1 00:00:00,290 --> 00:00:03,050 The following message is by Pastor John Piper. 2 00:00:03,570 --> 00:00:06,670 More information from Desiring God Ministries is available 3 00:00:06,670 --> 00:00:11,150 at www.desiringgod.org. 4 00:00:11,910 --> 00:00:14,070 Please turn with me to the book of 5 00:00:14,070 --> 00:00:19,670 Isaiah, chapter 43, verses 8 through 13. 6 00:00:21,470 --> 00:00:24,430 Bring out the people who are blind, even 7 00:00:24,430 --> 00:00:27,570 though they have eyes, and the deaf, even 8 00:00:27,570 --> 00:00:28,630 though they have ears. 9 00:00:29,930 --> 00:00:32,750 All the nations have gathered together in order 10 00:00:32,750 --> 00:00:34,470 that the peoples may be assembled. 11 00:00:35,870 --> 00:00:38,710 Who among them can declare this and proclaim 12 00:00:38,710 --> 00:00:40,450 to us the former things? 13 00:00:41,730 --> 00:00:44,590 Let them present their witnesses that they may 14 00:00:44,590 --> 00:00:47,550 be justified, or let them hear and say 15 00:00:47,550 --> 00:00:48,430 it is true. 16 00:00:49,270 --> 00:00:53,570 You are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and 17 00:00:53,570 --> 00:00:55,970 my servant whom I have chosen in order 18 00:00:55,970 --> 00:00:59,530 that you may know and believe me and 19 00:00:59,530 --> 00:01:02,250 understand that I am he. 20 00:01:03,830 --> 00:01:07,210 Before me there was no God formed, and 21 00:01:07,210 --> 00:01:09,410 there will be none after me. 22 00:01:10,930 --> 00:01:13,570 I, even I, am the Lord, and there 23 00:01:13,570 --> 00:01:15,530 is no Savior besides me. 24 00:01:16,310 --> 00:01:19,410 It is I who have declared and saved 25 00:01:19,410 --> 00:01:23,110 and proclaimed, and there was no strange God 26 00:01:23,110 --> 00:01:23,770 among you. 27 00:01:24,770 --> 00:01:28,130 So you are my witnesses, declares the Lord, 28 00:01:28,350 --> 00:01:30,410 and I am God. 29 00:01:31,310 --> 00:01:35,390 Even from eternity I am he, and there 30 00:01:35,390 --> 00:01:38,010 is none who can deliver out of my 31 00:01:38,010 --> 00:01:38,470 hand. 32 00:01:39,130 --> 00:01:42,090 I act, and who can reverse it? 33 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:53,620 Lord, when we are swept up into your 34 00:01:53,620 --> 00:01:58,400 worshipful presence by And Can It Be, and 35 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:03,260 when we hear a breathtaking word from Isaiah 36 00:02:03,260 --> 00:02:07,940 like this, we either despair that we could 37 00:02:07,940 --> 00:02:12,160 ever love you as we ought, preach as 38 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:18,760 we ought, or we are made bold by 39 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:20,240 the word Savior. 40 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:25,400 There is no other Savior besides me. 41 00:02:26,380 --> 00:02:28,100 And I want to hang right there in 42 00:02:28,100 --> 00:02:28,620 my preaching. 43 00:02:29,500 --> 00:02:30,940 I need a Savior. 44 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:33,120 I love your sovereignty. 45 00:02:33,820 --> 00:02:37,640 I love the sentences that say, I act, 46 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:40,220 and none can reverse it. 47 00:02:40,940 --> 00:02:45,180 But if that's all I had, I would 48 00:02:45,180 --> 00:02:45,840 be undone. 49 00:02:47,020 --> 00:02:48,540 I need a Savior. 50 00:02:50,620 --> 00:02:53,940 And so does everyone in this room need 51 00:02:53,940 --> 00:03:00,300 a Savior, a sovereign Savior, else we would 52 00:03:00,300 --> 00:03:00,940 be lost. 53 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:06,320 So God, come, please help me to say 54 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:08,480 these things as they ought to be said, 55 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:11,900 and to set us on a trajectory of 56 00:03:11,900 --> 00:03:18,120 education for exaltation that will bring us into 57 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:23,880 the decades to come, humble and strong and 58 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:28,760 full of love and power for the glory 59 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:30,500 of our Lord Jesus, in whose name we 60 00:03:30,500 --> 00:03:30,840 pray. 61 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:32,440 Amen. 62 00:03:35,100 --> 00:03:39,460 I begin an 11-week series of messages 63 00:03:39,460 --> 00:03:42,740 under that banner, Education for Exaltation, this morning. 64 00:03:43,220 --> 00:03:44,980 And I want to explain why. 65 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:46,280 If you're saying, are you ever going to 66 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:47,100 get back to Romans? 67 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:49,540 The answer is yes, God willing. 68 00:03:49,980 --> 00:03:51,120 I will get back to Romans. 69 00:03:51,220 --> 00:03:52,560 I want to get back to Romans. 70 00:03:52,740 --> 00:03:56,160 I love Romans 5, 12 to 21, where 71 00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:57,380 I will pick it up as soon as 72 00:03:57,380 --> 00:03:58,220 we can. 73 00:03:58,220 --> 00:04:03,160 But every 10 years or so, it seems, 74 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:06,920 in the life of our church, the elders 75 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:13,240 are confronted with some really pressing things. 76 00:04:14,340 --> 00:04:16,420 And we need to go back and rethink 77 00:04:16,420 --> 00:04:21,460 and examine our fundamental commitments and our philosophy 78 00:04:21,460 --> 00:04:25,820 of ministry and the stewardship of growth and 79 00:04:27,130 --> 00:04:30,590 the possibility of building a building and how 80 00:04:30,590 --> 00:04:34,170 to pay for it and so on. 81 00:04:36,110 --> 00:04:38,610 So for about three years now, the elders 82 00:04:38,610 --> 00:04:41,450 have been wrestling with these kinds of things. 83 00:04:42,290 --> 00:04:46,070 And they are ready and eager to lay 84 00:04:46,070 --> 00:04:48,410 before you now, in the next 11 weeks, 85 00:04:48,730 --> 00:04:54,170 a vision called Education for Exaltation. 86 00:04:54,900 --> 00:04:59,530 And my task is to unpack it in 87 00:04:59,530 --> 00:05:03,270 its relationship to the fundamental values and commitments 88 00:05:03,270 --> 00:05:05,250 of our church. 89 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:10,060 Let me try to give you some taste 90 00:05:10,060 --> 00:05:13,680 of the growth we're talking about so that 91 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:15,880 you'll know what's been weighing upon us. 92 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:19,360 This building right here was built in 1991. 93 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:21,900 We came into it in July of 91. 94 00:05:21,900 --> 00:05:26,020 And since then, the worshipping congregation has about 95 00:05:26,020 --> 00:05:26,700 doubled. 96 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:30,620 And we push now 2,000 on a 97 00:05:30,620 --> 00:05:30,920 Sunday. 98 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:33,080 And sometimes it goes a little bit over, 99 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:34,840 sometimes it drops below, depending on whether your 100 00:05:34,840 --> 00:05:36,500 students are on vacation or not. 101 00:05:40,710 --> 00:05:44,330 One interesting thing, I don't think crowds mean 102 00:05:44,330 --> 00:05:48,130 very much, as far as real spiritual life 103 00:05:48,130 --> 00:05:50,390 goes, because you can attract a crowd with 104 00:05:50,390 --> 00:05:51,890 all kinds of things. 105 00:05:54,310 --> 00:05:56,590 But when I try to examine what God's 106 00:05:56,590 --> 00:05:59,350 been doing, I looked at the mission budget, 107 00:05:59,430 --> 00:06:01,970 for example, which says something about the nations 108 00:06:01,970 --> 00:06:04,290 and the gospel and our commitment to it. 109 00:06:04,410 --> 00:06:06,330 And I noticed that the mission's budget was 110 00:06:06,330 --> 00:06:09,270 $301,000 in 1992. 111 00:06:09,770 --> 00:06:11,570 And I think we just passed a budget 112 00:06:11,570 --> 00:06:13,610 of $850,000 for just the mission. 113 00:06:13,710 --> 00:06:15,350 That's money that goes away from us. 114 00:06:15,350 --> 00:06:17,050 We don't use that to make the ministries 115 00:06:17,050 --> 00:06:19,010 happen among ourselves. 