“If you’ve been floating on a raft without water for three days after a shipwreck on the ocean, and there appears a speck of land on the horizon, you do not say, “Now to what end shall I feel desire for that land? What good end should now prompt me to decide to feel hope?” even though the longing in your heart may give you the renewed strength to get to land, you do not perform the act of desire and hope and longing in order to get there.
The longing erupts from deep in your heart because of the tremendous value of water (and life) on that land. It is not planned and performed (like the purchase of a plane ticket) as a means to getting what we desire. It rises spontaneously in the heart. It is not a decision made in order to… anything! As a genuine feeling of the heart it is an end in itself.
Or consider fear. If you are camping in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota, and waken in the night to the sound of snorting outside, and then see in the moonlight the silhouette of a huge bear coming toward your tent, you do not say, “Now to what end shall I feel fear?” You do not calculate the good results that might come from the adrenalin that fear produces, and then decide that fear would be an appropriate and helpful emotion to have. It is just there!” -John Piper, Desiring God
“Right thoughts in the head leading to right affections in the heart leading to right responses in the body” -John Piper
1. Unaware of what the bible says about physical responses to God.2. Afraid of what others might think of you
3. Theological Issues
4. Not wanting to be emotional
5. I’m not worthy enough"There is a sure way to know a volcano is active - it erupts. The inner reality invisible to an outside observer could not be contained. It had to spill out. So it is with a true Christian." -Dane Ortlund
Application Questions:
Does my worship resemble the worship of the gathered church in heaven? If not, why not?
Are there any expressions that you have never engaged in? If not, why not?
What are the things that are holding you back in worship of the Savior?
