Delighting in God: The Essence of Our Faith

"Why do we read love the Lord your God with all your heart oh you Saints why do we read let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him some one some thirty three why do we read let all the earth exalts on sixty four delight yourself in the Lord Psalm 37 rejoice in the Lord Psalm 97 be glad in the Lord Psalm 32 hope in God Psalm 40 to give thanks to the Lord Psalm 33 love standing all exalt delight rejoice be glad hope give thanks those are commands they're not testimonies they're not promises and they're not prayers." [00:51:55]

"God commands us over and over again to delight in him above all things be glad in him be satisfied in him rejoice in him exalt in him more than anything else in the universe now that just pushes the question back one step right to say why is the song book of the Bible punctuated with so many commands to rejoice address to our emotions which so many people think you can't command my emotions God can and he does it just pushes the question back okay if I perish because my heart finds more pleasure and other things than in God why what I mean that big why why would God threaten such things though the question just moves up a notch." [00:49:21]

"God is supremely valuable because God is supremely precious because God is supremely desirable God is supremely satisfying - like his word he is Mort is more to be desired than gold even much fine gold sweeter also than honey and drippings from the honeycomb he is that whether anybody on the planet feels that or not that God be true though every man a liar he is infinitely precious that's the first part of the answer for why we would perish if we do not experience him that way." [00:09:42]

"When we actually taste God as precious, supremely valuable, beautiful, satisfying, his intrinsic value preciousness becomes an experienced value becomes an experienced preciousness and the reason God created the universe and the reason he said his son into the universe to redeem a people for himself in worship forever was to take his intrinsic worth his intrinsic value his intrinsic preciousness his intrinsic infinitely satisfying nature and go public with it echoing his Excellency's in the experience of his people as they delight in him that's why he made the world this is the core of everything he made the world took a public with his value his beauty his glory and it finds an echo in the experience of delighting in him more than everything." [00:10:55]

"Not to delight in God is to dishonor him and people who live lives of dishonouring God perish when the psalmist a CF cries out in Psalm 73 whom have I in heaven but you and on earth there is nothing I desire beside you my flesh and my heart may sail you are the strength of my heart and my portion forever there are no words that glorify God more than that I wonder if you believe experiencing God as your desired portion so highly intensely deeply thoroughly that all the other goods of the world are as nothing glorifies God more than any other emotion or state of your heart." [00:13:05]

"Jesus told a parable a one verse parable goes like this the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field the kingdom of God is like a experiencing King Jesus is like having a treasure the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field which a man found and covered up and in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field now notice it does not say in kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field which a man sells everything he has to buy that field it's way more radical than that people sell things people do all kinds of sacrificial things in life for all kinds of ulterior motives with no delight in the treasure no sense of satisfaction in Jesus Jesus slams the door of that in his joy he sells everything yes." [00:14:55]

"The early Christians magnified God by delighting in God and more than everything listen to Hebrews 10 34 make sure yourself in this situation now the your comrades are in prison and and you know that if you go public and visit them and take them the food they need they might identify you with them and you get in trouble as well you had compassion on those in prison and you joyfully Oh God make us like this you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one that's Jesus forever in eternal happiness the fellowship you had an eternal possession so when you headed for the prison you look over your shoulder and they're trashing your house they're burning down your house it says they rejoiced come on where is Christianity today complain complain complain what do you think they say what did they sing as they looked over their shoulder they're on their way to love their brothers and sisters in prison their houses are being cashton burn go home Christian get out of here we hate Christians what did they sing well if they had lived in the 16th century we just sang it that Goods and kindred go this mortal life also the body they made kill God's truth about is still his kingdom is forever I'm going to the prison but they didn't live in the 16th century so what did they sing but I don't know but here's what here's what here's what I'll bet they saying whom have I in heaven but you and on earth there's nothing I desire besides you my flesh my heart my my house my books my computer may fail but you are the strength of my heart and my portion forever I'm going to the prison see that's crazy oh that we would be Christians know that our churches would be Christians what is at stake in human emotion is the glory of God if you don't delight in God you dishonor God and the more you're satisfied in him the more he's glorified in you it is no more optional for us to pursue gladness in God than it is for God pursue glory in us they are both absolutely essential and in the redeemed they happen together God pursues the magnifying of his beauty in the satisfying of your soul in that beauty that's why he made the world it's got to happen or you perish you must be born again no person can do this no human being can do this." [00:17:29]

