God is the Gospel, Session 1
Praise God for this conference. I have to confess before I start some sin that God immediately and graciously revealed to me as John Piper began the first session of the conference. I have read God is the Gospel almost three times and could parrot back to you the thesis of the book: That God Himself, and not the secondary benefits of God's grace, is the greatest and ultimate gift of the gospel, that the good realities of the gospel-justification, propitiation, sanctification, glorification-all serve the greater goal of getting us to God. I love that truth. I have now taught that truth. My life has been affected and my love for God has been refined because of that truth. But I went into this conference excited primarily that now the many others in my life who I invited would be similarly affected by this truth. In hindsight, I was looking forward to what God would do in others and not even conscious that he would have much to do in me at this conference. The first desire is not a bad one, it is a good one and an evidence of God's grace present in my life. But the lack of desire to have this message shepherd my heart to God is a bad thing, it is pride and arrogance. God graciously revealed that to me very early in the session and I must confess my own sin and praise Him for His graciousness to me despite that sin. He has used this first session to whet my appetite for today's sessions because I long for God so much more than the gifts of knowledge that He gives as He draws me to Him.
We opened the session in worship of God through singing a few God-centered songs and then immediately launched right into the first session. The first session was very conversational in nature, where Pastor John wanted to explain how God led him to write the book God Is the Gospel, how God led him to ask the crucial question, Would I be satisfied if I went to heaven and there was no pain, no suffering, no sickness, no death, no war, just love, and all my family and friends were there and we could live together forever, if that was heaven and God wasn't there would I be satisfied? There is nothing supernatural in that kind of desire. All people would desire that heaven, but only a born-again person could desire God.
Before the conference he sat down and jotted out 30 bullet points summarizing the most important events in his life that God used to teach him this truth and make him see this bright and glorious reality throughout all of scripture and all of life. He said he would bring 12 to us, and he only got through 10. I am not going to regurgitate every one for you. I encourage you to go to desiringgod.org in the days to come and download the message.
He told of his grand-daughter, Millie, on the eve of the death of her grandma when she was encouraged that the sunset was like heaven where grandma is. She said, "But Jesus isn't there in the sunset." He told his early days at Bethlehem Baptist figuring out ministry and relying on God, hoping in God, like he had never been forced to before. He told of his wrestling with key verses throughout Scripture where God was the end and the goal of all that he was doing. He dealt with many ways in which God had graciously revealed to him that so much of Christendom falls prey to desiring the gifts that come with God's grace and are content to have those gifts without the giver of the gifts. I was struck how obvious it was in hindsight that God was orchestrating these events. And as I heard each one I was so thankful that God did what He did in the life of John Piper because he did each of those things in order to draw me to Him. In each of those things that John Piper shared about his life, I could give God praise because it was His sovereign and powerful hand working so that this conference could take place and the thousands there and the many more who will later hear the messages or read the books can be struck with the same glorious truth: God is the Gospel.
He ended on bullet point 11 and left it with us to consider for tomorrow, in the second session. He shared how he hit upon his famous thesis statement for DesiringGod: God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. It does not say, God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in what He graciously works for us. No God is most glorified when we are satisfied in Him.
I pray that the effect of today's sessions is that I would be satisfied and desire about all things God. So that I can say and mean it:
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
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