The One In Which John Piper Prayed Over Me

In case you missed the big news, this weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Dr. John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who is in town for the 2013 Advance the Church Conference.  Dr. Piper preached at the Summit Church this weekend, and it was a joy to meet such a great man of God and have him pray over my life and upcoming decisions... yes, for those of you who know... he prayed over that upcoming decision.  Wow!  What a special moment! 

I’m so thankful for Dr. Piper's faithfulness to the calling God has placed on his life as he continually spurs me on “to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ” (Dr. Piper’s life mission statement).  The most important thing that I have learned from Dr. Piper is that “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”  Truth! 

This morning, I re-visited Dr. Piper’s Passion 2013 sermon, which walks through the book of Hebrews and is titled “Embrace Suffering.”  The video recording is almost as good as seeing it live… almost (yes, another reason you should be a Door Holder at Passion 2014!).  In this terrific sermon, Dr. Piper outlines the foundation for enduring and embracing the suffering that will come as we follow Jesus in the path of love as our hearts joyfully treasure the promised reward:  

1)      A pervasive, deep, soul-satisfaction in a future, glorious, Christ-filled hope;

2)      That soul-satisfaction in a Christ-saturated future frees you from self-protecting fear;

3)      And that freedom from self-enhancing, self-enhancing, self-gratifying fear releases you to embrace suffering in the cause of love no matter the cost.

In his sermon, Dr. Piper noted that according to Hebrews 10, our foundation should be “laid [on the truth that we have] a reward that is better, infinitely better.  ‘In your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forever more’ (Psalm 16:11).  Nothing the world can offer – or take – can compare with that; and therefore, [we] are free from our self-protecting fear… and [we] will love out of this hope!”

Therefore, we "embrace suffering for the sake of love because of the indestructible hope which is God’s relation to us in Jesus!"

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?  As it is written, ‘For your sake are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39