116 00:06:20,210 --> 00:06:22,770 That's about 180%. 117 00:06:22,770 --> 00:06:26,010 So we grew 100%, and that part grew 118 00:06:26,010 --> 00:06:28,790 180%, which says to me that I hope 119 00:06:28,790 --> 00:06:29,830 this is what it means anyway. 120 00:06:30,010 --> 00:06:32,250 I may be so eager to find good 121 00:06:32,250 --> 00:06:33,970 news that I read it in. 122 00:06:34,030 --> 00:06:34,410 I don't know. 123 00:06:34,470 --> 00:06:36,350 But I hope what it means is that 124 00:06:36,350 --> 00:06:39,390 God is not just growing a crowd. 125 00:06:39,850 --> 00:06:43,830 He's growing people faster than He's growing the 126 00:06:43,830 --> 00:06:46,650 crowd, because our giving to missions, just one 127 00:06:46,650 --> 00:06:49,230 little indicator, is running ahead of the percentage 128 00:06:49,230 --> 00:06:49,830 of growth. 129 00:06:50,130 --> 00:06:53,590 That's one little tiny thing that might suggest 130 00:06:53,590 --> 00:06:55,070 God is doing more. 131 00:06:55,770 --> 00:06:56,670 I think He is. 132 00:06:58,270 --> 00:06:58,910 Children. 133 00:07:00,190 --> 00:07:05,950 1966, we had about 440 children under 12 134 00:07:05,950 --> 00:07:08,670 on the rolls, and today it is 780. 135 00:07:09,130 --> 00:07:11,990 That's about a 77% growth in the 136 00:07:11,990 --> 00:07:12,970 last four years. 137 00:07:14,470 --> 00:07:19,190 Teenagers, about 130 on the rolls in 1996, 138 00:07:20,830 --> 00:07:24,290 pushing 200 now on the rolls, 54% 139 00:07:24,290 --> 00:07:27,830 increase of teenagers, and so on. 140 00:07:28,530 --> 00:07:31,530 So we've tasted some of the crowding in 141 00:07:31,530 --> 00:07:33,410 this room at two services. 142 00:07:33,670 --> 00:07:35,130 We're trying to figure out what to do 143 00:07:35,130 --> 00:07:35,690 next there. 144 00:07:36,790 --> 00:07:38,970 And we've been praying now for three years. 145 00:07:39,070 --> 00:07:39,710 We've been studying. 146 00:07:39,910 --> 00:07:40,530 We've been planning. 147 00:07:40,530 --> 00:07:42,630 And we want to lay this vision before 148 00:07:42,630 --> 00:07:47,710 you called Education for Exaltation. 149 00:07:47,810 --> 00:07:50,430 Now let's do a little word study here 150 00:07:50,430 --> 00:07:52,950 first, because we're going to get this wrong 151 00:07:52,950 --> 00:07:55,290 for the next 11 weeks for sure. 152 00:07:55,390 --> 00:07:58,350 I know we are, because these are unusual 153 00:07:58,350 --> 00:07:58,950 words. 154 00:07:59,870 --> 00:08:05,150 The word exaltation is E-X-U-L 155 00:08:05,150 --> 00:08:07,990 -T-A-T-I-O-N, not E 156 00:08:07,990 --> 00:08:12,930 -X-A-L-T, whatever the rest of 157 00:08:12,930 --> 00:08:13,390 it is. 158 00:08:16,150 --> 00:08:17,930 Exaltation, not exaltation. 159 00:08:18,010 --> 00:08:18,790 Here's the difference. 160 00:08:19,370 --> 00:08:21,790 If you say exaltation because you like the 161 00:08:21,790 --> 00:08:24,770 word exalt with an A, no problem. 162 00:08:24,990 --> 00:08:27,410 I won't correct you, at least not in 163 00:08:27,410 --> 00:08:27,690 public. 164 00:08:28,470 --> 00:08:32,090 And that's great, because when you exalt God, 165 00:08:32,190 --> 00:08:34,010 you're doing what it's all about. 166 00:08:34,530 --> 00:08:38,270 The reason we have chosen the word exaltation 167 00:08:38,270 --> 00:08:41,870 is because it does that and something a 168 00:08:41,870 --> 00:08:42,970 little more. 169 00:08:43,350 --> 00:08:46,810 Namely, it takes the emotional component of life, 170 00:08:47,770 --> 00:08:51,490 the engagement of the heart, the exalting component, 171 00:08:51,610 --> 00:08:56,930 the emotional, joyful, glad, delighted sense, and it 172 00:08:56,930 --> 00:09:00,630 says God is exalted with an A most 173 00:09:00,630 --> 00:09:03,970 when He is exalted with a U when 174 00:09:03,970 --> 00:09:05,970 we exalt in Him most. 175 00:09:06,230 --> 00:09:09,450 In other words, we believe here that God 176 00:09:09,450 --> 00:09:11,630 is most glorified in us when we are 177 00:09:11,630 --> 00:09:15,590 most satisfied in Him, or you exalt Him 178 00:09:15,590 --> 00:09:18,890 best when you exalt in Him most. 179 00:09:18,890 --> 00:09:25,630 So, education for exaltation means we want to 180 00:09:25,630 --> 00:09:28,670 breed a people and children and teenagers and 181 00:09:28,670 --> 00:09:32,830 nations who so know God through education that 182 00:09:32,830 --> 00:09:34,890 they don't just think about Him rightly, they 183 00:09:34,890 --> 00:09:37,250 exalt in Him. 184 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:43,450 Now, unpack just a minute the word for, 185 00:09:43,710 --> 00:09:45,910 F-O-R, in the middle of that. 186 00:09:47,670 --> 00:09:52,030 When this building was built in 90 and 187 00:09:52,030 --> 00:09:55,870 91, it was the beginning of the last 188 00:09:55,870 --> 00:09:58,590 decade of the 20th century. 189 00:09:59,150 --> 00:10:06,650 We built a building for worship slash exaltation 190 00:10:06,650 --> 00:10:09,350 in God at the beginning of the last 191 00:10:09,350 --> 00:10:10,670 decade of the 20th century. 192 00:10:10,670 --> 00:10:13,710 Now, here we stand at the beginning of 193 00:10:13,710 --> 00:10:17,410 the first decade of the 21st century, 10 194 00:10:17,410 --> 00:10:22,430 years later, and our thoughts are we believe 195 00:10:22,430 --> 00:10:24,570 God is calling us to build a building 196 00:10:24,570 --> 00:10:25,890 for education. 197 00:10:27,090 --> 00:10:31,110 Let me just mention that one of the 198 00:10:31,110 --> 00:10:34,510 things that puts this growth issue so high 199 00:10:34,510 --> 00:10:36,610 on the agenda after we've been wrestling with 200 00:10:36,610 --> 00:10:39,150 it for so long is that that building 201 00:10:39,150 --> 00:10:40,870 over there, not this one, not the next 202 00:10:40,870 --> 00:10:43,350 one, but what we affectionately call the old 203 00:10:43,350 --> 00:10:45,090 sanctuary, it's got the gym in it, it's 204 00:10:45,090 --> 00:10:47,030 got the library in it, it's got the 205 00:10:47,030 --> 00:10:49,690 Desiring God Ministries in it, that building is 206 00:10:49,690 --> 00:10:53,610 in such a terrible state of disrepair that 207 00:10:53,610 --> 00:10:56,690 we would either have to spend lots of 208 00:10:56,690 --> 00:10:58,810 money just to make it be what it 209 00:10:58,810 --> 00:11:01,490 is for us, which isn't all that well 210 00:11:01,490 --> 00:11:04,410 designed for what we use it for, or 211 00:11:04,410 --> 00:11:07,030 we need to take it down and build 212 00:11:07,030 --> 00:11:08,130 something else. 213 00:11:08,130 --> 00:11:10,610 And so when we talk about a building, 214 00:11:10,630 --> 00:11:12,790 that's what we're talking about, and you'll be 215 00:11:12,790 --> 00:11:14,250 hearing a lot more about it. 216 00:11:14,350 --> 00:11:16,710 Take the building down that's attached to that 217 00:11:16,710 --> 00:11:19,650 second one and put up a four or 218 00:11:19,650 --> 00:11:22,510 five-story structure that will be devoted to 219 00:11:22,510 --> 00:11:23,130 education. 220 00:11:24,050 --> 00:11:26,090 So we begin the last decade of the 221 00:11:26,090 --> 00:11:28,130 last century for exaltation. 222 00:11:28,870 --> 00:11:30,110 That's what this room was for. 223 00:11:30,210 --> 00:11:31,610 It's why it's got a high ceiling and 224 00:11:31,610 --> 00:11:32,010 so on. 225 00:11:32,010 --> 00:11:38,210 And we will build that thing, streamlined, functional, 226 00:11:38,930 --> 00:11:44,670 raw, simple rooms, where we can do for 227 00:11:44,670 --> 00:11:47,350 children and youth and adults what we're calling 228 00:11:47,350 --> 00:11:47,930 education. 229 00:11:48,090 --> 00:11:49,850 Then we thought, now how do these two 230 00:11:49,850 --> 00:11:50,070 relate? 231 00:11:50,150 --> 00:11:55,190 We can think chronologically, we did exaltation and 232 00:11:55,190 --> 00:11:56,450 worship first, good. 233 00:11:56,450 --> 00:11:58,470 First things first, and now we need to 234 00:11:58,470 --> 00:12:02,170 do some education, but that didn't seem right 235 00:12:02,170 --> 00:12:03,390 to us. 236 00:12:03,770 --> 00:12:08,410 Because really, when you think theologically and experientially 237 00:12:08,410 --> 00:12:14,050 about it, you educate the mind about God 238 00:12:14,050 --> 00:12:15,510 to an end. 239 00:12:15,930 --> 00:12:16,510 What end? 240 00:12:17,130 --> 00:12:18,590 Not just to do more education. 241 00:12:19,170 --> 00:12:21,430 You don't make students to make teachers to 242 00:12:21,430 --> 00:12:22,850 make students to make teachers to make students 243 00:12:22,850 --> 00:12:23,390 to make teachers. 