choosing to be mistreated with the people of God

then to enjoy the fleeting mark that in your Bible because I'm not telling you

that the pleasures of sin are not real I'm just telling you they're fleeting. They don't last. Christ lasts forever.

There's a reason sin is tempting, and that's because it actually feels good for just a little while. But John

Piper doesn't shy away from that particular reality. He just reminds us from the book of Hebrews

what it is that actually lasts. I'm Dan Kruver. In this episode of Light and Truth, John Piper

presses into why Christ not sin is the joy that never fades. This message was

originally delivered at the Bethlehem Baptist Church Youth Retreat in the winter of 2004.

I have one thing to add, and I'll add it to both the worship vertical dimension of Christian hedonism

and the horizontal love dimension of Christian hedonism. I'll say the

vertical dimension like this. God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him,

especially when we maintain satisfaction in him through suffering.

It's pretty easy to be a Christian kind of when all's well.

Everybody around you is a Christian.

Mom and dad are Christian.

You got a cluster friends of school maybe who are Christians got a church that's kind of easy cruise

through life just being what everybody else around you is the day's going to come when the props of

your life start to fall out all the things you've been leaning on are going to get knocked out one

after the other,

friends will go, health might go, parents might split tragedy. And you're going to be left

wondering, has it all been real? Has all my, praise you, praise you Jesus in the worship songs been coming from here or just it just feels

good in the group and it's coming and i want you to be ready and i'm saying that when you

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