How the Supremacy of Christ Creates Radical Christian Sacrafice

This sermon from John Piper was recently recommended to us and has encouraged and boldly challenged us in the Lord. Here are a few favorite bits to share.... but if you can listen to the whole sermon, you will do even better. Get to it here.

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12-13). Jesus, Paul, Peter, Hebrews—they all bear witness: Followers of Jesus will suffer. I do not want to be excluded from that number. You do not want to be excluded from that number."

Our brother, Alim, is certainly not excluded from this number. Let's continue to pray for him as he begins his 15 year prison sentence for loving God.

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Where are the young men and women of this generation who will hold their lives cheap, and be faithful even unto death, who will lose their lives for Christ’s, flinging them away for love of him? Where are those who will live dangerously, and be reckless in this service? Where are the men of prayer? Where are the men who count God’s Word of more importance to them than their daily food? Where are the men who, like Moses of old, commune with God face to face as a man speaks with his friend? Where are God’s men in this day of God’s power?

(Piper shared this quote from Howard Guinness, Sacrifice (1936), found in Lindsay Brown, Shining Like Stars: The Power of the Gospel in the World’s Universities (Nottingham: InterVarsity Press, 2006), p. 151.)

Oh God, may we know the pleasure of being THIS kind of men and women- of fellowshipping with you in your sufferings, that we might be near to you and that you might be glorified! Bring your kingdom, oh Gracious God!

update on the new city

We are still amazed at the way God has worked to bring various workers together in this city to reach this minority group with his Gospel.

As for the two of us, we are each meeting with tutors one on one to study the new minority language with. Please pray that we would have open opportunity and wisdom, boldness, clarity and love to proclaim the Gospel clearly as we should with these tutor friends we meet with daily. Ask that the Spirit would be working in them, causing their hearts to be made soft and open to hear the Gospel.

My husband will soon be meeting with two tutors and is also becoming friends (playing basketball with) my tutor's boyfriend. We don't know of any believing U.s in this city (we've heard there are as many as 10,000 of this Muslim group here). May these young men soon come to Christ!

Our co-worker friends here are are involved in various things: There are English corners on 2 campuses (I think) where our foreign friends are involved in teaching lessons and letting local friends practice their English with them. Most of us are continuing to study language or teach (there are three languages in use- ours, and the majority and minority languages of this country.) Please ask that the Gospel would be proclaimed by us and received by local friends with open hearts in all three of these languages.

Another special thing is that one of my husband's close friends from the capital city arrived on the train this morning to visit us. He's on his way back to school after being home for the New Year holiday. This will be our first Muslim friend to stay with us in our home. Please ask that the Lord would use this time to draw him to Himself! My husband has already shared explicitly with him before. May the Lord continue to work.

Lastly, thank the Lord with us that He has provided a great house helper for us. What blessing to have her help to enable me to study well and hopefully be very active in hosting friends in our home. We long that our home and our table would abound with his gospel being richly demonstrated and regularly proclaimed.

The Lord has also intervened greatly to provide for our kids just as we asked him for blessing on their school. It is nearby and the kids are off to a surprisingly good start there. Bless the Lord with us for hearing and so graciously answering our prayers. We are asking for his continued grace, blessing and protection over them in school and friendships here- especially as they still have an uphill struggle to adjust to speaking the local language again.

May your prayers this day be a joy to you and a sweet and pleasing aroma to our King.

answered prayer and more to pray...

Friends,

We're here... so grateful for all that God has provided for us. He has blessed us tremendously with a great apartment in a super location for making friends here. And it looks like we'll be jumping in this week- beginning our lessons to learn the minority language. We are so excited and hopeful and scared to think of holding on to two separate foreign languages in our brains or making these crazy sounds we hear our friends saying in this wonderful language!

Thank you for your continued prayers with us and for us for U friends here and for learning the U language. We hope to write more soon...

In Prayer

(This entire prayer is from "The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions.")

O LORD,

In prayer I launch far out into the eternal world,

and on that broad ocean my soul triumphs

over all evils on the shores of mortality.

Time, with its gar amusements and cruel disappointments

never appears so inconsiderate as then.

In prayer I see myself as nothing;

I find my heart going after thee with intensity, and long with vehement thirst to live to thee.

Blessed be the strong gales of the Spirit

that speed me on my way to the New Jerusalem.

In prayer all things here below vanish,

and nothing seems important but holiness of heart and the salvation of others.

In prayer all my worldly cares, fears, anxieties disappear,

and are of as little significance as a puff of wind.

In prayer my soul inwardly exults with lively thoughts

at what thou are doing for thy church,

and I long that thou shouldest get thyself a great name

from sinners returning to Zion.

In prayer I am lifted above the frowns and flatteries of life

and taste heavenly joys;

entering into the eternal world

I can give myself to thee with all my heart,

to be thine for ever.

In prayer I can place all my concerns in they hands,

to be entirely at they disposal, having no will or interest of my own.

In prayer I can intercede for my friends, ministers

sinners, the church, thy kingdom to come,

with greatest freedom, ardent hopes,

as a son to his father,

as a lover to the beloved.

Help me to be all prayer and never to cease praying.