comfort and dismissed him….” (Acts 24:25 MSG).

FATHER, I watch ____ divert (his/her) attention from You whenever Your names comes up in conversation. I have to say affliction and prosperity have alike failed to turn ____ toward CHRIST. Tears and prayers and sermons have, so far, been wasted on (his/her) barren heart (ref#34, Dec 31st AM).

There must be something of You that ____ disapproves of otherwise (he/she) would not be hindered from acknowledging Your authority (Matt 13:57). (He/She) goes on hardening (his/her) heart when (he/she) puts CHRIST to the test for the purpose of approving Him (Heb 3:7-9). CHRIST does not meet (his/her) specifications as Messiah (Luke 9:22) because (he/she) does not yet have an experiential knowledge of Him (Heb 3:10).

Pride makes ____ critical of Your activities, FATHER. I hear (him/her) criticizing, disagreeing and correcting things of You (ref#124, p118).

Thus, I long to see (him/her) approach You with teachable humility (ref#124, p119). I long to see ____ great in Your kingdom.

“Unless you reverse your present trend of thought and become as the little children, in no case shall you enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, he who is of such a nature as to humble himself like this little child, esteeming himself small inasmuch as he is so, thus thinking truly, and because truly, therefore humbly of himself, this person is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven”  Kenneth S. Wuest (ref#37, p45-46, [Matt 18:3-4]).

SABBATH

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CONCLUSIONS

“Man imitates the pattern of God’s work and rest in the sabbath cycle of days (Ex. 20:8-11) and years (Leviticus 25). The sabbath points forward to the rest that Christ achieved with his resurrection and ascension (Heb. 10:12-13), and which will be fully manifested in the consummation (Rev. 22:4-5)” ESV Study Bible (ref#125, p2635, “History of Salvation in the Old Testament: Preparing the Way for Christ” [Gen. 2:3]).

“So instead of wasting time on that endless quest for life, you have been invited to enter God’s rest for the rest of your life. Rest in your identity as his child. Rest in his eternal love. Rest in his powerful grace. Rest in his constant presence and faithful provision. Rest in his patience and forgiveness. Rest” Paul David Tripp (ref#190, Dec. 8th).

“…the Sabbath is a way of remembering and expressing the truth that God is our creator and deliverer and sanctifier….our work neither creates, nor saves, nor sanctifies….All things are from him and through him and to him. Lest we ever forget this and begin to take our strength and thought and work too seriously, we should keep one day in seven to cease from our labors and focus on God as the source of all blessing” John Piper (ref#169).

“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land…” (Isa 58:13-14 NIV).

“Is it going too far to say, that if our nation repented of its sin in this matter and returned to the old path of Sabbath observance, we would again become the leading nation of the world? In the light of this promise of Isaiah, I believe that great blessing would follow, blessing far beyond our expectations. But though the nation does not return, let us as individuals, and as a church, put this promise to the test and we shall find the Lord faithful” C.E. Hunter (ref#171).

ADORATION

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CHRIST MY MEDIATOR

screen-shot-2016-10-21-at-8-55-36-am…FATHER, I am a member of the fallen and rebellious human race and, by nature, hostile to You (Rom 8:7). But, CHRIST is the mediator between You and me (1 Tim 2:5). He quenched Your wrath (Rom 3:25) and changed my human heart (2 Cor 5:17).

“Christ achieved reconciliation for His people through penal substitution…. He…carried our identity …bore the curse due to us (Gal 3:13), and by His sacrificial shedding of blood made peace for us (Eph 2:16-18; Col 1:20)” The Reformation Study Bible (ref#56, p1753, “Christ the Mediator”).

 “…Jesus Christ, does not just cancel the wrath; he absorbs it and diverts it from us to himself. God’s wrath is just, and it was spent, not withdrawn John Piper (ref#93, p13-14).

I imagine JESUS as my boss taking the punishment from His boss for all my mistakes. CHRIST’s position now is a perpetual High Priest (Heb 7:24). It creates a picture in my mind of CHRIST constantly vouching for me before His FATHER—always making intercession for me (Heb 7:25). How much does He love me to do that! These thoughts give me more understanding of Scriptures describing the joy JESUS has in His work of mediating for me my entire life:

“Now to Him Who is able to keep you without stumbling or slipping or falling, and to present [you] unblemished (blameless and faultless) before the presence of His glory in triumphant joy and exultation [with unspeakable, ecstatic delight] —“ (Jude 24 AMP).

What a word picture that verse creates: at my death I’m standing beside JESUS who says to the FATHER, “Here is ____ one out of the world I have joyfully kept to be now forever with Us.”