Finding Joy in God: The Journey of Christian Hedonism
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I grew up in that home no doubt it had an impact number two my father and my mother constantly cited first Corinthians 10:31 whether you eat or drink or whatever you do do all to the glory of God so I knew I've got happy parents and they're telling me constantly to pursue the glory of God. [00:00:41]
I think God put the desire for happiness in the human soul as a good thing rooted in our very human nature so there it was I couldn't do anything about it and I had in the Bible and in my parents memory God demands that he be glorified and those two things were in constant unresolved tension. [00:01:31]
The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial but not about self-denial as an end in itself we are told to deny ourselves and take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ in nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire. [00:02:51]
If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, now that was me that was me I had this lurking sense that's not a good thing that's why they didn't fit together he says I submit this notion has crept in. [00:03:22]
If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong but too weak I had never heard anybody say that in my life your problem Piper is you don't have strong desires. [00:03:53]
We are half-hearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the holiday by the offer of a holiday at the sea last sentence we are far too easily pleased. [00:04:20]
The most obvious fact about praise whether of God or anything strangely escaped me I thought of it in terms of compliment approval or giving honor I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise unless sometimes even if shyness or the fear of boring others is deliberately brought in to check it. [00:05:12]
I had not noticed how the humblest and at the same time the most balanced and capacious Minds praised most while the Kranks misfits and malcontent praised least I had not noticed either that justice men spontaneously praised what they value so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it isn't she lovely. [00:06:06]
I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment it is its appointed consummation it is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are the delight is incomplete till it is expressed in quote I had never heard that before either. [00:07:08]
Jonathan Edwards to bring me to the even more important realization that we should pursue joy in God because it is the essence and heart of praise in other words not only as praise the consummation of joy the completion of joy joy in his fullness but joy is the essence of praise you're not praising God if you're not enjoying God. [00:08:03]
God glorifies himself toward the creature in two ways from his miscellanies won by appearing to their understanding - by communicating himself to their hearts and in their rejoicing and delighting in and enjoying the manifestations which he makes them himself God is glorified not only by his glory being seen but by its being rejoiced in. [00:08:42]
You can't love other people if you abandon your quest for joy in God you say that again because it sounds really controversial when people hear it if you abandon your quest for joy in God you can't love horizontal you can't love other people why not because love is the overflow of joy in God that meets the needs of others. [00:10:06]
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I think God put the desire for happiness in the human soul as a good thing rooted in our very human nature so there it was I couldn't do anything about it and I had in the Bible and in my parents memory God demands that he be glorified and those two things were in constant unresolved tension. [00:01:31]
The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial but not about self-denial as an end in itself we are told to deny ourselves and take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ in nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire. [00:02:51]
If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, now that was me that was me I had this lurking sense that's not a good thing that's why they didn't fit together he says I submit this notion has crept in. [00:03:22]
If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong but too weak I had never heard anybody say that in my life your problem Piper is you don't have strong desires. [00:03:53]
We are half-hearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the holiday by the offer of a holiday at the sea last sentence we are far too easily pleased. [00:04:20]
The most obvious fact about praise whether of God or anything strangely escaped me I thought of it in terms of compliment approval or giving honor I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise unless sometimes even if shyness or the fear of boring others is deliberately brought in to check it. [00:05:12]
I had not noticed how the humblest and at the same time the most balanced and capacious Minds praised most while the Kranks misfits and malcontent praised least I had not noticed either that justice men spontaneously praised what they value so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it isn't she lovely. [00:06:06]
I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment it is its appointed consummation it is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are the delight is incomplete till it is expressed in quote I had never heard that before either. [00:07:08]
Jonathan Edwards to bring me to the even more important realization that we should pursue joy in God because it is the essence and heart of praise in other words not only as praise the consummation of joy the completion of joy joy in his fullness but joy is the essence of praise you're not praising God if you're not enjoying God. [00:08:03]
God glorifies himself toward the creature in two ways from his miscellanies won by appearing to their understanding - by communicating himself to their hearts and in their rejoicing and delighting in and enjoying the manifestations which he makes them himself God is glorified not only by his glory being seen but by its being rejoiced in. [00:08:42]
You can't love other people if you abandon your quest for joy in God you say that again because it sounds really controversial when people hear it if you abandon your quest for joy in God you can't love horizontal you can't love other people why not because love is the overflow of joy in God that meets the needs of others. [00:10:06]
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