Here are a few of my own observations in response to the questions raised in the opening post as I am listening to John Piper's The Pursuit of Joy in Life and Ministry, Session 1.

John Piper's Opening statement (from 1 minute 20 seconds to 3 minutes 15 seconds ): It is a liberating and devastating topic to be told that you not only may but should pursue your joy in everything lands on you [...] with amazing liberation, this is too good to be true [...]; on the other hand, to be told that you must delight in God above all things when you in fact don't is devastating, scary. I've seen it do both. I've seen it absolutely decimate people, and I've seen it set so many free. And both probably are necessary somewhere along the way. [...]
John Piper's summary of his seminar (from 6 minutes 35 seconds to 7 minutes 50 seconds):
If God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him, then, how should we live? how should we minister? How should we motivate ourselves and others when it comes to prayer, love, marriage, money, mission, reading Scriptures? [...]
The mission statement into which these seminars fit (from 7 minute 50 seconds to 8 minutes 30 seconds): We exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ.
John Piper's introduction to the pursuit of joy in life and ministry (from 11 minute 20 seconds to 17 minutes 5 seconds): The struggle with motivation. What kind of things should be going on in your mind as you do such things as street evangelism? Joy? Duty? Luke 14:13-14: "But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." What makes motivation work according to that? Jesus says, do these things. I would read these things and I would be torn up inside. [...]
For additional notes on the conference, please consult The Pursuit of Joy in Life and Ministry, from DesiringGod.org.

One problem Piper seemed to have had was to integrate the notion of the joy thought in the Bible with the cultural ambiance according to which to have any moral value, duty and motivation must be based on no benefits we derive from it at all, except raw will power.

What is this conference all about (copied from The Pursuit of Joy in Life and Ministry, from DesiringGod.org)?
A SUMMARY OF CHRISTIAN HEDONISM IN FIVE STATEMENTS

1. The longing to be happy is a universal human experience, and it is good, not sinful.

2. We should never try to deny or resist our longing to be happy, as though it were a bad impulse. Instead we should seek to intensify this longing and nourish it with whatever will provide the deepest and most enduring satisfaction.

3. The deepest and most enduring happiness is found only in God.

4. The happiness we find in God reaches its consummation when it expands to meet the needs of others in the manifold ways of love.

5. To the extent we try to abandon the pursuit of our own pleasure, we fail to honor God and love people. Or, to put it positively: the pursuit of pleasure is a necessary part of all worship and virtue.
What would your first response be to the pursuit of joy in life and ministry, summarized under what Piper calls Christian hedonism?

A few notes as I listen to John Piper's The Pursuit of Joy in Life and Ministry, Session 2, from DesiringGod.org:

A. This second session of "The Pursuit of Joy in Life and Ministry" attempts to demonstrate that the Foundation of Christian Hedonism is first of all God's Zeal for His Own Glory. John Piper does this by walking us through Scriptures focusing on six stages of redemptive history.

1. Predestination (Ephesians 1; cf. Ephesians 1:4,6, English Standard Version).

Why did God predestine us? Why did He choose me? According to the purpose of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace. What does that mean? In accord with something... to something... Why? to what end? To the end of the praise of the glory of His grace. You were elect as a Christian and predestined to be elected in God's glory, which makes God the goal of your predestination, of your election. This is not unclear. This is clear. Unto praising Him. He chose me so that He would be praised.

2. Creation (Isaiah 43:6-7, ESV).

Why were you created? You were created for God's glory. It means you display God's glory. You reflect God's glory.

3. Incarnation (Romans 15:8-9; Philippians 2:5ff, ESV).

Christ became a servant, a human, to show God's truthfulness, show that the promises will be kept, and in order that we, the gentiles, might glorify God for His mercy. How do the glory of God and the mercy of God relate here? Mercy is infinitely precious. But it's not the end. The end is that on the basis of having been shown mercy, I will be glorifying God for all of eternity.

4. Propitiation (Romans 3:25-26, ESV).

We're at the centre of history with the cross. The act by which the wrath of God is absorbed. This act of propitiating God's wrath through the death of Christ was to show His righteousness. Why? Because, in his forbearance, he has passed over former sin. What's the problem? Why do you have to have your Son die? God passes over sin. Sin means, according to Romans 3:23, failing to glorify God. We treasure other things more than His glory. This is what sin is. How does God passes over glory-trampling sin? By trampling His Son instead of trampling us. By punishing His Son instead of punishing us. We're not saved without reference to His glory.

