Am I A Telescope?

I had the great privilege yesterday of hearing Dr. John Piper preach at Park Street Church in Boston. I'm so thankful that I made the (relatively) short drive into the city to hear him. Sharon (my suitemate) and I ended up sitting on the very front row on the left hand side of the sanctuary. There were many times when Dr. Piper would be looking down straight at us. Usually when people say that someone is preaching right at them, it means the content of the sermon was applicable to their particular situation. Well, I have to say that, Dr. Piper was preaching right at me, literally and figuratively. It was outstanding!

The message had a mix of apologetics, evangelism, and exhortation. It of course touched on the proposition that "God is most glorified in you, when you are most satisfied in him." If you're familiar with Desiring God Ministries then I don't need to explain for you what this means. If you're not, then by all means check out both parts to his sermon "Jesus Christ and the Rescue of Joy". You can hear part 1 and part 2

Rather than summarize everything for you, let me just highlight a few points that I found particularly challenging.

1) We're called to magnify God. A microscope magnifies something that is small, making it look bigger than it is. A telescope takes something that is enormous but seems small and makes it look more like it truly is. Christians are meant to magnify God, by being lenses which display the glory and magnitude of God. So, am I living like a telescope?

2) We're not made to feel big, we're made to admire big.

3) If God's glory is magnified when I find joy and satisfaction in him, then God's pursuit for his glory is also his pursuit for my joy. God is the one being in the universe for whom self-exaltation is the highest virtue and the most magnificent act of love.

So thank you Dr. Piper for reminding me again that our God is a truly great God! Delighting in God is not a duty, it is a joy. May I, by God's grace, seek to glorify God (like a telescope) as I learn more and more about finding my joy and satisfaction in Him.