from Desiring God,

Bad Times Are Good for Missions
October 26, 2008 | By: John Piper
Category: Commentary
I believe the Lord brought this word to mind in one of our prayer meetings on Friday:

The worst of all times is the best of all times for missions.

We were praying over Lamentations 3. Those were the worst of times for Israel. But in that moment they were given the best of promises,

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (3:22-23)

Today marks the close of Missions Focus at Bethlehem. So we were praying for missions. That is when this word came: The worst of all times is the best of all times for missions.

Such words do not have intrinsic authority the way Scripture does. They must be tested. Here is the truth I hear in those words.

During an economic downturn we are more dependent on God. That is the most fertile soil for creating missionaries.
During an economic downturn unreached people around the world do not expect you to come, but to look out for yourself. So they may more likely see your risk as love rather than exploitation.
During an economic downturn those who need Christ around the world may be less secure in earthly things and more ready to hear about eternal life.
During an economic downturn people at home may be wakened to the brevity of life and the fragility of material things, and so may become more generous not less. And when they give under these circumstances, it will make Christ look all the more like the all-satisfying Treasure that he is.
And so it may well prove to be that the worst of all times is the best of all times for missions.

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dontwasteyourlife.com

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From desiringgod, as Piper continues to unpack the wondrous reality of confronting problems with a view to historical precedent. We are not the first to struggle….

“The fact that grace governs life by giving a supreme joy in the supremacy of God explains why the concept of Christian freedom is so radically different in Augustine than in Pelagius. For Augustine, freedom is to be so in love with God and his ways that the very experience of choice is transcended. The ideal of freedom is not the autonomous will poised with sovereign equilibrium between good and evil. The ideal of freedom is to be so spiritually discerning of God’s beauty, and to be so in love with God that one never stands with equilibrium between God and an alternate choice. Rather, one transcends the experience of choice and walks under the continual sway of sovereign joy in God. For Augustine the self-conscious experience of having to contemplate choices was a sign not of the freedom of the will, but of the disintegration of the will. Choice is a necessary evil in this fallen world until the day comes when discernment and delight unite in a perfect apprehension of what is infinitely delightful, namely, God.”

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from desiringgod.org

Light And Heat

An Introduction to Desiring God

Our people don’t so much need to have their heads stored as to have their hearts touched and they stand in the greatest need of that sort of preaching that has the greatest tendency to do this. [1]
Jonathan Edwards

As Jonathan Edwards observed the spiritual condition of many Christians in his day, he saw men and women with full heads and numb hearts. He also saw some with an “intemperate zeal” – deceived people who had “faith without spiritual light.” He poured much of his life into explaining how the head and heart combine to evidence real saving faith. He believed being a Christian meant being passionate about truth. And Edwards understood truth as this: God is supreme in everything.

More than thirty years ago, John Piper was introduced to Jonathan Edwards’ writings and a dear mentorship formed across the centuries. Edwards demonstrated that God does everything – from creation to redemption to consummation – to display his glory. Therefore, redemptive history is the story of his glory. Edwards also showed Pastor John another stunning Biblical truth: in order to receive maximum glory, God designed humans to seek their happiness in Him. The human heart was designed to find God most delightful because nothing demonstrates the worth of God like our supreme delight in him. That’s why God commanded people to delight in him (Psalm 37:4). God’s pursuit of glory and man’s pursuit of deepest joy is the same pursuit!

For more than a quarter century, first as a college professor and then (since 1980) as Pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Pastor John has been unable to stop speaking about what he has seen and heard. His joy in the all-glorious Trinitarian God has overflowed into numerous books and hundreds of sermons and messages.

In 1994, Bethlehem Baptist birthed Desiring God as an effort to use these resources to “spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ.” All the resources we now offer serve this mission. Our goal is to proclaim truth and fan the flame. We want you to be a Christian Hedonist. And since we don’t want money to be a hindrance in your pursuit of joy, we have a “whatever-you-can-afford” payment policy for most resources.

Light and heat. Truth and passion. This is what characterizes a Christian. Your greatest treasure is what produces the most pleasure in your heart. And we want to help you make God your treasure. Because God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in him.

[1] Quoted in John Piper, The Supremacy of God in Preaching, Baker Book House, 1990, p. 84.

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Be free from the American dream…

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I read the first two chapters of this book today. Absolutely essential.

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