19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 They all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. Philippians 2:19-21
My pastor spoke on these verses on Sunday. I can't get them out of my head. Verse 21 has got to be the saddest verse in all of Philippians.
Obviously Paul, while in prison, is surrounded by others than just Timothy, but only in Timothy does he find one is concerned deeply for the church, the Bride of Christ for which he suffered for. The others, they are there, but Paul sees in them a "self interest" and apparently no burden for the Bride.
So here is my question: If our pastors or elder councils were thinking of who they could send to plant a new church in another area of our community, or to send in order to encourage a missionary partner, or to be of encouragement and mentor another young believer or pastor, would they put us in the catagory of v. 20 or v. 21?
Oh God...Teach Me your way, that I may walk in your truth!
The Sum of all Blessing
So I am reading "A Call to United Extraordinary Prayer... by Jonathan Edwards. It is also known as "An Humble Attempt..." as the full title is 36 words long. Edwards stated this which has me pondering anew:
“The sum of the blessings of Christ, sought by what he did and suffered in the work of redemption, was the Holy Spirit. Thus is the affair of our redemption constituted; the Father provides and gives the Redeemer, and the price of redemption is offered to him, and he grants the benefit purchased; the Son is the Redeemer who gives the price, and also is the price offered; and the Hoy Spirit is the grand blessing obtained by the price offered, and bestowed on the redeemed.
The Holy Spirit, in his indwelling presence, his influence and fruits, is the sum of all grace, holiness, comfort and joy, or in one word, of all the spirutal good Christ purchased for me in this world: and is also the sum of all perfection, glory, and eternal joy that he purchased for them in another world.” (Edwards, Jonathan. A Call to United Extraordinary Prayer…. Christian Focus Pub. Great Britian, 2004.)
Now, remeber in Luke 11 when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray he instructs them to pray in the manner in which we call "the Lord's prayer" (which really should be called "the church's prayer and John 17 should be "the Lord's prayer" but that is for another time).
Then, in verse 13, Jesus says, "if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Fatehr give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him." That seems like a weird little addition to the end of his instruction, but if we truly see the Holy Spirit, GOD IN US, as the sum of all blessing, then this little addition makes glorious sense.
Remember John 14 where Jesus says, "it is TO YOUR ADVANTAGE that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you." Could the joy set before Christ that caused him to endure the cross be the joy of knowing that the sum of his grace, the gift of the Spirit would be poured out upon all men just as his Father had promised through the Prophet Joel? Is the Spirit of Life within us not the epidemy of God's reconciling grace, where the infinite, holy God comes to dwell in me? And for what purpose, to exalt Christ by restoring my ability to bear His image in character, purpose and passion!
Here is my question: IF SO, then my friends, why have so many of us evangelicals been so timid about the Holy Spirit? What dependence, interaction, and joy are we to have in the person of the Holy Spirit not just in awakening us to salvation, but in every moment of grace we experience on this earth? How would a deeper, richer theology of the Spirit change our churches and youth minsitries...our very lives?
Wow...Teach me your way, Oh Lord...that I may walk in your truth....
“The sum of the blessings of Christ, sought by what he did and suffered in the work of redemption, was the Holy Spirit. Thus is the affair of our redemption constituted; the Father provides and gives the Redeemer, and the price of redemption is offered to him, and he grants the benefit purchased; the Son is the Redeemer who gives the price, and also is the price offered; and the Hoy Spirit is the grand blessing obtained by the price offered, and bestowed on the redeemed.
The Holy Spirit, in his indwelling presence, his influence and fruits, is the sum of all grace, holiness, comfort and joy, or in one word, of all the spirutal good Christ purchased for me in this world: and is also the sum of all perfection, glory, and eternal joy that he purchased for them in another world.” (Edwards, Jonathan. A Call to United Extraordinary Prayer…. Christian Focus Pub. Great Britian, 2004.)
Now, remeber in Luke 11 when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray he instructs them to pray in the manner in which we call "the Lord's prayer" (which really should be called "the church's prayer and John 17 should be "the Lord's prayer" but that is for another time).
Then, in verse 13, Jesus says, "if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Fatehr give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him." That seems like a weird little addition to the end of his instruction, but if we truly see the Holy Spirit, GOD IN US, as the sum of all blessing, then this little addition makes glorious sense.
Remember John 14 where Jesus says, "it is TO YOUR ADVANTAGE that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you." Could the joy set before Christ that caused him to endure the cross be the joy of knowing that the sum of his grace, the gift of the Spirit would be poured out upon all men just as his Father had promised through the Prophet Joel? Is the Spirit of Life within us not the epidemy of God's reconciling grace, where the infinite, holy God comes to dwell in me? And for what purpose, to exalt Christ by restoring my ability to bear His image in character, purpose and passion!
Here is my question: IF SO, then my friends, why have so many of us evangelicals been so timid about the Holy Spirit? What dependence, interaction, and joy are we to have in the person of the Holy Spirit not just in awakening us to salvation, but in every moment of grace we experience on this earth? How would a deeper, richer theology of the Spirit change our churches and youth minsitries...our very lives?
Wow...Teach me your way, Oh Lord...that I may walk in your truth....
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