As a minister i am challenged by the apostle Paul.
First what he prays for the people he ministered to in Philippi to whom he wrote; he prays that
- they will grow in love,
- they will grow in knowledge, in revelation, in discernment.
Question : What am I praying for the people i lead, what am i asking God to do in their lives, do i get so caught up in the temporal needs of people that i fail to cry out for inward transformation by the power of the Holy Spirit, and revelation of God?
Then he tells them that his joy will overflow in knowing that
- they are united in thought, in love, in feelings and that
- they are pursuing the same objective.
This is the thing that his heart desires for his people. Question :What does my heart desire for the people i lead; what makes me happy concerning them, what is the work of God in their lives that gets me excited, what kind of testimonies thrill me?
And , he encourages them to
- obedience,
- live a life worthy of the gospel, and still more to
- contend for the faith
- accept to suffer for the gospel
- be humble
Do i preach these things or i simply scratch their itch and nourish their carnal desires so they keep coming back to feed my famished ego every week; do i fear to call for obedience, godly living, humility, unity and an evangelistic lifestyle for fear of boring people? Paul did not.
I am challenged by Paul. My consistent prayer is God, whatever you did to Paul, do to me.
je te remercie du désir constant de nous voir grandir dans la révélation de Dieu et dans l’amour. Je confirme que ce qui te réjouis réellement, ce n’est pas le nombre de personnes dans ton église ou ta réputation, mais la transformation que Dieu opère en chacun de nous et les conversions radicales! Que Dieu soit glorifié dans nos vies et qu’il puisse se vanter de nous comme il s’est vanté de Job.