244 00:12:23,390 --> 00:12:24,050 What's the point? 245 00:12:24,230 --> 00:12:27,650 The point is those students grow up to 246 00:12:27,650 --> 00:12:28,730 become what? 247 00:12:29,250 --> 00:12:31,550 Our prayer, our hope is that they grow 248 00:12:31,550 --> 00:12:33,950 up to become exalters in God. 249 00:12:34,170 --> 00:12:36,410 So we put the education at the front 250 00:12:36,410 --> 00:12:38,390 end of the little three-word catchphrase. 251 00:12:40,350 --> 00:12:44,770 Education for to the end of exaltation. 252 00:12:44,850 --> 00:12:46,750 And that gets it theologically right. 253 00:12:47,550 --> 00:12:50,530 Theology, if you like these big words, theology 254 00:12:50,530 --> 00:12:53,870 exists for doxology. 255 00:12:55,750 --> 00:13:00,130 Right thinking exists for right feeling about God 256 00:13:00,130 --> 00:13:02,390 and right obedience of God. 257 00:13:03,070 --> 00:13:05,670 So that's the phrase that you're going to 258 00:13:05,670 --> 00:13:06,950 be hearing over and over. 259 00:13:07,030 --> 00:13:09,770 You're all going to receive notebooks here in 260 00:13:09,770 --> 00:13:13,510 a couple of weeks called education for exaltation. 261 00:13:13,510 --> 00:13:15,190 And every week we'll put a new thing 262 00:13:15,190 --> 00:13:15,750 in it. 263 00:13:15,850 --> 00:13:17,590 And there'll be lots of meetings along the 264 00:13:17,590 --> 00:13:19,850 way and a lot of information disseminated. 265 00:13:20,070 --> 00:13:23,090 My job is to take this theme, this 266 00:13:23,090 --> 00:13:25,410 vision that's so much bigger than a building 267 00:13:25,410 --> 00:13:28,450 and relate it to what makes this church 268 00:13:28,450 --> 00:13:28,830 tick. 269 00:13:28,950 --> 00:13:31,410 What is the value? 270 00:13:31,890 --> 00:13:32,890 What are the treasures? 271 00:13:33,790 --> 00:13:38,130 What are the beliefs, the rock solid commitments 272 00:13:38,130 --> 00:13:39,830 that we have as a church? 273 00:13:39,830 --> 00:13:42,690 And how do they relate to this bigger 274 00:13:42,690 --> 00:13:47,950 thing called education for exaltation? 275 00:13:48,270 --> 00:13:50,270 That's my job now. 276 00:13:50,670 --> 00:13:52,070 So what would you do? 277 00:13:52,170 --> 00:13:53,410 How would you begin this? 278 00:13:53,470 --> 00:13:54,610 They gave me this assignment. 279 00:13:54,610 --> 00:13:57,410 They said, we really need for you to 280 00:13:57,410 --> 00:14:02,450 draw the big picture of how this project 281 00:14:02,450 --> 00:14:05,990 relates to who we are and what we 282 00:14:05,990 --> 00:14:08,990 believe and stand for in our mission as 283 00:14:08,990 --> 00:14:09,470 a people. 284 00:14:09,570 --> 00:14:11,270 So I'm happy to do this. 285 00:14:11,350 --> 00:14:13,250 And the more time I spend on it, 286 00:14:13,270 --> 00:14:15,070 the happier I became. 287 00:14:15,750 --> 00:14:18,450 Now, I want to begin today with where 288 00:14:18,450 --> 00:14:21,790 I would begin if I were to talk 289 00:14:21,790 --> 00:14:24,750 about anything, and that is with God. 290 00:14:25,390 --> 00:14:28,930 So you see the title there, education for 291 00:14:28,930 --> 00:14:31,250 exaltation in God. 292 00:14:31,510 --> 00:14:34,250 And next week it'll be in Christ. 293 00:14:35,790 --> 00:14:38,550 And after that, it'll be in the cross 294 00:14:38,550 --> 00:14:41,730 or the gospel and we'll build from there. 295 00:14:41,970 --> 00:14:44,030 But we have to start with God. 296 00:14:44,030 --> 00:14:49,110 That building, this vision, this people, this pastor, 297 00:14:49,570 --> 00:14:53,030 this orchestra, that choir, all our ministries are 298 00:14:53,030 --> 00:14:55,090 all about God. 299 00:14:55,950 --> 00:14:59,890 I want us to be a God besotted 300 00:14:59,890 --> 00:15:01,250 people. 301 00:15:01,890 --> 00:15:04,830 A God exalting people. 302 00:15:05,490 --> 00:15:10,170 A God ravished, God cherishing, God loving, God 303 00:15:10,170 --> 00:15:15,810 obeying, God trusting, God inebriated. 304 00:15:17,070 --> 00:15:19,870 People, be filled with the spirit, not with 305 00:15:19,870 --> 00:15:20,410 wine. 306 00:15:20,770 --> 00:15:22,610 Don't be drunk with wine, but be filled 307 00:15:22,610 --> 00:15:23,410 with the spirit. 308 00:15:23,890 --> 00:15:26,430 Or as it says in Ephesians 3, 17, 309 00:15:26,690 --> 00:15:30,170 be filled with all the fullness of God. 310 00:15:31,370 --> 00:15:32,830 That's what we want to be. 311 00:15:33,090 --> 00:15:34,950 It's all about God. 312 00:15:34,950 --> 00:15:37,190 And then I thought, I stepped back and 313 00:15:37,190 --> 00:15:40,690 I said, all right, what, you got one 314 00:15:40,690 --> 00:15:44,910 Sunday to begin this thing and address education 315 00:15:44,910 --> 00:15:48,430 for exaltation in God. 316 00:15:48,590 --> 00:15:50,250 What are you going to say about him 317 00:15:50,250 --> 00:15:51,670 first? 318 00:15:53,490 --> 00:15:56,110 And my answer is, I'm going to say, 319 00:15:56,410 --> 00:15:59,910 God is sovereign. 320 00:16:03,020 --> 00:16:04,940 And I stepped back. 321 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:06,700 I'll show you this where I'm getting it 322 00:16:06,700 --> 00:16:07,720 from the text in just a minute. 323 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:09,580 But I stepped back and tried to ask 324 00:16:09,580 --> 00:16:10,420 myself afresh. 325 00:16:10,500 --> 00:16:11,660 I do this every now and then. 326 00:16:12,100 --> 00:16:19,060 Piper, why are you so taken with the 327 00:16:19,060 --> 00:16:20,260 sovereignty of God? 328 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:24,980 Why do you love the sovereignty of God? 329 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:26,700 Why do you come back to it again 330 00:16:26,700 --> 00:16:27,100 and again? 331 00:16:27,300 --> 00:16:29,980 Why do you lace it through almost everything 332 00:16:29,980 --> 00:16:30,940 you say? 333 00:16:31,300 --> 00:16:33,740 Why is it the cornerstone of your ministry? 334 00:16:33,740 --> 00:16:36,580 Why do you try to beget young people 335 00:16:36,580 --> 00:16:39,560 and college students and singles and married and 336 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:43,580 doers and lovers and thinkers and feelers, all 337 00:16:43,580 --> 00:16:47,320 of whom are ravished by the sovereignty of 338 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:47,640 God? 339 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:48,880 What is it? 340 00:16:50,420 --> 00:16:54,480 And as I thought it through again, the 341 00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:58,180 answer I came up with goes something like 342 00:16:58,180 --> 00:16:59,920 this, as simply as I can say it. 343 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:05,520 I cannot distinguish in my mind or my 344 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:10,460 heart my love for God as a person, 345 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:14,400 a holy, infinite, beautiful being. 346 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:19,599 And my delight in his sovereignty. 347 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:21,680 I can't separate the two. 348 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:26,099 For him to be God in my mind 349 00:17:26,099 --> 00:17:30,360 and in my heart is to be sovereign. 350 00:17:30,780 --> 00:17:33,580 And for a being to be sovereign is 351 00:17:33,580 --> 00:17:34,800 to be God. 352 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:39,180 To have omnipotence and absolute control over all 353 00:17:39,180 --> 00:17:41,760 things is to be God. 354 00:17:41,900 --> 00:17:43,940 Not to have that is not to be 355 00:17:43,940 --> 00:17:44,420 God. 356 00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:51,100 So I think the reason I love this 357 00:17:51,100 --> 00:17:54,840 truth, this reality is because if I lost 358 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:57,120 it, I would lose God. 359 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:02,380 Now, is that so? 360 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:05,380 Let's go to the text. 361 00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:08,220 If you were going to choose a text 362 00:18:08,220 --> 00:18:11,760 for preaching on the sovereignty of God that 363 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:13,460 you had seen all over the Bible in 364 00:18:13,460 --> 00:18:15,460 40 years or so of study. 