Let the Nations Be Glad!

Repost from January 4, 2007


I once read "Let the Nations be Glad" by John Piper in my Undergraduate program at Toccoa Falls College, but at the time did not care very much. As I have read Piper's books When I Don't Desire God and Brothers, We are not Professionals, I have become more attuned to what God wants from me. It's not my service. It's not my writings. It's not my websites. It's not my family. Don't get me wrong. All of this is good and desirable as long as it only does one thing. That is, it should all glorify God. It should lift God up and keep Him on the throne. When we do not glorify God, when we go away from what He has called all men to do, that is to worship Him, we fall into the a sin of unbelief in God. All nations are called to worship Him in all His glory. Remember the catechism, "What is the chief end of man?" and the answer, "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." Piper adds this, "What is the chief end of God?". The answer: "To glorify God and enjoy Himself forever." That is important to understand because God only desires His glory. That sounds egotistical and self-righteous, but we're talking about God here. Don't believe me? Read the book, and the Bible, particularly the Psalms. How can all nations be glad, when you have fighting in the Middle East between Arabs and Jews over a piece of land? Aren't we suppose to support the Jews in all that they do? After all, the Bible does say, "I will bless those who bless Israel, and curse those who curse Israel", right? The Bible absolutely does not say that or even indicate that. Perhaps I have a chip on my shoulder about this issue, but to even believe this is to deny God's salvation itself. Who saves? GOD! That is what is important. ALL NATIONS will have disciples based on Mattew 28:19-20. Why? Because Christ is sovereign and has all authority on both heaven and earth based on verse 18 of the same passage. Those who don't believe in missions or don't support missions or disobeying God. God calls us to either send or go. There is no sit and soak. We should be supporting missions with our time, money, and/or prayer. These are the very words of Jesus in Matthew 24, 28, and Acts 1:8. We will be witnesses to the very ends of the earth. Why? For the very glory of God. For Christ's name sake from Romans 1:5. We cannot be disobedient to the very call of God on our lives. If you sit and soak, you sour. That's all there is to it. Some other books I mentioned in the post are listed below. I also encourage you to check out the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible from Crossway.


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http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=godatthecen-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0875526438&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&lc1=0000FF&bc1=FFF6D7&bg1=FFF6D7&f=ifr





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