2015 NYC - Only One Mission by John Piper

1. God’s pursuit of his glory and my joy are not two pursuits, but one
  - John 12:27, 1 Peter 3:18, Psalm 16:11

• God sent Jesus to glorify the father because we trample on it every day 
• He died so that we might have everlasting joy in His presence

2. I must not minimize or diminish my joy in God, but pursue it with all of my heart

• I conquer sin by a superior superior satisfaction in Jesus- we sin because it feels good
• We can’t be christians by ‘should nots’ but by the biggest ‘want to’ of pursuing joy true joy in Jesus

ONE MISSION: Joyfully and sacrificially declare and demonstrate that the glory of christ is more precious than life. And help all people discover that their only hope is in Christ’s death and resurrection for everlasting happiness. 

• Our mission is not living, or staying alive

Breaking down our life mission statement:

1. Declare

• 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 
• With our words 
• Sometimes by giving up our lives 

2. He is better than life 

• Luke 21:12-18 “12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. 13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness. 14 Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. 16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers[a] and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17 You will be hated by all for my name's sake. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish.”
• If  we ever get arrested for being a christian, we are on assignment 

3. Demonstrate 

• 2 Corinthians 8:1-2 “1We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.”
• The glory of Christ has made me more happy than the removal of affliction or poverty 
• 1 Peter 2:12 “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”
•  We hope people will see our lives and see Jesus 

4. To all people 

• Revelation 5: 9-10 “9 And they sang a new song, saying, Worthy are you to take the scroll   and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,  and they shall reign on the earth.”

2015 NYC - Gender Roles & Identity by John Piper

God purposefully creates man and woman. 

• Genesis 1:27 - "Male and female he created them"

Three main qualities of manhood:

1. Initiation
2. Provision
3. Protection

• These are primarily man's responsibility, but not solely; women help in this 

Piper's fictional story that paints a picture of complementarianism: a man initiates a date with a woman, has a plan for the date and pays for her, and then walks her home. They are confronted by two men who want to take the woman. She is a black belt, and her date knows this, but he still puts himself between her and the bad men in order to protect her at risk to himself. He gets beaten up, and when he regains consciousness, he realizes she has beaten up the two bad men using her skills as a black belt. 

    - This story is to demonstrate that it's not about who is more competent; the woman was clearly more competent to fight the men, but the man risked himself for her sake, anyway. 

Ephesians 5:2-33

1) Marriage is a dramatization of Christ and the Church (verse 32)

2) In the drama, husbands take their cues from Christ and women take their cues from what God wills for the Church.

3) The primary responsibility for initiative, leadership, provision, and protection fall on the man. 

          - the man should always be looking for ways to help bring out the woman's gifts and talents 

2015 NYC - Only One Passion by John Piper

2 Corinthians 6: 4-10

“4 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5 in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6 in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7 in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; 8 through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9 known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10 sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.”

1. What does it mean as christians to be ‘sorrowful, yet always rejoicing’? Which part, sorrowful or rejoicing, has the emphasis?

- We learn from this passage that the first part of the phrase creates the background for the second part of the phrase.

1. Genuine, yet regarded as imposters

2. Known by God, yet unknown to the world

3. Dying, yet we live on for eternity

4. Beaten, yet not killed

5. Sorrowful because of the pain in the world, yet always rejoicing in the hope of the Gospel

6. Poor materially, yet making many rich for eternity

7. Having nothing, yet possessing everything
    

2. The gospel brings us to life to see more and feel more for the people all around us. We see the pain of the world and feel is deeply. So, what can our joy be rooted in that makes the sorrow ok to feel?

• Sorrow is feeding off the gloom of the world

• Rejoicing is feeding off the glory of God

3. Passion

•  Sometimes people think of passion as a feeling
•  Here it is the object of our feelings, our passion is Jesus Christ and His glory

Peter 1:3-8 “3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice,though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials...8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” I Peter 1:3-8

4. What does it mean to call have glorious Joy?

• The literal Greek meaning is Glorified joy
• When you are thrilled by something, it shapes the person that you are.
•  If we are thrilled by sin, it shapes us into people who love darkness and evil
• If we are taken up by something beautiful or something we delight in, it shapes our joy.

1 Peter 4:12- 14
“12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”

• What makes joy durable in the midst of trials is Jesus’ glory.
• There is glory to come, but we have a glory here and now on this earth. “you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you”

Implications

1. God’s aim to be glorified and his aim to give us joy are the same thing - God is shown to be great when we are happy in him.

2. Since God is shown to be great by us being happy in Him, we should fight to always be happy in Him.

2015 NYC - Only One Gospel by John Piper

Will the gospel that you know be good enough? Will the familiar, smooth gospel that you slip in your back pocket be strong enough for the rough, unfamiliar times we live in today?

1 Corinthians 15:1-4

“ 1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,”
How do we respond to this gospel when we hear it?

• We receive it

• We remember and savor it

• We believe it, steak our life in it, and it saves us

• Is it just my insurance or is it my whole life?

Revelation 13:1-8

“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

Verse 7- Christians are being conquered(killed) by the beast, 
Verse 8- 8 Observations

1. Lamb. Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world

2. Slain. In Greek this means horrible slaughter against the lamb

3. Life. When the lamb is slain and life was taken from him, life is given to us if we receive Him.

4. Book. Names that are written in the book of life live. 
   - Why do they live?

5. Being in the book of life keeps them from worshiping the beast. 
   - God keeps us because our names have been written in the book of life. Not the other way around. God does not write our names in the book of life because we have not ‘worshiped the beast’.

6. Why- The lamb dies to purchase my life and protection from worshiping the beast. The reason they don’t worship is because they are written in the book by the blood.

7. When was our name written in the book?
   - God views Jesus slain before the creation of the world
   - Our names are written in the book of life before the creation of the world

8. Why is this important?

• God intends to give me the deepest security and the deepest confidence in my salvation imaginable.

Close: 
Revelation 22:17
“ ...And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”

• God says COME to the fountain you who are thirsty

• You may drink and it is FREE, a free gift. 

You can’t know if your name is written in the book of life by peeking, you can know by how you respond to the lamb who was slain.