365 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:17,700 Where would you go? 366 00:18:17,700 --> 00:18:19,080 You got one Sunday. 367 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:19,920 Where would you turn? 368 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:23,080 And I couldn't help but turn to Isaiah. 369 00:18:24,460 --> 00:18:26,720 And I turned to Isaiah 43 and 44 370 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:28,280 and 45 and 46. 371 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:30,780 This prophet is breathtaking. 372 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:33,880 What he says about God or better, what 373 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:36,740 God says through the prophet Isaiah is simply 374 00:18:36,740 --> 00:18:40,500 breathtaking about his vigilance and his claim and 375 00:18:40,500 --> 00:18:42,820 his jealousy to be God. 376 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:47,600 The God of Isaiah is jealous to be 377 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:49,780 God, to be the only God, to be 378 00:18:49,780 --> 00:18:51,820 known as God and loved as God and 379 00:18:51,820 --> 00:18:55,080 cherished as God and believed as God and 380 00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:57,500 trusted as God and obeyed as God. 381 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:02,620 This God says I a lot. 382 00:19:05,350 --> 00:19:11,160 If you're reconciled to God this morning through 383 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:12,600 the blood of Jesus Christ. 384 00:19:13,500 --> 00:19:15,320 Who we will talk a lot about next 385 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:15,560 week. 386 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:17,240 If you're wishing I would talk more about 387 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:19,520 Jesus this morning, please come back next week. 388 00:19:22,010 --> 00:19:24,680 If you are reconciled to God through the 389 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:30,420 blood of Jesus this morning, the sheer fact, 390 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:36,740 the raw reality that God is God can 391 00:19:36,740 --> 00:19:40,400 be a most glorious, precious, beautiful thing to 392 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:40,660 you. 393 00:19:41,660 --> 00:19:48,620 Just contemplating the Godness of God becomes sweet 394 00:19:48,620 --> 00:19:50,980 to those who are not afraid of him 395 00:19:50,980 --> 00:19:54,720 anymore and for those who have been reconciled 396 00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:57,420 to him by the blood of Christ. 397 00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:01,600 Just contemplating what he is, that he is, 398 00:20:01,980 --> 00:20:05,280 who he is, what he's like becomes like 399 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:08,800 a meal when you're very hungry. 400 00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:12,860 Or like water when you're very, very thirsty. 401 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:17,140 Isaiah is a great fountain and a great 402 00:20:17,140 --> 00:20:20,080 banquet table in that regard. 403 00:20:22,060 --> 00:20:25,020 Verse 12 at the end. 404 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:27,160 I am God. 405 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:31,080 Even from eternity I am he. 406 00:20:33,700 --> 00:20:35,960 There is none who can deliver out of 407 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:36,560 my hand. 408 00:20:36,700 --> 00:20:40,500 I act and who can reverse it. 409 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:43,880 Now here's what I see in those two 410 00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:44,300 verses. 411 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:50,320 I see God elevating, lifting up his deity, 412 00:20:50,980 --> 00:20:52,200 his Godness. 413 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:56,660 He says, I am God. 414 00:20:57,520 --> 00:20:58,880 Why does he say that? 415 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:02,360 Why does God just say that? 416 00:21:02,820 --> 00:21:04,040 I'm God. 417 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:07,620 It's because though it sounds so simple. 418 00:21:07,780 --> 00:21:09,140 I am God. 419 00:21:09,360 --> 00:21:10,240 Three little words. 420 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:13,620 It is a fact that the world is 421 00:21:13,620 --> 00:21:14,700 dying without. 422 00:21:17,500 --> 00:21:19,940 I, the father of Jesus Christ. 423 00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:21,560 I, the one who elects Abraham. 424 00:21:21,940 --> 00:21:23,280 I, the one who created the world. 425 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:24,960 I, who split the Red Sea. 426 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:27,020 I, who took the people for my own. 427 00:21:27,260 --> 00:21:28,420 I, who gave the law. 428 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:29,820 I, who sent prophets. 429 00:21:30,080 --> 00:21:32,860 I, who sent David and will bring his 430 00:21:32,860 --> 00:21:33,620 son into the world. 431 00:21:33,620 --> 00:21:35,160 I, who rule the world. 432 00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:36,740 I am God. 433 00:21:37,140 --> 00:21:38,640 Nobody else is God. 434 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:43,980 And then, as if to define the essence 435 00:21:43,980 --> 00:21:45,060 of Godness. 436 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:47,940 He says at the end of verse 13. 437 00:21:50,180 --> 00:21:51,120 I act. 438 00:21:52,140 --> 00:21:53,040 I act. 439 00:21:54,260 --> 00:21:58,160 And nobody reverses it. 440 00:22:00,180 --> 00:22:01,160 That's sovereignty. 441 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:06,080 So, in the first phrase, I am God. 442 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:07,100 He lifts up deity. 443 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:10,540 In the last phrase, I act and none 444 00:22:10,540 --> 00:22:11,880 can hinder or reverse it. 445 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:13,220 He lifts up sovereignty. 446 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:15,200 And as I look at the two there. 447 00:22:15,580 --> 00:22:19,080 I say, isn't what he is doing. 448 00:22:19,300 --> 00:22:23,680 Is saying, deity means sovereignty. 449 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:25,980 That's what it means to be God. 450 00:22:26,540 --> 00:22:28,920 And sovereignty means deity. 451 00:22:29,140 --> 00:22:30,700 If you're sovereign, you're God. 452 00:22:30,700 --> 00:22:32,580 If you're God, you're sovereign. 453 00:22:32,740 --> 00:22:34,840 There is no sovereign who's not God. 454 00:22:35,220 --> 00:22:37,820 There is no God who's not sovereign. 455 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:41,960 That's why it is so foundational. 456 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:44,540 It is so central. 457 00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:47,520 It is so root-like. 458 00:22:47,820 --> 00:22:51,040 And at the bottom of our thinking at 459 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:52,340 Bethlehem about God. 460 00:22:52,540 --> 00:22:54,100 There is no God. 461 00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:58,100 If there is no sovereignty. 462 00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:02,880 Now, Isaiah is big on this. 463 00:23:03,500 --> 00:23:05,480 So, look at two other texts. 464 00:23:05,620 --> 00:23:08,640 I want to just help you feel this 465 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:10,420 prophet's heart. 466 00:23:10,620 --> 00:23:12,700 As he lets God speak through his mouth. 467 00:23:13,260 --> 00:23:16,380 Look at chapter 45, verses 5 to 7. 468 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:19,540 We'll just pick out two stunning statements of 469 00:23:19,540 --> 00:23:20,580 the sovereignty of God. 470 00:23:20,620 --> 00:23:23,060 In relationship to the being of God. 471 00:23:24,380 --> 00:23:27,440 Isaiah 45, 5 to 7. 