Lesson 109 – Indestructible Joy (from John Piper)
God is the source of all joy. He takes joy in his Son and Jesus takes joy in Him. We are invited to share in that joy by means of the Holy Spirit He has given us and through His word.
God’s glory is the most important thing to Him and should be for each of us. He doesn’t need anything from anyone. Out of the wellspring of His grace and for the sake of His glory, come an outpouring of blessings to us, including our salvation and a joy that is independent of our circumstances.
Jesus desires nothing more than that we should spend eternity with Him, and He sought each of us who are believers, first. And so, we should love and desire Him more than anything. There is no better person to spend eternity with than Jesus, the only perfect being and with God, the source of all true joy. This can happen now and come to full fruition when we die.
Jesus is the word of God incarnate. He lived out all that prophets had predicted about Him. We can trust fully in the truth and faithfulness of the promises of God given in his word. Jesus expects His followers to serve each other and non-believers, regardless of the suffering it will cost. This calling is also so that we can learn how to be served by Him.
God doesn’t need our service nor is He glorified by it. He is so self-sufficient in power and life and joy that He glorifies Himself by serving us. Every time He commands us to do something, it’s His way of telling us how He wants to serve us. The path of obedience is where Christ meets us as our servant to carry our burdens and give us His power. Jesus does not need our help; He commands our obedience and offers His help.
Only God can forgive sins against God. That is why God sent Jesus into the world because He is God. Only those who receive Jesus as their Savior can experience the peace He brings. If we want peace to rule in our lives, God and Christ must rule in our lives.
We have peace with God when we believe in Jesus as the Savior, Lord and treasure in our lives; we are justified by this faith. By having peace with God we can also have peace with ourselves. But guilt, worry, uncertainty, anxiety, threaten our peace. God wants to guard our hearts and mind with His peace. He does this when we carry them to God in prayer and trust that He will carry them for us. When we do this, this peace comes to us, steadies us so that we can go on. We can have peace with others in so far as it depends on us, by forgiving others, remembering how much God forgave us. Keep trusting God and keep His glory primary and not our success in our relationships, or our effectiveness in peace making. Jesus is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.