Christian History magazine without any qualification or hesitation said after Jesus and Paul Augustine

of Hippo is the most influential figure in the history of Christianity.

In this episode of Light and Truth, John Piper begins a four-part series on Augustine and Sovereign

Joy. This biographical talk was originally given at the 1998 Bethlehem Conference for Pastors.

Let's pray.

Oh, Father, I pray that we mean what we say. I will suffer not to hide thee.

Not I ask beside thee. There is a savage necessity in the Christian life to wage war against the

hiddenness of your glory. Pluck out an eye if you must to get to heaven and see God.

God, cut off a hand if you must to wean yourself off lower pleasures and fix yourself on endless

ones. And I pray that you would use Augustine's life and thought to sharpen our sword.

Jesus, name my pray.

We heard this morning that the unthinkable happened in 410 AD, namely that

Alaric and the gods came against Rome and sacked it. Saint Jerome was in Palestine at the time,

and he said, if Rome can perish, what can be safe? Well, Rome didn't perish immediately,

66 more years until the last emperor was dethroned by the Germans.

And the shock waves in that 410 event across the Mediterranean very quickly, Augustine was 55 years old.

In the prime of his ministry, he would go on ministering the word for another 20 years

in hippo just south west across the sea in present day Algeria for another 20 years,

but it was shocking though it wasn't the end yet. And as you heard this morning, it did unleash the

city of God in which his own philosophy of history over against the possible demise of Rome was

developed for about 20 years of writing. August 28, 430 he dies. And just as he's dying, 80,000

vandals, as they were called, were coming across the north of Africa where they had invaded

...