472 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:30,660 I am the Lord. 473 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:31,600 So, there it is again. 474 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:34,840 God loves to say that in the book 475 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:35,360 of Isaiah. 476 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:37,820 I am Yahweh. 477 00:23:38,380 --> 00:23:39,620 I am the Lord. 478 00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:40,360 All caps. 479 00:23:40,420 --> 00:23:42,140 When you see an all caps, L-O 480 00:23:42,140 --> 00:23:43,140 -R-D in your Bible. 481 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:45,300 It's different from the L-O-R-D 482 00:23:45,300 --> 00:23:46,880 capitalized in small letters. 483 00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:50,340 There's a Hebrew word, Yahweh or Jehovah. 484 00:23:50,340 --> 00:23:53,360 Which comes through English translations as all caps 485 00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:53,780 Lord. 486 00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:58,200 And there's Adonai and other words that mean 487 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:00,600 Lord in the sense of functioning as Lord. 488 00:24:00,900 --> 00:24:02,960 Which come through with little L-O-R 489 00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:03,700 -D. 490 00:24:04,260 --> 00:24:06,260 So, whenever you see the all caps, it's 491 00:24:06,260 --> 00:24:08,720 his personal name, Yahweh. 492 00:24:08,900 --> 00:24:11,600 Which is built on the Hebrew word, I 493 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:12,040 am. 494 00:24:12,700 --> 00:24:14,520 So, sometimes you'll read in the prophet Isaiah. 495 00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:16,820 You know that I am, period. 496 00:24:17,740 --> 00:24:19,660 And sometimes he'll say, I am he. 497 00:24:19,660 --> 00:24:22,160 And sometimes he'll say, I am Yahweh. 498 00:24:22,360 --> 00:24:24,120 And they all mean the same thing. 499 00:24:24,340 --> 00:24:27,260 I, the one who absolutely is, no beginning, 500 00:24:27,380 --> 00:24:29,820 no ending, no becoming, am God. 501 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:31,980 You got to reckon with me or you 502 00:24:31,980 --> 00:24:32,500 perish. 503 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:35,800 There is no alternative universe you can choose 504 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:36,080 from. 505 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:38,740 I am over this universe. 506 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:40,280 I did not come into being. 507 00:24:40,460 --> 00:24:41,920 I did not choose to be. 508 00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:43,720 I am God. 509 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:46,760 It just takes the breath away to think 510 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:50,040 about the absoluteness of the existence of God. 511 00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:52,020 And that's what's captured in the word, all 512 00:24:52,020 --> 00:24:54,280 cap, L-O-R-D. 513 00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:59,900 He is Yahweh, the one who simply is. 514 00:25:00,980 --> 00:25:03,080 I am the Lord and there is no 515 00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:03,420 other. 516 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:05,700 Besides me, there is no God. 517 00:25:06,060 --> 00:25:08,080 I will gird you though you have not 518 00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:08,860 known me. 519 00:25:09,020 --> 00:25:10,200 Now, who's he talking about there? 520 00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:12,100 He's talking about Cyrus. 521 00:25:13,540 --> 00:25:15,360 Who's going to live in a couple hundred 522 00:25:15,360 --> 00:25:16,080 years. 523 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:18,780 And he's saying, I'm going to bring Cyrus 524 00:25:18,780 --> 00:25:21,840 against my people and make him the servant 525 00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:22,900 of my judgment. 526 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:25,360 And then when I'm done with him in 527 00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:27,360 his pride, I'm going to dispose of him. 528 00:25:30,020 --> 00:25:32,880 That men may know from the rising to 529 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:35,140 the setting of the sun that there is 530 00:25:35,140 --> 00:25:37,520 no one besides me. 531 00:25:38,500 --> 00:25:40,580 I am the Lord. 532 00:25:40,580 --> 00:25:42,220 There is no other. 533 00:25:43,260 --> 00:25:48,380 The one forming light and creating darkness, causing 534 00:25:48,380 --> 00:25:52,040 well-being and creating calamity. 535 00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:56,440 I am the Lord who does all these 536 00:25:56,440 --> 00:25:57,380 things. 537 00:26:00,360 --> 00:26:10,270 Earthquakes, floods, pestilence, epidemic, all 538 00:26:10,270 --> 00:26:11,410 these things. 539 00:26:13,870 --> 00:26:15,790 Who made man's mouth, Moses? 540 00:26:16,330 --> 00:26:21,950 Who makes him seeing or blind or deaf 541 00:26:21,950 --> 00:26:22,870 or dumb? 542 00:26:24,110 --> 00:26:26,450 Is it not I, the Lord? 543 00:26:26,890 --> 00:26:32,050 Exodus 4.11. It takes the breath away. 544 00:26:32,190 --> 00:26:34,190 It's like a punch to the solar plexus. 545 00:26:34,770 --> 00:26:39,630 It's either true or we have no God. 546 00:26:40,690 --> 00:26:43,570 You can create all kinds of alternative gods. 547 00:26:43,570 --> 00:26:44,150 You can do it. 548 00:26:44,230 --> 00:26:45,710 You can make this a God. 549 00:26:45,810 --> 00:26:46,790 This would be a nice God. 550 00:26:47,150 --> 00:26:47,790 It's got wings. 551 00:26:50,340 --> 00:26:52,220 You can do anything you want. 552 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:57,340 But if you want to know God, you 553 00:26:57,340 --> 00:27:00,860 go to the Bible, you humble yourself, and 554 00:27:00,860 --> 00:27:02,460 you just listen. 555 00:27:03,180 --> 00:27:03,920 You don't argue. 556 00:27:04,340 --> 00:27:05,660 You don't talk back. 557 00:27:05,860 --> 00:27:06,600 You learn. 558 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:08,520 And you know God. 559 00:27:10,100 --> 00:27:11,900 Zillion problems come to mind, right? 560 00:27:11,900 --> 00:27:14,200 Just a zillion problems in your head, in 561 00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:15,980 your heart, in your family come to mind. 562 00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:17,960 Can you live with us? 563 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:19,480 Can you live and learn? 564 00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:20,480 Can you grow? 565 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:22,740 Can your faith seek understanding? 566 00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:28,280 He is sovereign because he is God. 567 00:27:28,580 --> 00:27:29,500 I am the Lord. 568 00:27:31,380 --> 00:27:32,420 I am sovereign. 569 00:27:33,100 --> 00:27:34,180 Here's the other one. 570 00:27:36,100 --> 00:27:38,140 Isaiah 46.9 and 10. 571 00:27:38,660 --> 00:27:39,360 Just keep turning. 572 00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:40,620 And you can do this on your own. 573 00:27:40,700 --> 00:27:42,340 Just read right through Isaiah today. 574 00:27:42,340 --> 00:27:46,700 And you will be swept away by this 575 00:27:46,700 --> 00:27:49,340 prophet's vision of God's centeredness. 576 00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:54,500 Isaiah 46.9. Remember the former things long 577 00:27:54,500 --> 00:27:56,160 past for I am God and there is 578 00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:56,540 no other. 579 00:27:56,680 --> 00:27:58,060 I am God and there is no one 580 00:27:58,060 --> 00:27:58,800 like me. 581 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:01,460 Declaring the end from the beginning and from 582 00:28:01,460 --> 00:28:03,460 ancient times things not yet done. 583 00:28:03,840 --> 00:28:09,240 Saying, my purpose will be established. 584 00:28:10,100 --> 00:28:15,780 And I will accomplish all my good pleasure. 