Session 6: Duty or delight? (Part2)

More biblical descriptors of love:
2 Cor.9:7-8 - Giving is loving if you are a cheerful giver.

John Piper insisted that if you're giving or making an offering without having the joy or cheer in your heart on what you are doing, then it is not acceptable to God. You should really be glad when you give something. It's like giving to other people is what makes you happy. The desire of your heart, the motive, the one that you really wanted to do that makes your heart joyful is to give.

• The battle is not first at the level of behavior.

• The battleground is what makes you glad.

1 Peter 5:1-2 - Love loving the sheep.

Heb. 13:17 - If I don't serve you with joy, you don't get any advantage from me.

• Love is the overflow of joy in God that meets the need of other people.

Acts 20:35- The most controversial word in this verse is "Remember".

• It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Luke 14:12-14 - Be motivated by the exposition of your joy as you draw other people into it.

Closing exhortations

• Get outside your comfort zone.

You can't say that you love God without being obedient to share the gospel.
You can't say you love God and just sitting pretty at your home.

• For love's sake say no to pornography.

You can't just continue to live your eyes watching dirty things and say you love God.. thats totally foolish! You're fooling yourself, not God.

• Do something radical for the poor.
  

Have compassion for them. You indeed are so lucky to born with advantages in life. Learn to share them to the poor. It's not insane to give money to the poor, cause you know that it will benefit them. It's much insane if you're spending your money to things that may result in vanity.

Session 5: True Love: Duty or Delight? (Part 1)

If you pursue your joy in God you will be a loving person.
You cannot be a loving person unless you pursue your joy in God.
2 Corinthians 8:1-4,8 - Illustration of biblical love.

It originates in the grace of God - Grace has come down from God in power.

• Poverty has not gone away.

• Affliction has increased.

• Abundance of joy is maintained.

• The joy have overflowed in a wealth of generosity.

• Joy arise from the grace of knowing Jesus.

Biblical reference: Hebrews 10:34; 2 Corinthians 6:10

John Piper's definition of biblical love:

• Love is grace-enabled, grace-enabled impulse to expand your joy in God by extending it to others.

• Love is the overflow of abundant joy in God that meets the needs of others. It should be love that overflowed from having the joy in God or else, our loving works are but filthy rags. If you do it with duty, it's not love.
  

I Corinthians 13:3 - What kind of motive we have defines our love.
Even if you sacrifice without the right motive it is hypocrisy and not love.

The Bible commands emotions.
Love involves more than sheer willpower!
God commands our emotions:

1. Gratitude is an emotion. Psalm 100:4
2. Hope is an emotion. Philippians 3:12-14
3. Joy/Rejoice is an emotion. Philippians 4:4
4. Sorrow/Weep is an emotion.
5. Compassion is an emotion.
6. Contentment is an emotion. Hebrews 13:5
   

Lesson:

1. God's glory and man's gladness can be one.
2. God is most glorified in you when you are satisfied in Him. You get satisfaction and God gets the glory.
3. You can't be a loving person to other people when you don't pursue your joy in God.

Session4

Eight Biblical Arguments for Christian Hedonism:

1. God commands us to be happy and to pursue our joy.
* Joy is not optional, it is a commandment. In the Bible, God commands us to be happy in Him. (Psalm 100:2) Pursuing joy is a commandment from God.
* The bible says we must be glad in the Lord. If you don’t obey, you sinned.
* One must serve God with gladness. It is a sin to serve Him without gladness.
* Delight yourself in the Lord.
* Biblical reference: Psalm 37:4, Psalm 32:11

2. God threatens terrible things if we will not be satisfied.
* Biblical reference: Deut. 28:47-48
* If you are not serving God with joy, you are serving the enemy.

3. The nature of faith teaches the pursuit of satisfaction in God.
* Reference: Hebrews 11:6, Philippians 4:19
* You can’t please Him if you didn’t come to Him to get joy. Faith is coming to God to have all your needs met and trust Him to meet all your needs.
* The way to come to God is NOT to meet His needs but asking Him to supply your needs while He (the Giver) gets the glory.

4. The nature of evil teaches the pursuit of satisfaction in God.
* Many times, we tend to depend on ourselves instead on God. At the end, we find frustration.
* Evil is turning away from joy and embracing frustration by pursuing money, power, position, and fame.
* Biblical reference: Jeremiah 2:12-13

5. The nature of conversion teaches the pursuit of satisfaction in God.
* Accepting, believing, embracing Jesus as your Lord, Savior and Treasure in your life.
* Lord of your life – we have to follow Him
* Savior of your life – acknowledge that Jesus redeemed you from the punishment of sin.
* Treasure of your life – putting Jesus above all things.

Session 3 Pursue Your Joy: Isn't That Hedonism?

Hedonism means: Seeking own joy.

We've been trying to answer the question:"Do God's pursuit of his glory and my pursuit of happiness have to be at odds?

We have started in the hardest place:God's passion for his glory.

Why?

Because until we understand this, we will distort everything into a man's centered falsehood.

You were made for Jesus and the satisfaction of your soul will be found in him.

Our passion for God
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians1:20-21

How can I die so that the way I die makes Jesus look really good?
Pursuing God's Glory is pursuing our goal.
By counting death as gain because we will be with Jesus.

Christ is more satisfied on your dying when you are more satisfying on Him when you're dying.

Define Christian Hedonism:
A life devoted to pleasure BUT not in stuff or things of this world but pleasure in GOD.

Session 2 The blazing Center: "Is God Vain?"

1. The end of history: The Second Coming

Jesus is coming to be glorified and to be marveled at.


2. How can it be loving for God to be so self-exalting?

a.) What is the solution to this problem and the main point of these messages?

Ans.: “God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in him.”

b.) What is the difference between microscope and telescope magnification?

b.1) Microscope – shows us what is really small and magnify as big.

b.2) Telescope – shows us what is really big in a distance, where we spot and see a part of it.

Which one should we do?

Of course we Christians should see Christ in a Telescopic way.


3. Explanation of Love

Read the Bible John 11 “about the death of Lazarus”
*Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus; therefore he stayed two more days and let Lazarus die.

* “Jesus regarded it as more loving to show Lazarus and Mary and Martha the glory of God, than to keep Lazarus alive.”

What will satisfy our soul most deeply?
* Of course “Jesus” to whom not only our “Lord and Savior” and also our “Treasure”


4. Explanation of Self-exaltation is love

“If God doesn’t give you this he does not love you.”

a.) In John 17 – Jesus’ prayer for us

Jesus prays, “Glorify me, give them eternal life which is all about knowing me, and make sure I get glorified.”

b.) Where is the answer found for how this is a prayer for us?

So that we may see Jesus’ glory (v. 24)

The biblical understanding of love
1.Being freed up and enabled to admire God’s glory. We have said, “Make much of me and I will feel loved.”

2. Moments of admiration and self-forgetfulness are the most joyous.

3. Seeing God’s glory brings infinite joy.


Love is not making much of someone; love is doing whatever you have to do in order to enthrall someone with what will make them happy forever.

We were not made for mirrors – we were made for standing in front of what is infinitely beautiful.