Thus, Piper expressed that when deciding what to preach, he needs “wisdom,” which he defined as the ability to “take the knowledge of God and the knowledge of his revealed will, and wisely apply it to a situation.”
“But here’s what I have experienced: namely, that this wisdom, as I try to experience it and apply biblical truth, is shot through with the subjective influences of my heart,” Piper expressed. “So that it would be presumptuous of me to say that I make my choices in such situations simply because I am wise, because I’m a Bible-applying wise person.”
Piper recounted his process for preparing for a recent sermon he gave to prison inmates. He had set aside four hours to prepare and had tentatively planned to preach from Philippians 3. However, he woke up thinking about Romans 8, which he considers to be “the greatest chapter in the Bible.”
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“Now, that was not a decision, right? That was not a decision. It wasn’t a result of any kind of extensive contemplation at that moment. It was a strong experience,” said Piper. “I didn’t choose it, and that strong affection for Romans 8 may have been decisive. I suspect it was decisive, but I didn’t decide to love Romans 8 before I got out of bed. It was just there.”
Piper said that he went on to consider the fact that he knew Romans 8 more thoroughly than Philippians 3, and given that he had a limited time to prepare, it would be wise to choose Romans 8.
“So, you can see how sheer practicality figured into the spiritual dynamics of the moment,” Piper expressed. “I would be naive to say that didn’t count. Before I got out of bed, the decision was made: Romans 8. It’s going to be Romans 8.”
Once he made that decision, Piper went about contemplating how best to communicate the message of the chapter to prisoners.
“So, that was the process—except for one thing that I haven’t mentioned, and it might be all-important, and I’ll bet our listeners know what I left out,” Piper said. “For days, I had been praying, pleading, pleading with the Lord to guide me, show me, show me what Scripture and what approach would be most effective for salvation. What would be most effective for strengthening faith?”
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“And I am very, very thankful that, I think, he answered that prayer,” Piper added.
