I will never stop being amazed by how desiring God’s videos/posts line up perfectly with what God is either teaching me or the exact verses I’m reading... blows my mind. God is good, my friends!!!
2,5 years later and it is indeed doing the same for me! The Omnipresent God has messages relevant through any age and for everyone and for every moment!! God is good indeed!!
So beautiful and so true. The experiences I've had with the Lord and the Holy Spirit are so impactful, leaving you with such a joy, a feeling of true love, that it always leaves me desiring more. It leaves me with such an emptiness when it's not there. I long for these moments with them. Nothing else compares. I wait for the day when I/we will experience it in it's fullness. Praise the LORD.
Eating a soft pretzel while listening to this and then I hear “is it hypocritical to pray a blessing over a Big Mac when we know it’s not good for us” 😳😬 ha
Why pray if one is not truly sincere I believe. I know I am sick of shallow people thanking me for things I have done then they turn and abandon me. I then asked Our Creator why and my answer was..................................Now you know full well how I feel.
It's all about prospective. I wonder who gets to say what not good for us? I know big Macs cure hunger. They give me Entergy. If I was on a deserted island and a big Mac dropped out of the sky I would thank God for it! Not to mention they provide a job for someone who needs a job. Now obviously you can not living off Big Macs but neither can you live on water alone. Is water bad? I know too much water is bad, can actually kill us. God said, to the pure all things are pure. But if something is unclean to one it is unclean, and to others it is not. I'll continue to thank God for Big Macs. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving;for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. - 1 Timothy 4:4-5 My faith leads me to believe God can santify even a Big Mac.
@@felixthecat777333 dont forget that part in the Gospel where Jesus Healed 10 Lepers...only 1 sought him out to thank Him. I know how it feels for you, I have helped lots of people like in the secular world...assisting them with on the job training and things like that. Where are they when they know you are suffering an illness? its even worse if its the Church members dont look out for one another...while looking out for those in the community who they might well know are lonely or unable to do things. But there we go...thats the Humanity that Christ Died for.
I would put a pretzel in the category of “not great, not terrible”. I think you’re safe. If you’re eating it with anything other than mustard, you’re doomed.
Thank you so much Kai for asking this! I’m being hard on myself for not “being fully satisfied” in God but now I learned that my desiring and seeking Him is enough. I can’t wait that this desire will be made full in His immediate presence. 💖
I could use prayer that the Lord helps me with any idols in my heart and that he opens my heart and my mind to his beauty and love and work on the cross that I’d cherish him again and understand the things I’m struggling to see and understand. That my heart would worship him again and my faith renewed and stronger than before my spiritual dryness and mess ups in my walk with him
There is hope after all ❤️ This is so profound! I always thought that my desiring was inadequate, but I never even gave thought to the fact that my satisfaction in God and desires for God will be made perfect only when I'm in His immediate presence in Heaven. I have indeed tasted and seen that the LORD is good, therefore I will continue to desire more of Him until Jesus returns to take me home! Thank you Pastor John for this greatly insightful conversation 👏🏾
This is a very important for ALL to know and understand. This unfulfilled desire which will not be fully fulfilled on this side of forever may be something many don’t understand and drives people away. I think it should be discussed a lot more often. God bless
Thank you so much Pastor John, it was so comforting to hear we will never completely fulfil our joy until we see Jesus face to face. I long for Him and pray every day for a deeper relationship. These videos and insights into the bible are sooooo helpful and I’m so grateful for your faithfulness to Gods word. Be blessed 😊
A few times I felt a small love of God which calms me and gives me hope. I relied on this to carry me through some tough times and almost 2 months into my journey my fear and anxiety has indeed shrunk by a significant measure. Knowing that I'm not alone in my hardships and there is hope in God definitely gives me comfort. But I feel the same way as the guy who wrote in. I think it's because I haven't experience the deep, intimate, personal love of God for me. So I rely on my imagination and knowledge of God's love for me. Maybe I'm not ready yet and God knows what he is doing, it's in his good timing. I'm ignorant so I don't know but I believe if I experienced God's true love for me it's game over meaning I would chase after God forever. Maybe he is giving me my time to develop faith in him so I can freely choose him. I'm pretty sure if God showed himself to me it would be impossible for me not to want God.