"The Psalms clarify for us how essential the spiritual emotions are for authentic god-glorifying worship and living our emotions are not optional I hate the talk that's icing on the cake or caboose at the end of the train or somehow marginal when it's central you die without them you must experience a miracle now right here I'm looking for my clock that's going down that's good we're in good shape I'm gonna rush now right at this point the songs do something else for us and it is utterly crucial what they do it's not in the middle of the Bible by accident oh what a precious precious book can you live without it can you live without the song can you survive without the song can you fight have no idea how anybody survives without this help that God put in the middle of our Bible we they do something else for us they keep us from being naive having a naive optimism about the emotional possibilities of fallen people and they help us navigate the Seas of embattled emotions when we're born again the Spirit of God opens the eyes of our hearts to see God to see Christ to see his beauty is glory in the cross in the gospel as more valuable more precious more satisfying than anything that's how you become a Christian you see him that way however it would be the Psalms MacLean naive and unbiblical to think that our gaze on the glory of Christ remains so clear to the end of our days and that the responsiveness of our heart to that site of glory remains so intense to the end of our days that the Christian life is one of unclouded vision of God and unhindered joy of God that happens for nobody except one person and he is in heaven the Psalms more than any other book in the Bible illustrate that sobering fact the psalmist vision of God is often obscured the psalmist joy in God is often conflicted and embattled for example I am ready to fall and my pain is ever before me Psalm 38 I am lonely and afflicted the troubles of my heart are enlarged so I'm 25 there is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation there is no health in my bones because of my sin my iniquities gone over my head they are like a heavy burden too heavy for me some 38 why are you cast down O my soul why are you in turmoil within me some 42 you have rejected us oh God you have disgraced us and have not gone out with our armies you have made us turn back from the foe and those who hate us have gotten spoiled you have made us like sheep for the slaughter and have scattered us love the nation's all they love my disgrace is before me and shame has covered my face Psalm 44 quoted in Romans I am weary with my moaning every night I flood my bed with tears I drenched my couch with weeping my eyes waste away because of grief Psalm 6 this is why we cleave to the Psalms they are us pain loneliness affliction trouble guilt burdens no health cast down turmoil shame moaning weeping nights flooded with tears are you in the world that's us unless we're uh turley hypocritical now if some soft prosperity preacher responds and said whoa that's pre-crushed it's pre Pentecost we live on the other side of Christ the other side of the fullness of the Holy Spirit we don't walk in that kind of defeated misery I say then why did Paul say I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart unceasing anguish in the heart of the man who said rejoice how often always go figure me this is the miracle of the Christian life unceasing anguish my kinsmen are perishing what do you say buddy feel rejoice always can you do that yes you can if you are in doubt by the Holy Spirit not easy it's a miracle if you can there's no way to survive without them why did he write we are treated as imposters and yet true has unknown yet well known as dying and behold we live as punished and yet not killed as sorrowful he had always rejoicing my favorite phrase Oh God thank you that that's in the bud sorrowful he had always rejoicing that's the goal of my life I got so many sad things in my life I could only stand it some days then I'm told to rejoice always not only always in everything this is these things sorrowful yet always rejoicing making many rich yet poor having nothing but possessing everything why did he write for all of us that was bust aaalac testimony here's for all of us this is Romans 8:23 not only the creation groans but we ourselves I'm looking at you spirit-filled people not only the creation but we ourselves all these worship leaders John MacArthur included all creation even though he hardly admits it because we sat one time on a platform and you couldn't get this at all John you just you live it a level so far above me I just think but I'm saying even MacArthur back to the Bible not not only the creation but we ourselves who have the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit groan inwardly waiting for the adoption of our bodies waiting for our adoption the redemption of our bodies or this all outer self is wasting away tell me about it 72 year-old Piper what are these and if you talk to me I'm gonna say what would you mind saying that again and that's nothing right is nothing compared to what people died with hood up golden Christians golden how many have I buried way better than me who suffered so much more than now tell me about this prosperity expletive." [00:21:00]

"The emotional realism of the Psalms is not owing to their being pre-christian before and after Christ, joy is embattled we will fight for joy till the day we die we will sail through the waves of every imaginable discouragement and they don't get easier folks sorry you thought teenagers were problem but make no mistake we fight for joy that's what we have to have in him and our lives hang on it life is a battle against delighting in anything more than we delight in God that's the battle and the Psalms show us over and over again that life is not smooth sailing but rather they show us how they navigated what did they do what did they do they show us how they looked to the Lord Psalm 34 how they remembered his wondrous work someone who fought how they meditated on the watches in the watches of the night Psalm 63 how they confess their sins and receive forgiveness some 130 and how they gathered in worship with the great congregation some 42 how they cried to the Lord in every form of Prayer Psalm 51 and how they waited the Lord and hoped in him Psalm 130 and 39 to be bought by the blood of Jesus and to be borne by the Spirit of God means that you have beheld and embraced Jesus as your all satisfying treasure that's what it means to be saved you have seen him as supremely precious and you have embraced him as your supreme all satisfying treasure and the rest of life is war against everything from the television everything from the movies everything from advertising everything at your job everything in the family that wants to kill it and make other things seem more desirable more precious more valuable than he is we fight until we can say and then we fight until we can say it again whom have I in heaven but you and on earth there is nothing that I desire besides you my flesh and my heart may fail but you are the strength of my heart in my portion forever and if it is slow in coming we do not turn to broken cisterns or empty wells we wait we wait and we trust it's gonna come let's pray to your Lord I lift up my soul oh my god in your trust let me not be put to shame heed none of those who wait for you should be put to shame they should be ashamed who are wanting ly treacherous I look away from my weak worldly embattled soul to Christ and wait I will wait for you I will wait for you on your word I will rely I will wait for you surely wait for you until my soul is satisfied." [00:31:51]