Memorial Drive
2/1/15
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DESIRE AND DELIGHT:
Discovering How Both and Neither Is the Goal
Various Texts
Four Concerns …
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That God would allow me to be both clear and compelling.
That you will be convinced enough to work at both understanding and then implementing
them in your life.
That you won’t be put off by the fact that in this series of messages I’m walking you through
a book by John Piper.
That the task of preaching is not completed in the speaking of truth but in the hearing and
application of the truth.
... WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DESIRE AND DELIGHT?
DELIGHT, Pleasure, Contentment,
Satisfaction, Joy, Enjoying, Rejoicing In
Our Experience When Something Is In
Our Possession (Present)
On the other
hand, words
like …
DESIRE, Longing, Thirsting, Hoping,
Passionately Pursuing, Looking For
Our Experience When Something Is Not
Yet Ours (Future)
… Examples of DESIRING God
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And besides You, I DESIRE nothing on earth. My heart and my
flesh may fail, but God IS the strength of my heart AND MY PORTION forever.” (Ps. 73:25-26)
“The Lord IS my PORTION … I will HOPE in Him.” (Lam. 3:24)
“As a deer PANTS FOR flowing streams, SO PANTS MY SOUL for YOU, O GOD. My soul THIRSTS
for the living God.” (Psalm 42:1)
“My soul YEARNS for you in the night; my spirit within me ERNESTLY SEEKS YOU.” (Isa. 26:9)
“My DESIRE is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better …” (Phil. 1:23)
… Examples of DELIGHTING in God
“Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive
should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there
be no cattle in the stalls, yet I WILL EXULT in the LORD, I WILL REJOICE in the God of my
salvation.” (Hab. 3:17-18)
“I will go to the altar of God, to God MY EXCEEDING JOY.” (Ps. 43:4) “Great are the works of the
Lord, studied by all WHO DELIGHT in them.” (Ps. 111:2)
… Two Reasons Why DESIRE and DELIGHT Are Closely Connected
o Desire in ITSELF is pleasant or pleasurable and enjoyable!
“… who can draw a clear line between the excitement of desire that a child feels just before Daddy gets home
and the pleasure the child feels as Daddy walks in the door? The desire is part of the pleasure of Daddy coming
home and getting home and being home. So desire is inseparable from pleasure. It is part of it.” (ibid, 26)
o Desire DOESN’T EXIST Unless One Has Already Had a Taste of the Thing Desired!
2
“… desire is awakened by tastes of pleasure.” (Piper)
... ARE WE ON THE RIGHT TRACK? DOES SCRIPTURE BEAR THIS OUT?
o We Rejoice In the Lord At Present AND We Rejoice In Hope of Future Joy
“Rejoice in the Lord” (Phil. 3:1)
“We rejoice IN HOPE of the glory of God …” (Rom. 5:2)
“The object of our joy is future and not yet fully experienced. Nevertheless, even though the object of the joy is
future, we hope for it – that is, we DESIRE it with confidence, and this DESIRE is JOYFUL.” (Piper)
An Example: “rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven”
We can’t entirely distinguish between desire and delight, longing for and being satisfied in,
thirsting for, and being glad in. There is a close connection.
… IMPLICATIONS OF THE CONNECTION BETWEEN DESIRE AND DELIGHT
o There will always be more of God to enjoy through all of eternity!
“The difference between desire FOR God and delight IN God is important mainly to make clear that
finite creatures like us, who have a spiritual taste for the glory of God, will always WANT more of God
than we presently experience, even in eternity.” (ibid, 27-28)
OUR (present) desire for GOD’S pleasures is pitifully small compared to their true worth.
o Tasting the joy of the Lord here and now will create a greater hunger for and desire
for the Lord and for the fullness of His presence, and will benefit us through
persevering and sin-defeating power in our lives!
“… everyone who has this hope … purifies himself …” (I John 3:2-3)
Go for all the joy you can now! Fight for it! Cry out for it! Seek it! Long for it!
The more we taste of God, the greater our desire for Him will be!
o Filling our minds with the truth about our joyful future will increase our present joy!
When we anticipate something that is joy-bringing/satisfying/fulfilling, we experience joy even
in the anticipation of the future joy. So fill your mind with thoughts of what is to come!
“… keep seeking the things above … set your mind on the things above … when Christ, who is
our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with Him in glory.” (Col. 3:1-4)
… NEITHER DESIRE NOR DELIGHT IS WHAT WE FINALLY WANT
God calls us not merely to desire and delight, to longing and satisfaction, but to DESIRE and
DELIGHT in the right thing, the only thing that can truly satisfy, God Himself.
The ultimate goal is “to see and to savor ‘the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image
of God.” (2 Cor. 4:4)