Took me 2 years of seeking brother to truly find Him. Many nights crying wondering if He truly loves me. But you are correct. He knows what He's doing. And you will appreciate Him so much more when He reveals Himself to you. Use this time to trust the Holy Spirit to bring you into obedience and submission. He is a hidden treasure and loves for us to seek and find 😊
@@rickrouse7865 I would not have appreciated salvation as much as I do now. I would have grieved the Holy Spirit and not have been nearly as disciplined and strong in the Lord as I am now. Praise the Lord He knows what He's doing. And He works differently with everyone.
Please if you read this and are struggling with your faith or daily experience with God...ask for the HolySpirit. He is the deposit Jesus left you with, he guides you into all truths. Stop limiting him or your Christian Faith will be lackluster. You can enjoy your walk with God here on earth also
Hi, I've recently come to a conviction that something or someone is missing from my Christian life and that is the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. I believe my church is leaning towards a Word only heresy. We need God's infallible Word but we need His Spirit to illuminate it. I've listened to and read tozer and Andrew Murray, they say that there is a greater victory over sin and better witness to be had in the Christian life by being filled with the Holy Spirit, as Christians I believe we all have the Holy Spirit but not all are FILLED with the Holy Spirit. Sorry for this very long winded question but how can I be filled with The Holy Spirit? Thanks, Mike
Michael Sutton Hi Michael! I’m so sorry for replying so late. The Bible said “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Luke 11:13...Ask him every day to be filled with the HolySpirit...practice the presence of God by being aware of the HolySpirit with you. I believe in the evidence of speaking with other tongues, a lot of reformed Christians don’t but be opened, remember he is a spirit. Take a moment each day to be refilled. God bless you
When I desire God sufficiently He gives me the explosive, abounding joy as if it is reality. God judges the intent of the heart and when I, in reality, am desiring God so much that it is my greatest, unswerving desire, He sees that intent as if I have already achieved the end outcome. God knows the future. He knows that when my heart and mind are in the correct place what the outcome will be, therefore, the moment I have resolved to obey God no matter He tells me, the moment I decide that I want Him to meet all of my needs and I am going to set my heart on suffering no matter how difficult it is, that moment God grants me abundant joy and overflowing life and peace beyond what the world can give. I always want Jesus, but I don’t always feel as if I completely have Jesus. That is the way it is on this side of eternity. Listen carefully how I am explaining that the activity which we must be doing more than anything is the very act of desiring God. If you have tasted the beauty, glory, value, love, grace and greatness of Jesus ever before then that is experienced again in the very act of desiring Jesus more than anything. The wanting becomes the satisfaction I am pursuing. Again, these days I am experiencing like I have for months at a time in the past the greatest sense of satisfaction from the pain, sorrow, ache in my heart, longing for Jesus. Like a person in love I feel hunger pains for Jesus. The more I meditate on the very act of desiring Jesus the closer I become moved to tears because it is completely the grace of God and the Holy Spirit working within my frail, fragile, pathetically weak, easily tempted body. I despise with vehement hatred the powerful ability which my corrupt lusting flesh is so easily tempted and deceived into believing that I should be desiring the countless temptations thrown at me by the world and the lies whispered to me by demons. It all starts with begging God humbly for a spark of grace which I decide to treat as the “allspark” (transformers movie reference). If all you need is a spark of Grace from God which can turn into a raging forest fire then you know that God has given you everything that you need to succeed at attaining the vision for your life. It is like meeting your spouse or being born again. When I have any doubts then that means I have lost the vision. I say that because the difference is absolutely as vast as life and death. When I am desiring God sufficiently I can feel the emotion tingling in my soul, butterflies in my stomach, an ache in my heart that longs for God’s presence similar to the feeling of falling in love. That emotion is a constant, underpinning flame like beneath a cast iron