"You Will Suffer" by John Piper

The Supremacy of Christ- Symphonic Sermon Jam Video John Piper and ddrawing

 Charity and I beleive this is one of the best effective presentation of the Gospel by John Piper and the drawing by

PREACHING AND TEACHING THE WORD IN A MODERN WORLD?

"Rather than trying to take the Bible and bring it into the modern day, I try to take the modern day and bring it back to the Bible. And that’s a distinction you want to make. This stuff about culture shaping preaching is taking the Bible and redefining it in modern terms. My goal is to take modern culture and the people of that culture and redefine them in biblical terms so that they are living back in the Scriptures. "  John MacArthur

Charles e. Whisnant, part five of the message from SundayMoring January 09 2010

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[Pastor], my message to you is very simple and very precarious. It is 2 Timothy 4:2, "Preach the Word." I call it precarious, because there is a constant temptation to do other things in the place of this. There ARE other things to do in the ministry, as these letters to Timothy show. And we must do them to be found faithful. But none of them is treated as solemnly and forcefully as this one simple exhortation from the apostle: "Preach the Word."

What Is the Word?

The God-Inspired Scripture

 

• First, in 2 Timothy 3:16, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." This is immediately followed by the command, "I charge you to preach the Word." So it is fitting to say that the Word to be preached is first the Scriptures that Timothy grew up on, the Old Testament. When you preach, preach the inspired Scriptures. The "Word" of 4:2 is the "God-inspired Scripture" of 3:16. 

• Don't miss the simple fact that the word "Scripture" means simply "writing" or "letter." This means that the Word of God has come to us in a written form—in a book. Which means that your preparation for preaching will be in large measure book work. You must find your preaching in a book. It must not be dead. It must not be bookish. But it must be book-derived. Book-faithful. Book-saturated. Book-balanced. It must be Spirit-given, Spirit-shaped, Spirit-carried, and Spirit-delivered. But the Spirit inspired the book and broods over the book and lives to exalt the Christ of the book. So preach the Word, [pastor], that is, preach the book.

The Standard of Sound Doctrine

1. The second clue that we can see about "the Word" in these verses is in 2 Timothy 4:3 which gives the reason for preaching the Word: Preach the Word, "FOR the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine." So the Word to be preached is "sound doctrine." 

• Now what does this "sound doctrine" refer to? 2 Timothy 1:13 gives us the answer: "Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me." Sound doctrine in 2 Timothy 4:3 refers to a "standard of sound words" transmitted to Timothy by the apostle Paul. "Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me." 
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• SO YOU ARE TO TEACH THE WORD AND YOU ARE TO PREACH THE WORD. 
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Preaching Is Not Just Explaining or Teaching
 

• Preaching (kerussõn) is different from teaching. In 2 Timothy 1:10–11, Paul says, "[Christ] abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher." That is, I was appointed for three tasks: heralding or announcing the Truth as a preacher; composing, preserving, and transmitting the authoritative pattern of Truth as an apostle; and explaining and applying the Truth as a teacher.

• So preaching is not just explaining or teaching. Preaching is heralding. Preaching is what a town crier does when there is a message from the king.

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John Piper

How would you encourage a Christian to resist sin while knowing that God will ultimately work it for their good?
That's really a good question.

Very practically, the devil and our own sin can incline us to use the sovereignty of God to justify complicity in sin. And it's at this point that we need to have a strong commitment to the authority of the Bible and the authority of God telling us how to live with the truth that he has revealed to us.

So many of us learn a fact, like "God is sovereign" or "God loves me" or "God hates sin," and we start spinning implications out of our brain, some of which aren't biblical!

They look rational. They look like they should be believed. "Well, if God is sovereign, then he is responsible for evil. Therefore we can't be responsible. Therefore let us sin that grace may abound," blah blah blah, and it's all unbiblical!

If we're going to latch on to big truths like the sovereignty of God, we've got to latch on to them the way God ordains for us to latch on to them. We've got to latch on to them biblically. That is, we have to see them in connection with all the other biblical truths.

Among those biblical truths is Paul contemplating the thought in Romans 3 and 6, "Shall we sin that grace may abound?" He just said in Romans 5:21 that where sin abounded, grace much more abounded. And here goes somebody with their logic: "Cool! I'll just make grace abound everywhere! I'll just click on as much pornography as I can, and commit as much fornication as I can, and steal as much as I can, and be as greedy as I can. Praise God's grace!"

And Paul answers that in chapter 3 that those people deserve to be accursed. And he says in chapter 6, "Shall we sin that grace may abound? God forbid! For how can you who died still live in it?"

Now there's a truth as important as the truth of God's sovereignty.

Christian, you're dead. You've got to come to terms with what that means. You can't just say, "Well God is sovereign, therefore all my sins are his doing. Therefore I can sin." No! Be biblical. Think God's thoughts. This is complex. Don't depend on your own brain. Depend on God's brain. And God says, "Dead people don't sin" (Romans 6:3).

So you need to figure out what it means to be dead. And put to death what is earthly in you. "If we live according to the flesh, we will die. If we, by the Spirit, put to death the deeds of the body, we will live." That's a truth as big as the truth of God's sovereignty. You can't throw that out and just go do your own logical thing.