585 00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:22,100 Whatever God wants done, gets done. 586 00:28:23,140 --> 00:28:28,200 If he leaves a thing undone, he willed 587 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:29,520 to leave it undone. 588 00:28:30,620 --> 00:28:36,200 Thus God foreordains whatsoever comes to pass. 589 00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:40,660 And he brings to pass, either directly or 590 00:28:40,660 --> 00:28:43,340 indirectly, all that comes to pass. 591 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:48,320 And he is not a sinner nor unjust. 592 00:28:50,780 --> 00:28:52,540 I love the sovereignty of God. 593 00:28:53,260 --> 00:28:57,080 And I hope you'll hear why more before 594 00:28:57,080 --> 00:28:57,780 we're done. 595 00:28:57,900 --> 00:28:59,800 But don't miss this fact. 596 00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:01,500 I am God. 597 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:04,040 We're back at our text now in chapter 598 00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:04,700 43. 599 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:05,820 I am God. 600 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,640 I act and none can reverse it. 601 00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:09,820 I am God. 602 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:12,440 My counsel shall stand and I will accomplish 603 00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:13,900 all my purpose. 604 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:16,440 What is at stake here is the Godness 605 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:17,220 of God. 606 00:29:17,860 --> 00:29:20,240 Not just some little teeny attribute about God, 607 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:25,180 but God's being as God is at stake. 608 00:29:25,820 --> 00:29:29,540 So the sovereignty of God is the cornerstone 609 00:29:29,540 --> 00:29:31,320 of our vision of God. 610 00:29:31,420 --> 00:29:33,240 And our vision of God is the cornerstone 611 00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:35,600 of education for exaltation. 612 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:41,280 Have you looked at the curriculum that's used 613 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:42,060 with our children? 614 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:47,100 Since David and Sally Michael have taken over 615 00:29:47,100 --> 00:29:48,940 that ministry in the last three years. 616 00:29:51,600 --> 00:29:54,360 It's being published now through Desiring God Ministries. 617 00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:57,380 And they're selling hundreds of thousands of dollars 618 00:29:57,380 --> 00:29:58,640 worth of it across the country. 619 00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:02,380 Because people are starved for God-centered children's 620 00:30:02,380 --> 00:30:02,900 curricula. 621 00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:05,000 But you know what? 622 00:30:06,140 --> 00:30:09,260 This lands on some churches or some teachers 623 00:30:09,260 --> 00:30:11,520 with, I can't teach that to kids. 624 00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:14,780 I can't say that to kids. 625 00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:22,020 And we're finding that teachers are being transformed 626 00:30:22,020 --> 00:30:22,640 mainly. 627 00:30:23,460 --> 00:30:28,780 As they take Sally Michael's God-centered vision 628 00:30:28,780 --> 00:30:32,760 of how you cannot cheap-shot children. 629 00:30:33,700 --> 00:30:35,300 But tell it like it is. 630 00:30:35,460 --> 00:30:37,300 In ways that children can get it. 631 00:30:37,420 --> 00:30:39,860 And children are more open to these glorious 632 00:30:39,860 --> 00:30:41,380 things than many adults are. 633 00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:45,860 And they wrestle with them with less rebellion. 634 00:30:46,460 --> 00:30:48,720 And bow before the sovereignty of God with 635 00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:50,240 more quickness of spirit. 636 00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:54,440 And handle mystery with greater ease than many 637 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:54,960 adults. 638 00:30:55,240 --> 00:30:59,860 And therefore, when we think education for exaltation. 639 00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:02,380 We're not pulling any punches when it comes 640 00:31:02,380 --> 00:31:06,460 to teaching our children about the sovereignty of 641 00:31:06,460 --> 00:31:06,980 God. 642 00:31:07,340 --> 00:31:09,900 Get that curriculum and make it a study 643 00:31:09,900 --> 00:31:10,600 for your family. 644 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:13,360 If you don't have little kids, just if 645 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:13,820 you're single. 646 00:31:14,540 --> 00:31:15,360 Get it. 647 00:31:15,860 --> 00:31:17,740 Study the children's curriculum. 648 00:31:18,300 --> 00:31:21,240 And you will become a God-centered person 649 00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:23,300 at a deeper level, perhaps. 650 00:31:24,260 --> 00:31:25,180 How does this happen? 651 00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:27,100 How do you get it into the lives 652 00:31:27,100 --> 00:31:27,620 of children? 653 00:31:28,540 --> 00:31:28,980 Teenagers? 654 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:32,360 We got junior hires away right now. 655 00:31:32,900 --> 00:31:34,100 We should be praying for them. 656 00:31:34,260 --> 00:31:36,680 God bless the junior hires right now. 657 00:31:37,520 --> 00:31:39,340 That Steven can get it into them. 658 00:31:40,780 --> 00:31:41,920 How do you get it into adults? 659 00:31:41,980 --> 00:31:43,120 How do you get it into those people 660 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:44,760 at your workplace? 661 00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:46,560 Who would scoff at this truth? 662 00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:50,860 Neighbors, family members who argue about these things. 663 00:31:51,700 --> 00:31:52,800 Is the answer a dream? 664 00:31:53,020 --> 00:31:54,680 Does God give a dream to show he's 665 00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:54,980 sovereign? 666 00:31:55,240 --> 00:31:59,040 Does God do it with reasonings? 667 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:00,820 Mere human reasonings? 668 00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:02,400 No. 669 00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:06,500 This text, verse 10, tells us how God 670 00:32:06,500 --> 00:32:06,960 does it. 671 00:32:07,220 --> 00:32:07,840 It's amazing. 672 00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:09,440 Just blown away by it. 673 00:32:09,460 --> 00:32:10,700 Because I'm one of them and you're one 674 00:32:10,700 --> 00:32:10,980 of them. 675 00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:12,800 And I can hardly bear the weight of 676 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:12,980 it. 677 00:32:12,980 --> 00:32:14,520 Look at verse 10. 678 00:32:15,860 --> 00:32:17,460 Isaiah 43, 10. 679 00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:24,360 You are my witnesses, declares the Lord. 680 00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:25,300 That's how he does it. 681 00:32:26,260 --> 00:32:29,860 He does it with human witnesses. 682 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:31,220 Isn't that amazing? 683 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:38,400 The sovereign God says, I choose you for 684 00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:40,520 you to know me, trust me, and know 685 00:32:40,520 --> 00:32:41,580 that I am God. 686 00:32:42,300 --> 00:32:44,700 And I act and nobody can resist it. 687 00:32:44,900 --> 00:32:48,880 Now go be my witnesses with this message. 688 00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:51,100 Let's read it. 689 00:32:51,120 --> 00:32:51,940 Make sure you see it. 690 00:32:52,340 --> 00:32:52,760 Verse 10. 691 00:32:53,380 --> 00:32:55,200 You are my witnesses, declares the Lord. 692 00:32:55,380 --> 00:32:59,380 And my servant whom I have chosen so 693 00:32:59,380 --> 00:33:03,180 that you may know and believe me. 694 00:33:03,180 --> 00:33:05,640 So you've been chosen by God if you're 695 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:08,280 a believer for a purpose, namely to know 696 00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:09,600 him and believe him. 697 00:33:09,700 --> 00:33:10,620 But that's not all. 698 00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:13,620 And here's why you were chosen. 