pan on a gas stove cranked up high. I have had numerous seasons in my life when that has endured for months at a time. Yes I have had dark days also when my emotions have not lined up with the truth and I must fight against them with my mind, heart, free will of what to desire. I preach to my soul because I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. I do remember those seasons and moments of grace from God and I know that nothing in heaven and earth compares to Him. He is my portion and my cup, nothing do I desire on earth besides You Lord. I count everything as loss compared to the surpassing value of knowing and fellowshiping with You Lord. 1 Pet 2:2-3 Like newborn enfants desire the pure spiritual milk and grow up, if you have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. Until a person is born again, all of their desires are not based on the empty place meant to be filled by God alone because they have never tasted God’s love. If you have tasted the love of God and no longer are pursuing desiring Him more than everything then that means you forget He is better than everything or you lack the wisdom in understanding that end purpose and main activity which we need to be engaged in IS the very act of desiring God more than anything else. C.S. Lewis analyzed the relationship between desire and satisfaction. He said “true Joy which comes from God alone is the experience of an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction. On earth we will never have an experience of joy in God that is not composed mainly of desiring. Only in God’s immediate presence is there fullness of joy and pleasures forever more.” Psalm 16:11. For now on earth satisfaction in God will be in measure and not in fullness. And that satisfaction will be found in the desiring of God. I believe this is because of my initial point made that God sees the outcome of the correct intent as if it has already happened. If another person ever does attain this proper amount of desire and when and if I do get deceived again into not desiring God sufficiently, how does one protect this state of the heart? The heart is represented as the locus of what we are focusing our desires on to meet what we believe to be our needs. Failure comes from the three forms of deception; the body’s legitimate cravings, the world and all which it presents to us as means to satisfy the body’s desires and lastly the lies which come from the Accuser and his demons that tempt us into flirting with all the things which are permissible, but not beneficial. There is no biblical rule against alcohol, eating food, pursuing ambitions and watching entertainment.
I feel the John Piper missed the question entirely... the guy to me seems to be saying he has no consistent joy in delving into Jesus. His desire comes from a slow realization that his relationship with Jesus might be fake so he is constantly troubled by wanting what he cannot attain, which is rest and joy in his salvation through Jesus... I been in both seasons in my own life... and knowing & wanting Jesus feels a whole lot better than Just wanting him.
Or maybe Piper is just wrong altogether and his whole obsession with "desiring" and "Christian hedonism" is just an accommodation to postmodern subjectivity but with a "Christian" veneer.
@@guzlemuzle Oh yeah, I was just piggy-backing off of your comment, not really responding to it. It took me many years to figure-out how my thinking was warped by Piper and his many acolytes. I don't say that with any animosity toward Piper, who I still admire and respect.
Dominic Saxton You’re right. I wish he would have answered the question. I’m 5 months into the faith and I feel like I may not be one of the elect because my affections don’t seems to be enough, and it’s impossible to work up feelings yourself.
@@1920s I believe the enemy is getting into your head. Keep praying to become deeper into Christ, continue reading your Bible, always seeking to know Him more. God will not condemn you He will only convict. It is the enemy who wants to destroy your relationship with Christ. Be blessed and keep on keeping on with the Lord, He knows all you desire 🙏🏻
In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people, Isa 28:5 Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea. Job 9:8 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD. Isa 59:20 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Luke 12:2 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 1Th 5:6 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Heb 9:28
The thing is I read "Knowing God" by JI Packer and just realized that "Desiring God" truly makes the line of it. So comforting to know that we need to desire God instead of just knowing Him.
