What I Have Covered In This Four Week Series: Series

Birth of Christian Hedonism

What I have covered in this Four Week Series:

Jeremiah 32:37-42

 The Confessions of a CH – How did I get here

 The Foundations of CH: God’s commitment to God’s Glory (God centered thinking)

 The Birth of a CH – New birth; depths of our sinfulness and the power of redemption

 The Hope of CH – Gods power/commitment to our sanctification; how to fight for our joy; power over sin.

 The Motivation of CH – Reward; joy as motive for CH

Def of CH: God is most glorified when you are most satisfied in him. Seeking our happiness in Him is not optional. Last week we saw that God loves/ pursues his own glory in all that he does. All the omnipotent energy that that drives him to glorify himself is the same omnipotent energy that he seeks to satisfy the human heart that as we seek our joy in him because as the human heart is most satisfied in him, he is mot glorified.

ESV Jeremiah 32:37

(Ezek 36)

But God does not do this for all people. God does not commit himself to all people only to those who believe. So today I want to describe what it means to believe, what it means to be a Christian. My concern in the church today is that there is no difference in the lifestyles between professing Christians and those who do not profess to be Christians. (stats - Ie premarital sex, cheating on taxes, loan applications, live for self, not died to the world, sin, no appetite for fellowship, bible, ie Rays comments.)

1. We are created for Gods glory

ESV Isaiah 43:6 I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."

You and I were created above all other reasons, for Gods glory. That is God formed you in your mothers womb for his glory. He will do that in a multitude of different ways and different means for every single individual but it is all for his glory.

2. We fall short of the glory of God

ESV Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Most of us have been taught that this verse means falling short in comparison to God, as in quality, moral value, as in comparison to God. But I want to suggest to you that is not what it main point is. Romans 1:21, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.” Why does humanity exchange the glory of the immortal God for idols? Because our hearts are sinful, foolish and we do not honor him and value we value man made idols more than God. Ie exchanging cars; Aaron. All my sin and your sin flows out of not valuing God and his glory. That is the essence of all sin. Ie reasons why or why marriages do not break up; MR.

Have you ever considered why the punishment for sin is sin is so horrifying? If God is the most valuable being, he is of infinite value, then he deserves us to value, love, and desire him infinitely. So if we do not value him infinitely the consequence of this must be commensurate to the ethical breach or violation. The violation of sin is infinitely immoral and therefore the consequence must be infinitely punishable. That is why hell is just. Sin, not valuing God as he ought, deserves infinite punishment.

But not only do we choose to sin but we are sinful. Sin is not just a choice, sin is the condition of the heart. All actions outside of Christ are sinful. Rom 14:23 says anything outside of faith is sin. Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” We do what we desire as unbelievers. We sin because we are sinful, our hearts desire and crave sin. You and I cannot do anything contrary to that sinful nature, we cannot not sin. As a matter of fact we cannot even submit to God! “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Rom 8:7)