5. Sanctification (Ephesians; cf the Lord's prayer in the Gospels).

Paul asks God to do things in your people for your glory. Lord's prayer, "hallowed be thy name". Le your name be hallowed. We are asking God to be zealous for His glory. The goal of all prayers is to glorify God, which means we're asking God to glorify God.

6. Transformation (2 Thessalonians 1:9-10).

When He comes on that day to be glorified and to be marvelled on. Jesus' ultimate aim for us is that we see and enjoy his glory.

B. The Essence of Christian Hedonism: Man's Chief End is to Glorify God BY Enjoying Him.

Now, how is what we have just seen loving? We are breathing the air of man being centred on man, which makes us totally unprepared to understand this. This is loving. Piper develops this through citations from C.S. Lewis and from Jonathan Edwards, before turning to passages of Scriptures such as John 11, John 17. Are we able, through our problems, to see more of God's grace?

A few notes as I listen to John Piper's The Pursuit of Joy in Life and Ministry, Session 3, from DesiringGod.org:

For John Calvin, the world is the theatre of God. God has two scripts: the word of God; the world, not in its natural beauties only, but also sociological, political, human, cultural world. We stir up at watching the world, God's world, God's doing.

Sessions 3 and 4 will be about the grand obligation: the pursuit of joy. Session 5 will be about, how should we then fight for joy? corresponding to points six and seven in the outline provided at the bottom of the first session of this series on the pursuit of joy.

The grand obligation: the pursuit of joy (on the video of session 3, from 8 minutes 10 seconds onward).

Here is the idea. We just made the case, partly. We tried to explain christian hedonism as the truth that since God is most glorified in us when we are deeply satisfied in Him, therefore pursuing satisfaction in Him is a duty. It should govern all of our lives because that's the way He's glorified. We've so far looked at my pilgrimage, at Jonathan Edwards, at C.S. Lewis. Let's now look at the Bible.

But first, C.S. Lewis, "The weight of glory" (on video of session 3, from 11 minutes 05 seconds to 13 minutes 15 seconds):
If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. (C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,1965], pp. 1-2.) [extracted from Piper's notes with first session of series.]
And then, Is this biblical? That's the question! The answer is yes. Dr. Fuller said read commentaries and read books, but don't pay attention to their conclusions, only assess their arguments. Arguments is what matter, not conclusions. So here are arguments.

1. There are biblical commands to pursue joy in God (Psalms 37:4; 32:11; 33:1; 67:4; 100:1; Philippians 4:4).

These passages are not suggestions; these are commands, which is why Christian hedonism is both liberating and devastating.

2. There is a biblical threat if we will not pursue our joy in God (Deuteronomy 28:47).

Jeremy Taylor said "God threatens terrible things if we will not be happy." It was years between my first reading this quote and my coming upon this verse in the Bible. If you go moping through your ministry, eventually you'll become psychologically sick.

3. The essence of evil and sin is to pursue satisfaction outside God (Jeremiah 2:12-13).

Here is a great definition of evil. Evil is being offered a fountain to drink from, and turning away from it and licking the dirt. My people have forsaken the fountain, and are trying to make broken cistern hold water. These are two evils. All have sin and lack the glory of God. We have changed the glory of God and chose the creature instead. That's sin. Don't define sin in terms of do's and dont's, Most sins are delighting in innocent things more than we delight in God, and thus making idols out of them.

4. The affections (emotions) are biblically essential to Christian Living.

I'm responding here to those who say: The Bible speaks in terms of obedience, and you're talking about emotions. They rise, they fall, they don't count. Love cannot involve an emotion because it is commanded in the Bible. You could not command an emotion. This argument is false because one of its premise is false. Emotions are commanded all over the Bible.

Now, consider what the Bible says about not feeling covetousness (Exodus 20:17). What's covetousness? Bad desires. Stop having bad emotions. That's the law. Contentment (Hebrews 13:5). You're anxious? discontent? Stop it! Fervent brotherly love from the Heart, not just exerting will power and doing good things for people (1 Peter 1:22). Feel it! Hope (Psalm 42:5). Commanding hope from your soul. Hope is an emotion, not just a conviction. Fear (Luke 12:5; Romans 11:20). That's an emotion. Peace (Colossians 3:15). Peace is an emotion. Feel it! Zeal and fervency (Romans 12:15). Zeal is an emotion. Be fervent in spirit. Sorrow (Romans 12:15). Desire (1 Peter 2:2). Gratitude (Ephesians 5:19-20). That's a sampling. The Bible does command emotions.

