 Life should be devoted to pursuing pleasure in God, to fill us with joy in Him (Psalm 16:11). God wired us to seek joy and increase our pleasure. Unlike the stoics, we should not try to avoid happiness.
We sin because sin is pleasurable. The way to eliminate sin is to replace it with something that gives us more pleasure. If we have more pleasure in God than in sin, we will not sin but rather shine in this world (Philippians 2:15). If we focus on money, fame, sex, or earthly power in pursuing happiness, we are too easily satisfied. Consider the wonderful promises in the Bible. Since Christ offers us infinitely more joy, we should focus on pursuing Him. It is important to glorify God. He created the universe, including us, to display His glory (Psalm 19:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:10). Can we glorify God while pursuing happiness? Daniel Fuller, CS Lewis (“The weight of glory”, “Reflection on the Psalms”), and Jonathan Edwards teach us that we can (1 Corinthians 10:31, Matthew 6:9). God reveals Himself to our minds and our hearts. If we can rejoice in Him, He is glorified. If we prefer Him and want to be with Him over everything on earth, we honor Him. Rejoicing also leads to praise, which expresses what we value. If we don’t enjoy and value the subject we praise, we are hypocrites. But we spontaneously praise what we enjoy. So, if we rejoice in God, we will praise Him. Praising not only expresses but increases and completes our enjoyment. That’s why God commands us, and the psalmists taught us, to praise Him. In other words, our happiness in God glorifies Him. When we are satisfied in God, we praise Him, and He is glorified. It is more blessed and joyful to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). Loving others will draw them to us, and we can draw them to God. This will give them great joy and, in turn, will increase our happiness. Loving others is the natural overflow of our joy in God. Summary of a sermon by John Piper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cRkUt4glaE 上帝如何让我因祂而喜乐 人生应该致力于追求上帝里面的喜乐，使我们被这喜乐充满（诗篇 16:11)。 上帝创造我们成为寻求喜乐，增加喜乐的人，而不是像斯多葛学派一样不追求喜乐。 人犯罪是因为罪令人感到快乐，带来好的感觉。 除去罪恶的方法是用能带来更多快乐的东西代替它。 如果我们以上帝为乐多于以罪为乐，就不会犯罪，而是在这个世界上发光（腓立比书 2:15）。 如果在追求快乐中专注于金钱、 名誉、 性或世俗的权力，人就太容易满足了。 思想圣经中美好的应许。 既然基督带来无限的喜乐，我们就应该专注于追求祂。 荣耀上帝很重要。 祂创造了包括人类在内的宇宙，以彰显祂的荣耀（诗篇 19:1，帖撒罗尼迦后书 1:10）。 人能够在追求快乐的同时荣耀上帝吗？ Daniel Fuller、CS Lewis（“荣耀的重量”、“对诗篇的反思”）和 Jonathan Edwards教导我们是可能的（哥林多前书 10:31，马太福音 6:9）。 上帝在人的头脑和心灵中启示祂自己。如果我们以上帝为乐，祂就得到荣耀。 如果我们选择上帝, 想和祂一起超过世界上的一切万事，我们就荣耀祂。 喜乐也会带来赞美，而赞美表达一个人的价值观。如果不喜欢和不重视赞美的对象，那就是虚伪。 但人们会自然而然地赞美所享受的美好一切。因此，如果一个人以上帝为乐，就会赞美祂。 赞美不仅表达喜乐，更增加喜乐, 使喜乐圆满。 这就是为什么上帝命令我们赞美祂，诗篇作者教导我们赞美祂的原因。 换一种说法, 以神为乐就是荣耀祂。当我们以神为满足时，就赞美神，祂就得着荣耀。 施比受更有福、更使我们喜乐（使徒行传 20:35）。 用爱可以把人吸引到我们身边，而我们可以把他们吸引到上帝面前，带给他们极大的喜乐，转而也增加我们的喜乐。 爱人就是我们在上帝里面喜乐的自然流露。
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |