Taking Our Delight in God Seriously Taking Our Delight in God Seriously Exceeding Joy in God Series [2] Selected Scriptures May 12, 2013 Pastor Paul K. Kim

RECAP: FOUR KEY REASONS TO PURSUE EXCEEDING JOY IN GOD Reason #1: God’s God-centeredness is the true source of the most-satisfying, lasting joy in life.  Problem: self-exaltation of God? Reason #2: It is God’s command for us to seek joy and happiness in the LORD.  Problem: duty or delight? Reason #3: Joy in God has a sustaining power against all harsh realities of life.  Problem: secret of power? Reason #4: Glorifying God and enjoying God are actually one chief end of life.  Problem: seeking pleasure and satisfaction?

FOUR CRITICAL QUESTIONS IN TAKING OUR DELIGHT IN GOD SERIOUSLY 1.Why is God’s “God-centeredness” the key to our fullest, lasting joy? 2.If joy is a feeling, can joy in God be commanded? Why? 3.What must be our aim for joy in God in all circumstances? 4.If God’s glory and our joy are to be really one in our pursuit, what must be our most important passion in everyday life?

FOUR CRITICAL QUESTIONS IN TAKING OUR DELIGHT IN GOD SERIOUSLY 1) Why is God’s “God-centeredness” key to our fullest lasting joy? The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

FOUR CRITICAL QUESTIONS IN TAKING OUR DELIGHT IN GOD SERIOUSLY 1) Why is God’s “God-centeredness” key to our fullest lasting joy? The chief end of God is to glorify God and enjoy Himself forever. Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. Psalm 115:3 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. John 17:4-5  The best gift of God for our fullest happiness is GOD HIMSELF.  For this reason, God’s way to love me is NOT to make much of me but to make much of HIMSELF in my self-forgetfulness.  Therefore, we ought to pursue God-centeredness in all things.

Why God Exalts Himself God is the one being for whom self-exaltation is the most loving act, because he is exalting for us what alone can satisfy us fully and forever. If we exalt ourselves, we are not loving, because we distract people from the one Person who can make them happy forever, God. But if God exalts himself, he draws attention to the one Person who can make us happy forever, himself. He is not an egomaniac. He is an infinitely glorious, all-satisfying God, offering us everlasting and supreme joy in himself... God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in him. God’s design to pursue his own glory turns out to be love. And our duty to pursue God’s glory turns out to be a quest for joy. That's the solution to the problem of God's self-exaltation. - John Piper

FOUR CRITICAL QUESTIONS IN TAKING OUR DELIGHT IN GOD SERIOUSLY 2) If joy is a feeling, can “joy in God” be commanded? Why? 2 Serve the Lord with gladness Come into his presence with singing! 3 Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Psalm 100: Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you... Deuteronomy 28:47-48a  Scripture is filled with commands to rejoice and be glad. Why?  It is because (1) God is worthy for our joy; (2) Our wicked heart is in the way when we don’t see this worth/joy in God.  Therefore, we ought to pursue God-centeredness in all things.

FOUR CRITICAL QUESTIONS IN TAKING OUR DELIGHT IN GOD SERIOUSLY 3) What must be our aim for joy in God in all circumstances? The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might. Ephesians 1:16-19

FOUR CRITICAL QUESTIONS IN TAKING OUR DELIGHT IN GOD SERIOUSLY 3) What must be our aim for joy in God in all circumstances? The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Psalm 34:8  The secret to lasting joy amidst all circumstances is in seeing and tasting God’s glory that surpasses all threats and sorrows—this hope in God gives us joy.  The Evil One’s relentless tactic is to blind the unbelievers and distract the believers from “seeing” GOD for who he is.  Therefore, our aim in all circumstances must be to see God for who he is and in this, we are to fight for joy in God.

Seeing and Tasting the Delight in the LORD There is a difference between having a rational judgment that honey is sweet, and having a sense of its sweetness... So there is a difference between believing that a person is beautiful, and having a sense of his beauty. The former may be obtained by hearsay, but the latter only by seeing the countenance... When the heart is sensible of the beauty and amiableness of a thing, it necessarily feels pleasure in the apprehension. It is implied in a person’s being heartily sensible of the loveliness of a thing, that the idea of it is sweet and pleasant to this soul. - Jonathan Edwards

FOUR CRITICAL QUESTIONS IN TAKING OUR DELIGHT IN GOD SERIOUSLY 4) If God’s glory and our joy are to be really one in our pursuit, what must be our most important passion in everyday life? Then I will go to... God my exceeding joy. Psalm 43:4 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you... Psalm 63:3 in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11 You must arrange your life so that you are experiencing deep contentment, joy and confidence in your own everyday life with God. Dallas Willard

FOUR CRITICAL QUESTIONS IN TAKING OUR DELIGHT IN GOD SERIOUSLY 4) If God’s glory and our joy are to be really one in our pursuit, what must be our most important passion in everyday life? Then I will go to... God my exceeding joy. Psalm 43:4 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you... Psalm 63:3 in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11  If God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him, then we are to pursue joy, pleasures, satisfaction in God.  This pursuit of happiness in God must be our daily passion!!!  Therefore, this pursuit of joy in God must be our daily passion!

THREE PRACTICAL QUESTIONS FOR OUR EVERYDAY LIFE 1.In what ways am I convinced to make God-centeredness and God’s glory my passion in life? 2.How should I respond to God’s call to see and savor the glory of God in all circumstances? 3.In what ways can I take my delight in God more seriously in my everyday life? What is my first step?