Half of these emotions you are not feeling right now? Does it mean you are not a Christian? How in the world do you pursue that?

5. An essential element of saving faith Is being satisfied with all that God Is for us (John 6:35).

Coming to Jesus and believing in Jesus are a parallel here in this text. They mean the same thing. It means that right now in your chair you could come to Jesus, as your heart moves towards Jesus. How? It is a coming to Him for the satisfaction of your hunger. It is the believing in Him for the relieving of your thirst. Coming to Christ in my heart for satisfaction rooted in all that He is and all that He does. Embracing Him as my hunger-reliever, as my thirst-satisfier. The nature of saving faith is affectional.

6. Conversion (Matthew 13:44).

I'm arguing that conversion in the Bible is the awakening to God and placing Him above other things in our lives. The point of this parable is that when King Jesus appears in a person's life, He seems so precious that everything else seems of no value. We can intellectualize what becoming a Christian is to a point where even the devil can do it. Being a Christian is radical. I think, concludes Piper, that trying to define Christianity without the pursuit of joy in Him is contrary to the nature of conversion.

7. Praising God (Worship) Is, in Essence, Prizing God (Philippians 1:19-23)

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. I want Christ to be magnified in my life, says the apostle Paul. That's Paul's desire, making Christ look magnificent. To live is Christ, and to die is gain. Paraphrased: Christ will be made to look magnificient in my dying when in my dying He is experienced as, not loss of this world, but gain.

If you are satisfied in Christ no matter the stuff that is being destroyed in your life, Christ is thereby magnified.

Do we consider ourselves Christians? Truly? Not just nominally? If so, is Christ really our supreme treasure? What would this indicate?

A few notes as I listen to John Piper's The Pursuit of Joy in Life and Ministry, Session 4, from DesiringGod.org:

This session completes the argumentation begun in Session 3 about the grand obligation: the pursuit of joy. Sessions 3 to 5 together correspond to point six and seven in the outline provided at the bottom of the opening session of this series on the pursuit of joy.

The grand obligation: the pursuit of joy (continued).

For the first seven arguments showing that the pursuit of joy is as a grand obligation at the very heart of what the Bible teaches and therefore at the heart of Christianity, listen to Session 3 of John Piper's The Pursuit of Joy in Life and Ministry.

8. Love for people is the overflow and extension of joy in God.

You will know them by their fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is... what is the first one? ... love.

2 Corinthians 8:1-8. Joy led to generosity, this being love. What is love? How is love presented here? Their joy overflowed. Their poverty overflowed. Their generosity overflowed. Being lavishly liberal stemmed out of their overflowing love from their poverty.

2 Corinthians 9:7. Two chapters on this issue of trying to get the Corinthians to be cheerfully generous, not dutifully generous.

1 Peter 5:2. Same thing for pastors. God wants cheerful pastors. Giving their lives in ministry out of joy for the Lord. As a pastor I should pursue your greatest good no matter what the cost to me. This passages says I need to do this pastoring ministry with joy.

Acts 20:35. Is is more blessed to give than to receive. If we remember these words, we will know that blessedness is coming. Whenever your giving seems excruciatingly painful, then it is time to remember what Jesus said, blessings will come.

9. Pride and self-pity are overcome by the pursuit of joy in God.

Remember. I'm arguing that it is biblical to say that it's our duty to pursue joy in God and that God is most glorified when we do that.

How do we fight pride in our life? I'm arguing that Christian hedonism is a mighty weapon against pride and its flip site self-pity.

10. There is self-denial, but all for the sake of ultimate satisfaction in God.

Matthew 10:23-30. Sacrifices made are met by God with incommensurable rewards in this world and in the world to come. When we follow Jesus we get reward, millions more than what we sacrificed or let go of.

11. Suffering is required and sustained by the pursuit of joy in God.

Suffering is not optional. The question is, how do we sustain it? Matthew 5:10. Rejoice and be glad. This is a command in the midst of persecution. On what basis? "for the reward is great in heaven." How do you keep going if people are reviling you for the love you give them? If there is no reward on earth, there will be a reward in heaven.