If we "know" Him, it was by the work of God & His Spirit & He knows us. And because of Him & His work in us that we tasted His goodness before, we begin to get thirsty for refreshment again. In other words, we seek God not because He is lost but because we belong to Him - (He sought us out & snatched us out of the world). We seek Him, that awareness of His presence, the consolations in afflictions, comfort during sorrows. That longing & needing gets satisfied but in time, it arises again and so follows seeking God again. But all this flows from the magnificence of Him. As with prayer - Prayer is the shadow of blessing. God has piles of blessings for you, to give to you & those blessings cast a shadow over your soul so that you begin asking until you receive the very thing(s) God had for you. God is the originator, it all comes from, starts with Him.
I don't think P John correctly understand Kai's question. The answer seemed to assume that Kai has experienced joy in Christ to some extent. However, Kai's question is that he was struggling with that he has so little joy of experiencing Christ now. I suggest Kai read 1 Peter chapter1 or Phillipians chapter 2-4 , whereby you can find the reason why Apostles urge us to rejoice always in Christ. in a nutshell, I think the key to have continuous experience of heavenly joy now is to meditate and cherish what God has promised for us in eternity. And I believe when we keep on treasuring God's grace for us, the Holy Spirit will faithfully give us joy as fruit of the Holy Spirit, even though this heavenly and glorious experience may fluctuate a little bit from time to time.
I love desiring God and the reformed theology , having been in both the reformed and charismatic doctrines it is quite sad that both doctrines do not see how much they can glean from each other. A lot of reformed people I know struggle with assurance of salvation, Joy, or even a full experiential knowledge-of the sweet HolySpirit. Jesus said “Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”” John 7:37-38 NIV You will seek to see Christ face to face but the HolySpirit quenches your thirst while on this earth! You will know that you have had an encounter with God! Mental gymnastics and assurance is fine, but when you encounter the power of God you will know. I hope the reformed doctrine points people to also an experiential fellowship With God.
John 1:12-13 ESV [12] But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, [13] who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. A persons will or wanting has little to do with being chosen. But never fear, God intends to save all men. 1 Timothy 4:9-11 ESV [9] The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. [10] For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. [11] Command and teach these things.
How do I know I have tasted the Lord? I've been through a month of struggling with the thought of not being saved because of my habitual sin(which now I recognise as foolish and stopped doing it). Now, after a month of not being able to sleep well, eat etc I had a feeling I don't want God, that I hate Him. And I am terrified! I think I have tasted the Lord before and now mentally I think I desire Him, but I'm scared because of my heart. Help!
Don't trust your feelings. The devil can manipulate your feelings and attack your thoughts and heart. Don't rely on them, rely on the truth which is God's word. Pray about this, share ALL feelings with God since he knows that anyway. Don't be ashamed, be sincere and honest, because shame is not from God. God is only waiting for you because he deeply loves you.
Stefan-Rares Crisan prayer is your best friend. Confess your sins and confess your weakness to the Lord and ask him for help that he would come to you and open your eyes and your heart to taste and see and know his work on the cross and his love. Praying for you, I don’t know you or your heart but the fact that you’re scared is a good sign. Pray and pray and wait on the Lord
@@NoName-nh3fq thanks for the answer. I hope it is the devils who are "working" with my feelings, for I don't want my heart to despise and reject the Lord! I am so scared I became an Esau, that is that I hardened my heart beyond any hope. I tremble at the thought that I hate God and don't desire Him. Am I lost? Can I trust in Him to help me even tho I feel I don't want Him to help me?
@@Foxtrot07gamer May the Lord give me again the joy of Him and of salvation! Right now I tremble and I'm scared because I feel hate and aversion towards God. I hope that my heart is not hardened beyond recovery
@@stefan-rarescrisan5116 the Lord hears your prayers and knows your heart. Sometimes God is testing you by how long it takes him to answer your prayer. He already has an answer and he already knows what you need before you even pray. Ask for a changed and renewed heart. Pehaps theres an idol or sin in your life you need to cut out. praying for you buddy, im also in a time of spiritual dryness and concern so ill pray for the both of us. The Lord promises to be with those who gather in his name
But wouldn't the satisfaction of that desire for God give you more joy than just longing/desiring after the satisfaction? edit: Or is he saying that the longing for God will be more satisfying than any other satisfaction the *world* could give us?
