Well, this podcast often addresses gospel boldness, and we talk about risk-taking, and we talk

about personal suffering.

And on occasion, those three themes, boldness, risk, and suffering, merge together like

they do today in a sermon clip from the Ministry of John Piper.

Today we look specifically at how the assurance of the hope of heaven releases us for

radical, risk-taking love that makes people look at our lives and ask for the reason

for the hope that is in us, as Peter says in 1st Peter 315.

So how do we escape the natural love of safety?

Here's Pastor John's answer from 30 years ago in a sermon on Revelation 21, have a listen.

Richard Baxter was a very effective pastor in the 17th century in England, is well known

for his book, The Reformed Pastor.

Not many people know, however, that Richard Baxter labored for all the years of his life under

a tremendous pain.

He had frequent nose bleeds, constant cough, headaches, digestive ailments, kidney stones,

gall stones.

He believed in supernatural healing.

He testified several times that God had delivered him out of a deadly disease to keep

on ministering by a direct intervention.

In fact, he told a story one time of entering the pulpit and he could see in the looking

glass a big, cancerous tumor on the back of his throat that vanished while he was preaching

and testifying to the grace of God.

And yet, all his life, from the age of 21 on he testified, there's never been an hour

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