Mark 8:34-35. Losing one's life is to gain it. Whoever is willing to endure shame, or every time we are willing to deny ourselves there is a reward. It's like saying I'll deny myself vinegar in order to get honey. I deny the broken cistern that can't hold water to get fresh water. It's self denial in the pursuit of total satisfaction forever. In that sense it's not ultimate self-denial. Hebrews 12:2.

12. The duty of serving God is sustained by the joy of being served by God.

Are we not supposed to be servants ? and to serve God? 1 Peter 4:11. What is service? I'm going to preach in a few minutes. I'm going to serve the people, serve God, in preaching. Let those who serve do so by the strength which God supplies. God is the giver here. So that in all things He might be glorified. The giver gets the glory. As we preach or serve we need to bank on Him, depend on Him.

How should we then fight for joy?.

This question "How should we then fight for joy?" introduced in Session 3 will be dealt with in session 5. Please listen-on.

Where do we stand with regards to what John Piper has been arguing in sessions 3 and 4?.

For these areas of my life where I tend to consider that I am failing to obey Christ out of a lack of motivation to do so, listening to this session and the preceding one leads me to turn to God for asking Him to transform my very desires with respect to these.

What were the effects on you of listening to sessions 3 and 4 of John Piper's The Pursuit of Joy in Life and Ministry?

Which areas of your life could you bring to God in prayer so that He would produce a change of heart from within yourself?

A few notes as I listen to John Piper's The Pursuit of Joy in Life and Ministry, Session 5, from DesiringGod.org:

Session 5 concludes this seminar by answering to the practical question "How should we then fight for joy?" raised in session 3, and correspond to points six and seven of the outline provided at the bottom of the first session of this series on the pursuit of joy.

How, then, should we fight for joy? How can we practically take a hold of the joy mentioned so far in this five session seminar?

1. Realize that authentic joy in God is a gift.

Galatians 5:22. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Augustine was sexually in bondage, as he said, and God gave him a victory over his sexual bondage, and he said, "you command continents oh Lord, command what you will and grant what you command." That's a famous saying from Augustine. Its a gift, grant what you command. All of our "how to" questions must bear that in mind. We are told to pursue it, but its a gift. Psalm 51:12. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. John 6:44. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.

2. Realize that joy is a fight to be fought (2 Corinthians 1:24; Philippians 1:25; 2 Timothy 4:7; 1 Timothy 6:12; Matthew 24:12-13).

Faith has joy at its heart. It is being satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus. Therefore the good fight of faith is a fight for joy.

3. Resolve to attack all known sin in your life.

Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. If you want to see God and enjoy God you have to attack every known sin in your life. Romans 6:11-13. Be killing sin or sin will kill you. When you begin to pursue sin, your eyes become clouded. Kill it by the Spirit. It is a gift. We can't kill any sin, unless we kill it by the Spirit. Deadly weapon in Ephesians 6. Truth. Salvation. Righteousness. Faith. Sword of what? The Spirit, which is? the Word of God. Sin always has power by the promises it makes. Therefore sin is killed by the power of a superior promise, and we get those from the Bible. Romans 8:13. If you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

4. Learn the secret of gutsy guilt – how to fight like a justified sinner (session 3 video, 7 minutes 15 seconds).

This may be the most important of what is being said in this session. So far we have said almost nothing about the cross. What conditions are you in as you pursue joy and the reward. If you're a Christian you are in a secure position. Micah 7: 8-9: "Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fall I will rise; though I dwell in darkness, the Lord is a light for me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me out to the light, and I will see His righteousness." Here is the situation: I have sinned. That's us. What's the result of that? He is mad, indignant. There's a cloud. God seems distant. I'm in darkness, and in that darkness, God is a light for me. It's still dark, and yet light. That's what I mean by gutsy guilt. You know you sinned. You know your guilt.

But in that sin you do not collapse. He is my God. There is light in my darkness. He's indignant until He pleads my case. He's not against you. You may be angry about someone without being against him. God's anger with us us in Christ is not punitive. Its His displeasure at our failure to live the way we should. He's going to plead my case. He's not going to be my accuser. He's going to be my defense attorney. Therefore don't you rejoice over me. This is all rooted in Christ who is coming. The reason Micah can talk this way is because there would be some day when Jesus Christ who comes into the world bears the sins of his people, dies in their place, so we can say what Paul says in Philippians 3:12, I press on to make it my own (perfection and heaven and reward in Christ) because Christ has made me His own. That's our only hope. All this pursuit of joy is possible because He's made us His own. You don't earn it by the pursuit. It is a gift. The way we pursue it is by faith.

