Time for a Great Quote: J.I. Packer on Willing God Out of Existence!

 

Some of My Favorite Quotes: J.I. Packer on the Worship of God!

“If it is right for man to have the glory of God as his goal, can it be wrong for God to aim at the same goal? If man can have no higher end and motive than God’s glory, how can God? And if it is wrong for man to seek a lesser end than this, then it would be wrong for God too. The reason why it cannot be right for man to live for himself, as if he were God, is simply the fact that he is not God; and the reason why it cannot be wrong for God to seek His own glory is simply the fact that He is God. Those who would not have God seek His glory in all things are really asking that He should cease to be God. And there is no greater blasphemy than to will God out of existence.” (J.I. Packer in The Plan of God found at http://www.the-highway.com/plan_Packer.html)

 

Friends Don’t Let Friends . . . Die! (A Study of John 11) Part 2

The Lord Jesus came to heal the sick! Part of His mission was to “heal every disease and sickness among the people” (Mt. 4:23). He said that His ministry was not to the healthy, but to the sick (Mt. 8:12). He commanded His own disciples to go and “heal the sick, raise the dead” (Mt. 10:8)!

But when He hears that His friend Lazarus is sick, what does Jesus do? Let’s look at our portion of John 11 again ….

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ² (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) ³ So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

⁴ When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” ⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, ⁷ and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

⁸ “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”

⁹ Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. ¹⁰ It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”

If someone sent word to you that “the one you love is sick,” what would you do? You’d drop everything, take a personal day off of work, and immediately go to that person you love. Right?

When Jesus is informed that the one He loves is sick, what does He do? He makes an astounding prediction and an amazing declaration. He says, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” (v. 4).  The astounding prediction is that “this sickness will not end in death.”  Only GOD can make that kind of statement!  The amazing declaration is that “it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”  There is a purpose in Lazarus’ sickness; his illness is not meaningless.

But here we have Someone who has the power over life and death and who can guarantee that His beloved friend will not die!  So what does Jesus do?  We read, “He stayed where he was two more days.” (v. 6).  Why would He do such a thing?  (to be continued)

 

Psalms of My Life (Psalm 75)

Psalm 75

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of Asaph. A song.

¹ We praise you, God,
    we praise you, for your Name is near;
    people tell of your wonderful deeds.

² You say, “I choose the appointed time;
    it is I who judge with equity.
³ When the earth and all its people quake,
    it is I who hold its pillars firm.^[b]
4 To the arrogant I say, ‘Boast no more,’
    and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns.^[c]
5 Do not lift your horns against heaven;
    do not speak so defiantly.’”

⁶ No one from the east or the west
    or from the desert can exalt themselves.
⁷ It is God who judges:
    He brings one down, he exalts another.
⁸ In the hand of the Lord is a cup
    full of foaming wine mixed with spices;
he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth
    drink it down to its very dregs.

⁹ As for me, I will declare this forever;
    I will sing praise to the God of Jacob,
¹⁰ who says, “I will cut off the horns of all the wicked,
    but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”

 

Time for a Great Quote! (John Piper on a thirst and hunger for God)

“If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God,it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great.”
― John Piper, A Hunger For God

 

Time for a Great Quote (J.I. Packer on God’s glory)

“If it is right for man to have the glory of God as his goal, can it be wrong for God to aim at the same goal? If man can have no higher end and motive than God’s glory, how can God? And if it is wrong for man to seek a lesser end than this, then it would be wrong for God too. The reason why it cannot be right for man to live for himself, as if he were God, is simply the fact that he is not God; and the reason why it cannot be wrong for God to seek His own glory is simply the fact that He is God. Those who would not have God seek His glory in all things are really asking that He should cease to be God. And there is no greater blasphemy than to will God out of existence.” (J.I. Packer in The Plan of God found at http://www.the-highway.com/plan_Packer.html)

 

Time for a Great Quote! (John Piper on the purpose of Jesus’ death)

“The purpose of Jesus’ death was to glorify the Father. To be willing as the Son of God to suffer the loss of so much glory Himself in order to repair the injury done to God’s glory by our sin showed how infinitely valuable the glory of God is. To be sure, the death of Christ also shows God’s love for us. But we are not at the center.”

 

Time for a Great Quote! (the essence of evil)

“What is the essence of evil? It is forsaking a living fountain for broken cisterns. God gets derision and we get death. They are one: choosing sugarcoated misery we mock the lifegiving God. It was meant to be another way: God’s glory exalted in our everlasting joy.”
― John Piper

 

God’s Highest Goal Is His Own Glory! (time for a great quote)

Friends:

I just watched a message by Andy Stanley in his series entitled “Canvas.” It was so good I immediately ordered the dvd when I got home from church.  You can order the dvd here, if you are interested.

I think Stanley did a terrific job of challenging our tendency to make ourselves the center of our universe.  It sounds egocentric to say that God’s highest goal is to glorify Himself.   Stanley used the following quote by J.I. Packer to defend that biblical truth:

“If it is right for man to have the glory of God as his goal, can it be wrong for God to aim at the same goal? If man can have no higher end and motive than God’s glory, how can God? And if it is wrong for man to seek a lesser end than this, then it would be wrong for God too. The reason why it cannot be right for man to live for himself, as if he were God, is simply the fact that he is not God; and the reason why it cannot be wrong for God to seek His own glory is simply the fact that He is God. Those who would not have God seek His glory in all things are really asking that He should cease to be God. And there is no greater blasphemy than to will God out of existence.” (J.I. Packer in The Plan of God found at http://www.the-highway.com/plan_Packer.html)