I had the same question. I think he means the latter, because God Himself will satisfy and more than likely exceed our desires for Him in His presence whenever we are in His full presence.
Whenever I feel His presence it's as though my desire for Him feels just under satiated and my desire increases. You just want to reach out and pull Him to you. And you can feel how much He enjoys us being in His presence. He is love!💖
The desire of everyone who has sin is for sin. The desire of all who have perfect works is for Christ alone because Christ alone is our perfect works. And then there are the twice dead, the sons of the devil who have an appearance of righteousness and who have Christ on their lips----who appear to desire God but ultimately we can know whether or not they truly desire the TRUTH by examining their works. If any of their works are sin, they only desire for sin. If CHRIST is their works, they desire for CHRIST and hate all they do and have on earth.
What I'm about to tell you, won't be found here on this podcast because no one has seen it even though it's plain as day. Genesis 3 tells us why we behave the way we do, even though we want Christ in our life. It goes like this: The serpent asked the woman, " what did God say about eating from the tree of life?" The woman replied, " God said, " not to eat of it nor touch it, lest you die." The serpent then responded, " You shall notl die, for the day you eat of it, you will become like God knowing good and evil." This is a controversy between what God said, and what the serpent said. This controversy created a conflict in the woman for then she thought. " the fruit of knowledge is good to eat, good to be wise, and good to be like God knowing good and evil." she then took some of the fruit and ate it. To eat of the fruit means to accept it and so it becomes part of you. The parts of the fruit she ate was, controversy and conflict. Scripture states that after she partook of the fruit. she gave it to Adam and he DID eat. So seeing that the woman was dead to sin, Adam was caught up in a controversy and he became conflicted, for if he refuses the fruit, she is lost to him forever. But because Adam loves her, he accepts the curse upon himself which is an act of rebellion. So these are the fruits of knowledge that the serpent passed into Adam and Eve and they passed onto us: Controversy, conflict, and rebellion. The fruits of knowledge of good and evil are apart of who we are and are genetically sewed into our DNA. The 10 commandments state that we should love God and love each other, but we cannot do that for the fruit of knowledge makes it impossible to do that. Once you understand the WHY of it, you can truly appreciate what Christ did; Christ overcame the sinful nature and was able to do the law. Scripture states that all are corrupt and no one seeks after God. No one accept Christ who was born of the Spirit. We are flesh, born of this world, but Christ, born of Mary, was conceived by the HOLY SPIRIT. His earthly father played no part in his birth. This distinction is important for I believe that it's through our earthly father that the sin gene is passed. Jesus HAD NO SIN in him right from birth, which means, if he didn't accept the cross, he could've come down from there if it was the Father's wish. But the Father left it up to Christ, and Jesus willingly accepted death on the cross. This complete obedience to the Father separates us from Jesus, for Jesus did what we cannot do. No my friend, what your going through is normal. The first two commandments were changed because in our state we have no recourse to love God. This is why when Jesus told his disciples, "I give you a new commandment, to love each other as yourselves, for if you love each other, you will be my disciples." Here he left out the command to love God, for even though we wish to, we can't. As for loving each other? This isn't the Godly love that Christ displayed, it's Peter's love to Christ that is displayed. Jesus accepted Peter even though Peter betrayed him. Even Paul had a problem, for he tells us, " The things I want to do, I can't, and the things I don't want to do, I do." Who can save me from my wretched self? I give thanks to Christ." For those who are struggling with their faith, there's a saying: "When faced with only one direction to walk in, you must accept it and walk on, for you cannot go back since you already know what lies behind you. We're saved by our faith, and even though we have NO idea if the path we are on is the right one, we can only have hope that our faith in Christ pays off.
If you Want the Truth Bad enough..God Will STRIP you of Everything..until there is NO ONE Standing Before you.. but Jesus. It is very hard and it is very Wonderful. At some point you will be stripped of clowns like Piper and all the others.
