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A WORD FROM THE PASTOR
The Mind of Christ, Serving Others, and the Glory of God
What does a
revived church look like? How can we know that we are
experiencing revival at Crawford Baptist Church? I believe
Philippians 2:4 provides an answer. The apostle Paul writes:
“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to
the interests of others.” In other words, let each of you look
not only to your own financial needs, or your own property, or
your own reputation, or your own education, or your own family,
or your own health, or your own success. Instead, look to the
financial needs and property and reputation and education and
family and health and success of others.
Philippians 2:4
is another way of saying the words of Jesus, “You shall love
your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31 ESV). In other words,
make the good of others the focus of your interest and strategy
and work. Find your joy in making others joyful. We can love
others biblically and sacrificially when our joy in God
overflows in such a way that we gladly meet the needs of
others. Love is an act of the will that is accompanied by
emotion that leads to action on behalf of its object.
How can this
happen at Crawford? Paul commands us to “do nothing from
rivalry or conceit, but in humility (lowliness) count
others more significant than yourselves” (Phil 2:3 ESV). Will
you count them as worthy of your help and encouragement?
It’s not, are they worthy? But will you count them as
worthy? Will you serve your brother? Will you think not just
about your own interests but think about his? Will you
encourage your sister and take the time to help build her up in
the faith?
And where does
this other-oriented commitment come from? According to
Philippians 2:3, it comes from humility. Why do Christians walk
through life feeling a humble sense that we owe service to
people, rather than them owing us? The answer is that Christ
loved us and died for us and forgave us and accepted us and
justified us and gave us eternal life when he owed us nothing.
He treated us as worthy of service when we were not worthy of
his service. He took thought not only for his own interests but
for ours. He counted us greater than himself. Humility arises
in our hearts when we are overwhelmed by God’s amazing grace.
We are stunned into lowliness by past grace in the cross and
ever-present grace which enables us to live for the glory of God
each day (Titus 2:11-14).
Our prayer is
that God will send genuine God-exalting, Christ-honoring,
missions-mobilizing, sin-hating, community-transforming revival
in the lives of Crawford members. But how will we know when he
answers our prayers? When we begin to relate to one another as
brothers and sisters on the basis of Philippians 2:4 we will see
the hand of God at work in our midst! May each of us, by God’s
grace, look not only to our own interests but also to the
interests of others.
Praying for the
grace to look to the interests of others,
Pastor Jay
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