699 00:33:15,220 --> 00:33:16,660 Understand what? 700 00:33:18,020 --> 00:33:21,440 That I am he. 701 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:24,160 None before me. 702 00:33:25,020 --> 00:33:26,200 None after me. 703 00:33:26,780 --> 00:33:30,280 And I act and nobody can reverse it. 704 00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:30,840 Now go. 705 00:33:31,620 --> 00:33:32,120 Tell them. 706 00:33:33,420 --> 00:33:34,220 Tell them. 707 00:33:36,460 --> 00:33:37,360 Tell the children. 708 00:33:38,100 --> 00:33:39,400 Teach the children. 709 00:33:39,980 --> 00:33:40,980 You're my witnesses. 710 00:33:42,080 --> 00:33:43,100 Teach your family. 711 00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:44,240 Teach your colleagues. 712 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:45,700 Tell it. 713 00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:49,180 It's an amazing word. 714 00:33:49,420 --> 00:33:50,220 This is verse 10. 715 00:33:50,300 --> 00:33:51,180 You are my witnesses. 716 00:33:51,780 --> 00:33:53,260 And look at the end of verse 12. 717 00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:56,700 So you are my witnesses, declares the Lord. 718 00:33:56,900 --> 00:33:58,500 I am God. 719 00:33:58,500 --> 00:33:59,580 Tell them that. 720 00:34:00,020 --> 00:34:02,380 Tell them that I am God. 721 00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:03,240 Who is this? 722 00:34:03,440 --> 00:34:04,560 Just ordinary people. 723 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:05,400 Chosen. 724 00:34:05,940 --> 00:34:06,660 Chosen people. 725 00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:07,679 Israel in those days. 726 00:34:07,780 --> 00:34:10,199 The church of Jesus Christ in our day. 727 00:34:11,699 --> 00:34:14,219 Whoever bows before God and confesses him as 728 00:34:14,219 --> 00:34:15,639 Lord through Jesus Christ. 729 00:34:16,340 --> 00:34:18,719 I have chosen you to know, to believe, 730 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:19,840 to understand that I am he. 731 00:34:19,940 --> 00:34:20,280 Now go. 732 00:34:20,420 --> 00:34:21,900 You're my witnesses. 733 00:34:22,100 --> 00:34:23,739 And what's the content of the witness? 734 00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:26,620 Three simple things and I close with these. 735 00:34:27,199 --> 00:34:27,760 One. 736 00:34:29,100 --> 00:34:30,639 Tell them as a witness. 737 00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:34,300 There is no other God besides the God 738 00:34:34,300 --> 00:34:35,780 of the Bible. 739 00:34:37,100 --> 00:34:40,699 He is so God like there are no 740 00:34:40,699 --> 00:34:41,760 serious rivals. 741 00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:42,380 Verse 10. 742 00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:43,639 At the end, I am God. 743 00:34:43,780 --> 00:34:45,420 Before me there is no God formed and 744 00:34:45,420 --> 00:34:46,699 there will be none after me. 745 00:34:47,040 --> 00:34:47,920 Then verse 12. 746 00:34:47,940 --> 00:34:49,900 At the end, there is no strange God 747 00:34:49,900 --> 00:34:50,500 among you. 748 00:34:50,840 --> 00:34:53,980 So you are my witnesses, declares the Lord. 749 00:34:53,980 --> 00:34:55,940 And I am God. 750 00:34:56,740 --> 00:34:58,940 Even from eternity, I am he. 751 00:34:59,200 --> 00:34:59,760 Go tell them. 752 00:35:00,020 --> 00:35:00,680 Tell them that. 753 00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:02,480 So we're to educate that. 754 00:35:02,740 --> 00:35:03,460 We're to witness that. 755 00:35:03,540 --> 00:35:04,420 We're to proclaim that. 756 00:35:04,500 --> 00:35:05,360 We're to write that. 757 00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:06,260 Speak that. 758 00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:06,940 Live that. 759 00:35:07,220 --> 00:35:08,440 Tell them there's no other God. 760 00:35:09,020 --> 00:35:10,120 I have no competitors. 761 00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:14,300 Secondly, our witnesses that God is sovereign. 762 00:35:14,680 --> 00:35:17,280 I'm basing that on the end of verse 763 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:17,780 13. 764 00:35:18,780 --> 00:35:20,420 Even from eternity, I am he. 765 00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:22,900 There is none who can deliver out of 766 00:35:22,900 --> 00:35:23,440 my hand. 767 00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:24,060 I act. 768 00:35:24,700 --> 00:35:26,580 And who can reverse it? 769 00:35:26,700 --> 00:35:27,240 I'm sovereign. 770 00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:27,760 Go now. 771 00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:28,480 Be my witnesses. 772 00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:29,480 Tell them that. 773 00:35:30,300 --> 00:35:33,900 Finally, third, we are to witness to this 774 00:35:33,900 --> 00:35:34,220 truth. 775 00:35:34,340 --> 00:35:37,800 And this puts a little, no, a big 776 00:35:39,690 --> 00:35:42,390 twist on sovereignty. 777 00:35:43,690 --> 00:35:46,210 We are to witness to the truth that 778 00:35:46,210 --> 00:35:47,390 God is a savior. 779 00:35:48,830 --> 00:35:50,850 You see that in verse 11? 780 00:35:51,750 --> 00:35:53,830 A sovereign savior. 781 00:35:54,890 --> 00:35:58,170 I, even I, am the Lord, and there 782 00:35:58,170 --> 00:36:00,530 is no savior beside me. 783 00:36:00,850 --> 00:36:02,750 So if you're using any kind of underlining, 784 00:36:03,720 --> 00:36:07,290 be sure you don't leave that word un 785 00:36:07,290 --> 00:36:08,230 -underlined. 786 00:36:09,810 --> 00:36:12,670 Because I know what's going on in this 787 00:36:12,670 --> 00:36:14,570 room right now for dozens of people. 788 00:36:16,070 --> 00:36:20,950 You come out of backgrounds in which this 789 00:36:20,950 --> 00:36:26,610 word sovereignty or omnipotence, or maybe you attach 790 00:36:26,610 --> 00:36:30,510 a word like Calvinism to it, has no 791 00:36:30,510 --> 00:36:32,610 happy connections in your experience. 792 00:36:33,370 --> 00:36:35,810 Those kind of people were jerks. 793 00:36:36,950 --> 00:36:39,910 They were mean-spirited, or they were always 794 00:36:39,910 --> 00:36:40,530 arguing. 795 00:36:41,050 --> 00:36:42,630 They didn't have any joy. 796 00:36:42,770 --> 00:36:44,790 They didn't care about soul winning. 797 00:36:44,790 --> 00:36:46,890 They didn't care about world missions. 798 00:36:47,610 --> 00:36:49,850 All they did was care about dotting I's 799 00:36:49,850 --> 00:36:50,950 and crossing T's. 800 00:36:51,030 --> 00:36:52,550 And frankly, you don't want to have anything 801 00:36:52,550 --> 00:36:55,710 to do with this stuff that labors the 802 00:36:55,710 --> 00:36:57,350 sovereignty of God. 803 00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:04,480 And to me, it is the sweetest thing 804 00:37:04,480 --> 00:37:05,460 in the world. 805 00:37:06,460 --> 00:37:07,600 Why would that be? 806 00:37:07,780 --> 00:37:08,880 What's wrong with me? 807 00:37:11,210 --> 00:37:13,170 And the reason, I think, and maybe I 808 00:37:13,170 --> 00:37:16,050 can just help begin to liberate you a 809 00:37:16,050 --> 00:37:20,510 little bit from associations and connections, so you 810 00:37:20,510 --> 00:37:23,390 get your feelings and your mind into a 811 00:37:23,390 --> 00:37:26,650 biblical frame, rather than letting it all be 812 00:37:26,650 --> 00:37:28,630 determined by your past experiences. 813 00:37:29,130 --> 00:37:30,710 One of the ways that I can do 814 00:37:30,710 --> 00:37:32,650 this in closing is to say, would you 815 00:37:32,650 --> 00:37:37,110 please connect the two words sovereign with Savior? 816 00:37:38,550 --> 00:37:38,950 Okay? 817 00:37:39,490 --> 00:37:43,050 Would you connect sovereign with Savior? 818 00:37:43,050 --> 00:37:46,850 You know, we're not about just riding the 819 00:37:46,850 --> 00:37:51,150 horse of generalized sovereignty, as though that's a 820 00:37:51,150 --> 00:37:51,770 neat thing. 821 00:37:52,770 --> 00:37:54,550 I want to be saved. 822 00:37:55,510 --> 00:37:58,750 I don't want to just get converted in 823 00:37:58,750 --> 00:38:00,710 the sense that my sins are forgiven. 