How God Made Me Happy in Him
A John Piper Sermon Summary
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
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