(upbeat music) - Well, 2021 is nearly done. 2022 is nearly here. It's amazing. And as we change out the calendar, Pastor John shared some thoughts recently that I wanted to share with you here. He was speaking about our aims at Desiring God. What do we aspire to do? What do we want to be?

What do we want to be known for? What kind of reputation do we want? We think about these things because the Bible calls us to consider these things. And for our answer, I want you to hear from Pastor John directly. Here's what he said recently. - At Desiring God, we love truth.

That's how we love people. Because Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." He said, "When the spirit of truth comes, he'll guide you into all truth." He said, "The Father is seeking those to worship him in spirit and in truth." The Apostle Paul said, "When you go out to battle the devil, put on the belt of truth." Jesus said, "You'll know the truth, and the truth will set you free." And he prayed, "Father, sanctify them in the truth.

Your word is truth." And there's the key for us at Desiring God. Your word is truth. If you love the truth, you love the word. If you measure everything by the truth, you measure everything by the word of God, the Bible. We have a 10-year vision at Desiring God, and we break it down into 10 facets of a fruitful future.

And number one, the very first one goes like this. We intend, we dream, we hope, we pray, we aim that Desiring God will be among the first ministry that people think of all over the world when they are asked the question, "Where can I go for resources that never apologize for any teaching in the Bible?" That's what we wanna be.

And the teaching that is right at the heart of Desiring God is the glorious teaching, the glorious reality, God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him, most happy, most joyful, most treasuring of Jesus right through all the sorrows and pains of obedience. So we aim to be a truth-driven, Bible-saturated, Christ-exalting, obedience-advancing, joy-deepening ministry.

If you love this vision, would you put us to the test? Would you see whether we are found faithful to be that kind of truth-driven ministry? And if you find us faithful, would you consider being a monthly ministry partner with us? We would be so encouraged with that level of support.

So thank you for considering it. - Yes, amen, thank you for considering it. This aim of ours reminds me of Paul's command to a young pastor named Timothy to, quote, "not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord." In 2 Timothy 1.8, Paul himself, of course, said that he was not ashamed of the gospel in Romans 1.16.

And it's this idea of not being ashamed, that idea reminds me of Jesus' stark words in Mark 8.38 when he said this, quote, "For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, "in this adulterous and sinful generation of him "will the Son of Man also be ashamed "when he comes in the glory of his Father "with the holy angels." We must never be ashamed of God's word.

We must make no apologies for what has been revealed to us. That's our calling. And if that resonates with you, if you love this vision, consider becoming a monthly ministry partner with us. To do so, go to give.desiringgod.org. That's a web address, give.desiringgod.org. We really appreciate it. Pastor John is back with me in studio on Friday, New Year's Eve already.

Man, it went by so fast. I'm your host, Tony Reinke, and we'll see you on Friday. (upbeat music) (upbeat music)