So my answer is, Be biblical. We're working here with infinite realities that our brains are not capable of managing on our own. You can't learn one truth from God and then manage it with your brain. You have to constantly submit every thought that you have about God to other thoughts about God so that God manages your brain. Otherwise you will take a truth and distort it in some sinful way.

This is really big. Bottom line: be thoroughly biblical. Test everything by the Bible.

John Piper says we should guard the powerful role of preaching in worship.

What are your thoughts on drama and movie clips in church services?

Should churches use movie clips and drama to get people in to the church, and make preaching better?

WHAT SHOULD THE CHURCH CONSCIOUSLY BE

There must also be an explicit, visible communion of the saints.

Schaeffer writes,

What should the church consciously be then? The church consciously should be that which encourages its members in the true Christian life, in true spirituality . . . . It should encourage them in freedom in the present life from the bonds of sin, and in freedom in the present life from the results of the bonds of sin. It should encourage substantial healing in their separation from themselves and a substantial healing in their separation from their fellowman, especially fellow Christians (149). Ture Spirituality

The church should teach a practice of the existence of God, “and a practice of the reality of and the exhibition of God’s character of holiness and love. The church cannot merely teach these things in words; we must see the practice of these things in the church as a corporate body.

The purpose of the church is to be a living example of the living Jesus Christ in the world today. The roll the church plays in the world is to be the example of the reality of Jesus Christ in our lives.

The role of the spiritual leaders, pastors of the local church is to see Christ glorified.

Here is what John Piper said back in 1995 on Spiritual leadership:

• I define spiritual leadership as knowing where God wants people to be and taking the initiative to use God's methods to get them there in reliance on God's power. The answer to where God wants people to be is in a spiritual condition and in a lifestyle that display his glory and honor his name. Therefore, the goal of spiritual leadership is that people come to know God and to glorify him in all that they do. Spiritual leadership is aimed not so much at directing people as it is at changing people. If we would be the kind of leaders we ought to be, we must make it our aim to develop persons rather than dictate plans. You can get people to do what you want, but if they don't change in their heart you have not led them spiritually. You have not taken them to where God wants them to be.

JOHN PIPER AND JOHN MACARTHUR PREACHING

When we come to hear the sermon or take up the Bible, we must not have the foolish arrogance of thinking that we shall easily understand everything we hear or read. But we must come with reverence, we must wait entirely upon God, knowing that we need to be taught by His Holy Spirit, and that without Him we cannot understand anything that is shown us in His Word.

Yesterday evening, I listened via video on the Internet two messages from two pastors/teachers on their church website. John MacArthur and John Piper.

I observed several things:

1. Both men had suit and ties.
2. Both were standing behind the pulpit or podium. And both remained behind the podium, rather than walking from one end of the platform to the other.
3. Both men preached from the text of the Bible. Luke and John. And both used their Bibles.
4. There were no props that would provide aid to their sermons and preaching.
5. There was a clear presentation of the text. And both use different translations. ESV and NASV.
6. As I listened and viewed them preaching, I downloaded their manscripts. I noticed that they were not preaching line by line their manscript. John MacAruthur uses a full outline while preaching.
7. And when they finished preaching or teaching they quit.
8. John Piper said, "In your bulletin there is a tear off that you can fill out if you want to respond to this message. There was no public invitation given by either.

They both have preached over 20-30 years in their churches. Their messages are online.

I have tried to pattern my understanding of the text and preaching after John MacArthur, (I tease that I have sent him my sermon notes).

1. My style is teaching.
2. I teach from the New Testament generally, and use a lot of Old Testament references.
3. I teach book by book. Presently I am teaching from I Thessalonians and Philippians.
4. I use a manuscript and give out outlines from the manuscript.
5. I have recorded all my messages. Presently I am not. But will as soon as possible.
6. I do wear a tie and suit in both services. (Just like the look)
7. I tend to stay behind the podium. (I need to see my notes)
8. While I do read from the KJV while preaching, I do use and read from the esv and nasv when explaining the text.

Of course I have written no books. I am not on radio, or TV and my sermons do not appear on the website. But I sure do love preaching and teaching and pastoring a group of people that the Lord has given us.

And I am glad that John Piper and John MacArthur have books, and tapes, and are on the Internet and TV and Radio. Praise the Lord. Listen to them.

Primarily why I like these men is their expositional preaching and teaching. They both are godly men who have proven themselves to be men who love Jesus Christ, and love their position as pastor/teacher of their church.

JOHN PIPER AND JOHN MACARTHUR, JR

A CONVERSATION WITH JOHN PIPER AND JOHN MacARTHUR, JR.

A MUST LISTEN TO.

Piper and MacArthur answer questions from Justin Taylor about their lives and ministries.

The questions include:

1. When did you become aware of each others' ministries?
   
2. How have your father's influenced your ministries? Did they want you to be pastors?
3. If you could tell your younger selves one thing, knowing what you know now, what would it be?
4. How do you handle praise? How about criticism?
5. How do you counsel younger ministers and missionaries when their ministries seem fruitless?
6. When you get discouraged where do you go for encouragement?
7. When your life is over, what do you want to be remembered for?

I am not embarrassed to say, these two men have and are influencing my life and ministry. I listen to this this morning and believe these two men, who have different perspective on some issues, yet have respect for each other, both love the Word. While I lean toward the ministry of John MacArthur, there is a balance reading and hearing John Piper.

1 Thessalonians 2:14"For you, brethren, became followers (imitators) of th churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus:"