5. Realize that the battle Is primarily a fight to see God for who He is.

Psalm 34:8. Taste and see that the Lord is good. The battle Is a fight to taste and see that God is Good. 2 Corinthians 4:4-6. The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God . . . For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 3:18. But we all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord are being changed from one degree of glory to the next. 1 John 3:2. Beloved we are God's children now, but it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is (notes).

6. Meditate on the Word of God day and night.

God reveals himself in his Word. What we see of God in the Word is the kindling of the joy of faith. This is where seeing happens, mainly. We see God, the glory of God in the magnificence of the natural beauties of the world. The heavens is telling the glory of God. But this is pointing at something. It is out there. But I want you to meditate on the Word of God mainly. Psalm 23:3. He restores my soul.

Psalm 1:1-3. His delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither. Romans 15:13. Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. John 20:31. These things are written that believing you might life in his name. Romans 15:4. Whatever was written in former times was written for our instruction that by the steadfastness and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. John 17:17. Sanctify them in the truth. John 8:32. You will know the truth and the truth will make you free. Ephesians 6:17. The sword of the Spirit, the Word.

At one point in his life, George Muller found himself unable to pray without being distracted. So he whispered a prayer asking God to guide his prayers as he read the Word of God. Piper says he was inspired by George Muller in following this same pattern of asking God to guide his prayers as he would read the Bible. Reading. Praying. Reading. Praying. So here is the importance of the Word.

7. Pray earnestly and continually for open heart-eyes and an inclination for God.

John 16:24: "Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name; ask, and you will receive that your joy may be full." Ask for help. Cry out to God. Psalm 119:36. "Oh God incline my heart toward your testimonies"; "Open my eyes."

8. Learn to Preach to Yourself Rather Than Listen to Yourself

Psalm 42:5. "Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence."

Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote: "Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them but they are talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man's treatment [in Psalm 42] was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. "Why art thou cast down, O my soul?" he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says,: "Self, listen for moment, I will speak to you" (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression, [Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1965] p. 20). Quote extracted from: notes at the bottom of first session video.
9. Spend Time with God-saturated people who help you see God and fight the fight.

Means of grace. All of the above eight points are means of grace. Here is a ninth one. Jonathan Rose and went to David at Horesh and strengthened his hand in God (1 Samuel 23:16). God ordained that there be a Church with people around you (Hebrews 3:12-13). God ordained for His grace to come through people. It's in the Bible. Encourage one another day after day.

10. Be patient in the night of God's seeming absence.

Psalm 40:1-3. "I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the LORD." A man Piper new was depressed for 8 years before he finally came out of it. If you're in the pit, keep hoping. Nothing you go through is in vain. Keep hoping.

11. Get the rest, exercise and proper diet that your body was designed by God to have (session 3 video, 43 minutes 25 seconds).

This might not be very spiritual but it is unbelievably important. An entire section from the book Desire God deals with the question of How does the body relate to joy? How does the body relate to worship? We are embodied soul. The link between our spiritual life and our body is so close. Nobody ever fathomed the mystery of the connexion between the brain and the soul.

Patience is a fruit of the Spirit. Patience means you are slow to anger. Your fuse is long. You are in traffic, you are not fuming. It hit me that patience is a fruit of sleep. If I miss a night of sleep, I'm irritable. Don't get too close to me with anything negative. So how can you call it a fruit of the Spirit? If I stop running three times a day, I become more easily discouraged. So now you've got food, sleep, exercise to produce the fruit of the Spirit. One of the ways the Holy Spirit produces His fruit is by making you humble enough so that you go to bed and let God be God. I want to read. I want to work. I want to write. I want to do stuff. Why would God do that? Unless you are humble enough to let God be God and let God run the world while you sleep seven hours a day.

12. Make a Proper Use of God's Revelation in Nature.

13. Read Great Books about God and Biographies of Great Saints.

14. Do the Hard and Loving Thing for the Sake of Others—Witness and Mercy.

15. Get a Global Vision for the Cause of Christ and Pour Yourself out for the Unreached.

To sum in all up (session 4 video, from 53 minutes 35 second to the end).

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. And the reason we can be satisfied in Him is because Christ died in our place for our sin. He provided the righteousness. He took hold of us so that all our questing after joy are a questing from the stand point of forgiveness. We're not questing out of a sense of insecurity. In that confidence we're pursuing maximum joy.