What Desiring God Wants to Be Known For

00:00:00.000 | (upbeat music)

00:00:02.580 | - Well, 2021 is nearly done.

00:00:06.900 | 2022 is nearly here.

00:00:09.200 | It's amazing.

00:00:10.040 | And as we change out the calendar,

00:00:11.920 | Pastor John shared some thoughts recently

00:00:14.080 | that I wanted to share with you here.

00:00:16.260 | He was speaking about our aims at Desiring God.

00:00:20.440 | What do we aspire to do?

00:00:22.440 | What do we want to be?

00:00:24.560 | What do we want to be known for?

00:00:25.900 | What kind of reputation do we want?

00:00:28.520 | We think about these things

00:00:29.520 | because the Bible calls us to consider these things.

00:00:32.760 | And for our answer,

00:00:34.440 | I want you to hear from Pastor John directly.

00:00:36.980 | Here's what he said recently.

00:00:38.440 | - At Desiring God, we love truth.

00:00:44.360 | That's how we love people.

00:00:46.460 | Because Jesus said,

00:00:48.320 | "I am the way, the truth, and the life."

00:00:53.320 | He said, "When the spirit of truth comes,

00:00:57.800 | he'll guide you into all truth."

00:01:00.080 | He said, "The Father is seeking those to worship him

00:01:04.480 | in spirit and in truth."

00:01:07.600 | The Apostle Paul said, "When you go out to battle the devil,

00:01:11.280 | put on the belt of truth."

00:01:14.200 | Jesus said, "You'll know the truth,

00:01:16.440 | and the truth will set you free."

00:01:18.920 | And he prayed, "Father, sanctify them in the truth.

00:01:23.920 | Your word is truth."

00:01:25.720 | And there's the key for us at Desiring God.

00:01:28.480 | Your word is truth.

00:01:30.520 | If you love the truth, you love the word.

00:01:34.360 | If you measure everything by the truth,

00:01:37.640 | you measure everything by the word of God, the Bible.

00:01:42.360 | We have a 10-year vision at Desiring God,

00:01:45.200 | and we break it down into 10 facets of a fruitful future.

00:01:50.200 | And number one, the very first one goes like this.

00:01:55.440 | We intend, we dream, we hope, we pray,

00:01:57.920 | we aim that Desiring God will be among the first ministry

00:02:02.520 | that people think of all over the world

00:02:04.680 | when they are asked the question,

00:02:06.400 | "Where can I go for resources that never apologize

00:02:11.160 | for any teaching in the Bible?"

00:02:14.080 | That's what we wanna be.

00:02:16.240 | And the teaching that is right at the heart of Desiring God

00:02:20.520 | is the glorious teaching, the glorious reality,

00:02:24.720 | God is most glorified in us

00:02:27.560 | when we are most satisfied in him,

00:02:30.120 | most happy, most joyful, most treasuring of Jesus

00:02:34.800 | right through all the sorrows and pains of obedience.

00:02:38.960 | So we aim to be a truth-driven, Bible-saturated,

00:02:43.960 | Christ-exalting, obedience-advancing,

00:02:49.200 | joy-deepening ministry.

00:02:52.320 | If you love this vision, would you put us to the test?

00:02:57.080 | Would you see whether we are found faithful

00:03:02.040 | to be that kind of truth-driven ministry?

00:03:05.320 | And if you find us faithful,

00:03:07.200 | would you consider being a monthly ministry partner with us?

00:03:12.600 | We would be so encouraged with that level of support.

00:03:17.440 | So thank you for considering it.

00:03:20.640 | - Yes, amen, thank you for considering it.

00:03:22.960 | This aim of ours reminds me of Paul's command

00:03:25.800 | to a young pastor named Timothy to, quote,

00:03:28.080 | "not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord."

00:03:32.840 | In 2 Timothy 1.8, Paul himself, of course,

00:03:36.400 | said that he was not ashamed of the gospel in Romans 1.16.

00:03:40.680 | And it's this idea of not being ashamed,

00:03:44.000 | that idea reminds me of Jesus' stark words in Mark 8.38

00:03:48.040 | when he said this, quote,

00:03:49.980 | "For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words,

00:03:54.000 | "in this adulterous and sinful generation of him

00:03:57.280 | "will the Son of Man also be ashamed

00:03:58.960 | "when he comes in the glory of his Father

00:04:01.400 | "with the holy angels."

00:04:02.840 | We must never be ashamed of God's word.

00:04:06.200 | We must make no apologies for what has been revealed to us.

00:04:11.040 | That's our calling.

00:04:12.240 | And if that resonates with you, if you love this vision,

00:04:15.600 | consider becoming a monthly ministry partner with us.

00:04:17.800 | To do so, go to give.desiringgod.org.

00:04:21.280 | That's a web address, give.desiringgod.org.

00:04:24.980 | We really appreciate it.

00:04:26.500 | Pastor John is back with me in studio on Friday,

00:04:29.540 | New Year's Eve already.

00:04:31.860 | Man, it went by so fast.

00:04:33.820 | I'm your host, Tony Reinke, and we'll see you on Friday.

00:04:37.060 | (upbeat music)

00:04:39.640 | (upbeat music)

00:04:42.220 | [BLANK_AUDIO]

What Desiring God Wants to Be Known For

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