824 00:38:01,970 --> 00:38:04,190 I want to make sure that I start 825 00:38:04,190 --> 00:38:08,430 progressing in holiness, becoming more like Jesus, and 826 00:38:08,430 --> 00:38:11,110 that when temptations come and threats come and 827 00:38:11,110 --> 00:38:13,270 doubts come, I don't cave in and throw 828 00:38:13,270 --> 00:38:16,030 it all away, but rather persevere to the 829 00:38:16,030 --> 00:38:18,550 end and be saved in heaven forever and 830 00:38:18,550 --> 00:38:18,730 ever. 831 00:38:18,830 --> 00:38:19,570 That's what I want. 832 00:38:19,890 --> 00:38:22,010 And I, if you tell me, well, you've 833 00:38:22,010 --> 00:38:23,510 got a free will, so do it with 834 00:38:23,510 --> 00:38:24,010 your free will. 835 00:38:24,050 --> 00:38:25,490 I think that's pretty fragile. 836 00:38:27,530 --> 00:38:31,070 That's really fragile, that that's going to get 837 00:38:31,070 --> 00:38:31,830 me to glory. 838 00:38:32,270 --> 00:38:34,450 Rather, I want to say with the Bible, 839 00:38:36,210 --> 00:38:38,630 I will be their God and they will 840 00:38:38,630 --> 00:38:41,190 be my people, and I will write my 841 00:38:41,190 --> 00:38:43,230 law upon their hearts, and I will cause 842 00:38:43,230 --> 00:38:46,190 them to walk in my statutes. 843 00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:50,580 I will not turn away from doing good 844 00:38:50,580 --> 00:38:53,760 to them, and I will not let them 845 00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:56,760 turn away from me, but I will put 846 00:38:56,760 --> 00:38:59,180 the fear of God in their hearts so 847 00:38:59,180 --> 00:39:02,760 that they will not turn away from me. 848 00:39:02,960 --> 00:39:06,380 That's the salvation I've got to have, because 849 00:39:06,380 --> 00:39:08,900 left to my fickle self, I'm going to 850 00:39:08,900 --> 00:39:11,700 wake up an unbeliever someday and say, oh, 851 00:39:11,840 --> 00:39:13,560 cool, I've got a free will, I can 852 00:39:13,560 --> 00:39:14,600 now be an unbeliever. 853 00:39:14,720 --> 00:39:17,480 If God doesn't lay hold on this rebel 854 00:39:17,480 --> 00:39:20,220 heart, prone to wonder, Lord, I feel it, 855 00:39:20,460 --> 00:39:23,140 I'm going to make shipwreck of my faith. 856 00:39:23,600 --> 00:39:27,080 Therefore, for me, the sweetness of sovereignty is 857 00:39:27,080 --> 00:39:29,280 the sweetness of making it to heaven. 858 00:39:29,920 --> 00:39:32,320 It's the sweetness of overcoming temptation. 859 00:39:32,320 --> 00:39:37,560 It's the sweetness of escaping crying, clawing doubts 860 00:39:37,560 --> 00:39:38,640 that rise sometimes. 861 00:39:38,900 --> 00:39:41,020 My only hope is to say, God, save 862 00:39:41,020 --> 00:39:44,820 me, exert a powerful, aggressive influence on my 863 00:39:44,820 --> 00:39:46,860 will, so that I don't use it to 864 00:39:46,860 --> 00:39:47,400 leave you. 865 00:39:49,330 --> 00:39:50,270 It's precious. 866 00:39:50,830 --> 00:39:53,810 It's precious beyond words, but we've got to 867 00:39:53,810 --> 00:39:54,550 find the words. 868 00:39:55,210 --> 00:39:55,870 I try. 869 00:39:56,130 --> 00:39:57,230 I try to preach it. 870 00:39:57,270 --> 00:39:58,030 I try to write it. 871 00:39:58,230 --> 00:39:59,630 The reason I say we've got to find 872 00:39:59,630 --> 00:40:03,190 the words is because the Bible says, you're 873 00:40:03,190 --> 00:40:03,830 my witnesses. 874 00:40:04,910 --> 00:40:06,230 We don't have any choice. 875 00:40:06,550 --> 00:40:07,510 You've got to say this. 876 00:40:07,850 --> 00:40:08,910 We've got to say this. 877 00:40:09,230 --> 00:40:11,190 Yes, it's offensive to some, but oh, if 878 00:40:11,190 --> 00:40:13,150 we could say it right, if we could, 879 00:40:13,690 --> 00:40:15,710 let's close like this, let's do this, let's 880 00:40:15,710 --> 00:40:18,290 leave this as the flavor of sovereignty this 881 00:40:18,290 --> 00:40:18,550 morning. 882 00:40:19,150 --> 00:40:22,150 You know, I don't want you to leave 883 00:40:22,150 --> 00:40:24,530 this room today, go to work tomorrow, or 884 00:40:24,530 --> 00:40:26,450 go find some friend tonight, pull out your 885 00:40:26,450 --> 00:40:28,310 sovereignty sword and whack him over the head 886 00:40:28,310 --> 00:40:31,370 and say, Shepa, get your doctrine right. 887 00:40:31,750 --> 00:40:33,410 That's not what I want you to do. 888 00:40:33,530 --> 00:40:34,930 Here's what I want you to do. 889 00:40:35,450 --> 00:40:37,410 I want you to go home, get out 890 00:40:37,410 --> 00:40:41,450 the sword of the Spirit, which is the 891 00:40:41,450 --> 00:40:43,250 Word of God, and let the whole counsel 892 00:40:43,250 --> 00:40:45,750 of God reveal a God to you who 893 00:40:45,750 --> 00:40:49,050 is a sovereign Savior to you, you sinner, 894 00:40:49,450 --> 00:40:54,390 you unworthy person, and so bask in the 895 00:40:54,390 --> 00:40:56,730 freedom of grace and the sovereignty of grace 896 00:40:56,730 --> 00:40:59,990 and the security of sovereign grace that you 897 00:40:59,990 --> 00:41:03,990 are so satisfied you don't need anything but 898 00:41:03,990 --> 00:41:07,230 God and are free to become a lowly 899 00:41:07,230 --> 00:41:10,090 servant to everybody you meet and not use 900 00:41:10,090 --> 00:41:14,010 them, but serve them, and then they might 901 00:41:14,010 --> 00:41:14,970 listen. 902 00:41:16,010 --> 00:41:18,290 What I would like to see happen is 903 00:41:18,290 --> 00:41:21,710 that we be so satisfied with the God 904 00:41:21,710 --> 00:41:23,250 that we see in the Bible that we 905 00:41:23,250 --> 00:41:25,350 don't need to hammer anybody with Him. 906 00:41:25,550 --> 00:41:28,470 We can serve people from Him. 907 00:41:28,990 --> 00:41:31,630 And when they wonder why we can be 908 00:41:31,630 --> 00:41:34,890 so patient and so kind and so loving 909 00:41:34,890 --> 00:41:37,010 and return so much good for evil and 910 00:41:37,010 --> 00:41:39,890 labor morning, noon, and night to be good 911 00:41:39,890 --> 00:41:42,370 to them and not evil to them, they 912 00:41:42,370 --> 00:41:46,210 might say, what is the structure of your 913 00:41:46,210 --> 00:41:46,990 thought? 914 00:41:47,510 --> 00:41:48,750 What's in your heart? 915 00:41:48,970 --> 00:41:52,930 And then you might say, I love God 916 00:41:52,930 --> 00:41:58,130 who sovereignly saved me, sovereignly keeps me, sovereignly 917 00:41:58,130 --> 00:42:02,430 turns every tragedy in my life for good. 918 00:42:03,410 --> 00:42:06,530 And I would love to see you love 919 00:42:06,530 --> 00:42:07,570 my God. 920 00:42:09,650 --> 00:42:13,450 Lord, if we could educate our children to 921 00:42:13,450 --> 00:42:17,530 be like that, then we would grow generations 922 00:42:17,530 --> 00:42:20,450 of mighty oaks of righteousness that the world 923 00:42:20,450 --> 00:42:21,490 would benefit from. 924 00:42:22,010 --> 00:42:24,670 And we want to bless the world, Lord. 925 00:42:25,350 --> 00:42:26,550 We know it's sinful. 926 00:42:26,730 --> 00:42:28,130 We know it's hell bound. 927 00:42:28,350 --> 00:42:30,030 And we're not eager to get on our 928 00:42:30,030 --> 00:42:34,050 little podium and point our fingers at it 929 00:42:34,050 --> 00:42:35,650 and say, naughty world. 930 00:42:36,530 --> 00:42:39,530 We want to lay our lives down to 931 00:42:39,530 --> 00:42:43,730 save and to heal and to help. 932 00:42:44,930 --> 00:42:47,410 And we believe that you have chosen us, 933 00:42:47,610 --> 00:42:50,450 the text says, that we might know and 934 00:42:50,450 --> 00:42:55,110 believe and understand that you are God. 935 00:42:55,530 --> 00:42:58,750 You act and none can reverse it. 936 00:42:59,250 --> 00:43:01,450 And when that grips our soul, then we 937 00:43:01,450 --> 00:43:06,550 can be humble, servant, joyful people. 938 00:43:07,170 --> 00:43:10,130 Lord, do this, I pray, as we leave. 939 00:43:10,610 --> 00:43:12,410 Make us into that kind of people. 940 00:43:13,650 --> 00:43:15,370 Lord, receive our praise. 941 00:43:16,070 --> 00:43:17,090 Receive our blessing. 942 00:43:17,270 --> 00:43:20,370 And now receive our humble trust and obedience 943 00:43:20,370 --> 00:43:21,250 all week long. 944 00:43:21,310 --> 00:43:23,050 And all the people said, Amen. 945 00:43:23,670 --> 00:43:24,310 You're dismissed. 946 00:44:32,690 --> 00:44:35,510 Desiring God exists to help you make God 947 00:44:35,510 --> 00:44:39,190 your treasure, because God is most glorified in 948 00:44:39,190 --> 00:44:42,830 us when we are most satisfied in Him.