He must Increase ...I must decrease

[Fragrant Grace]

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20



Thank you ML and Rev T.S. Perkins for your recent comments.....may the words of this beautiful hymn continue to be a blessing to you and all who read it.

Not I but Christ.....O Lord may that be our true and real longing. May our lives shine with You and You alone

And as Spurgeon said........

As long as a man has anything to boast of, there is no Christ for him; but the moment he has nothing of his own, Christ is his. Whilst thou art anything, Christ is nothing to thee; but when thou art nothing, Christ is everything.

May the Lord bless you

Julia



God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world
Galatians 6:14

 

[amanda123]

Amazing words
I love this poem so beautiful#thank you

 

[Fragrant Grace]

Christ, only Christ, ere long will fill my vision,
Glory excelling soon, full soon I'll see;
Christ, only Christ, my every wish fulfilling,
Christ, only Christ, my all in all to be.

Oh, to be saved from myself, dear Lord,
Oh, to be lost in Thee,
Oh, that it may be no more I,
But Christ that lives in me

Christ is All in all
Colossians 3:11.

Whom have I in heaven but Thee?
And there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee.
Psalm 73:25

A little Spurgeon dear readers from his sermon Christ is All fitting I believe for considering Not I but Christ

If Christ is not all to you He is nothing to you.
He will never go into partnership as a part Saviour of men.
If He be something He must be everything, and if He be not everything He is nothing to you.


Christ is all we need, all we desire, and all of good that we can conceive.
He is all I need.
Jesus is the living water to quench my thirst,
the heavenly bread to satisfy my hunger,
the snow-white robe to cover me,
the sure refuge,
the happy home of my soul,
my meat and my medicine,
my solace and my song,
my light and my delight.
He is all I desire, and when most covetous I only covet more of His presence;
when most ambitious, it is my ambition to be like Him;
when most insatiable in desire, I only long to be with Him where He is. ....
He is all I can conceive of good.
Oh, if you want to know what heaven is, know what Christ is, for the way to spell heaven is with those five letters that make up the word Jesus.
When you get Him, He shall be all to you that your glorified body shall need, and all your glorified spirit can conceive.
O precious Christ, Thou art all in all

I pray these words from Spurgeon have been a blessing and challenge to your heart as you consider the question is Christ your All in all.



Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:
for Whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ
Philippians 3:8

 

[David777]

An outstanding presentation.

Well done Fragrant Grace.

He is all I need.
Jesus is the living water to quench my thirst,
the heavenly bread to satisfy my hunger,
the snow-white robe to cover me,
the sure refuge,
the happy home of my soul,
my meat and my medicine,
my solace and my song,
my light and my delight.


Yes, Yes, Yes.

 

[Fragrant Grace]

He dwelleth with you and shall be in you
John 14:17

Every day, every minute, every moment
Jesus only Jesus

Not I but Christ....may He alone be honoured, loved and exalted in our hearts

A reading to share with you dear brothers and sisters

As you gird yourself for the day, putting aricles of clothing upon your person,
remember that Godsupplies you with vesture clean and white,
with the meekness and gentleness of Christ,
with the garments of Salvation,
the robes of righteousness,
and the jewels of Christian virtue.

Do not look at these things apart from Him;
but remember that they are attributes and grace of His own nature with which to array yourself.

And above all put on the armour of light;
remembering that God is light.
You are to put on Christ, who is God manifest in the flesh,
and you are to descend from your room into the arena of daily battle as one who is endued with the beauty of His character.*


Whom having not seen ye love
1 Peter 1:8







* From F B Meyer Saved and Kept

 

[Sherebro]

He must increase, but I must decrease....John 3:30

Not I but Christ liveth in me......Galatians 2:20


Not I, but Christ be honored, loved, exalted,
Not I, but Christ be seen, be known and heard;
Not I, but Christ in every look and action,
Not I, but Christ in every thought and word.

Oh, to be saved from myself, dear Lord,
Oh, to be lost in Thee,
Oh, that it may be no more I,
But Christ that lives in me.


Not I, but Christ to gently soothe in sorrow,
Not I, but Christ to wipe the falling tear;
Not I, but Christ to lift the weary burden,
Not I, but Christ to hush away all fear.


Christ, only Christ, no idle word e'er falling,
Christ, only Christ, no needless bustling sound;
Christ, only Christ, no self-importance bearing,
Christ, only Christ, no trace of I be found.


Not I, but Christ my every need supplying,
Not I, but Christ my strength and health to be;
Christ, only Christ, for spirit, soul, and body,
Christ, only Christ, live then Thy life in me.


Christ, only Christ, ere long will fill my vision,
Glory excelling soon, full soon I'll see;
Christ, only Christ, my every wish fulfilling,
Christ, only Christ, my all in all to be.

Oh, to be saved from myself, dear Lord,
Oh, to be lost in Thee,
Oh, that it may be no more I,
But Christ that lives in me.

This is a hymn by Ada Whiddington, 1891...its words the prayer of my heart


O the joy of having nothing and being nothing, seeing nothing but a living Christ in glory,
and being careful for nothing but His interests down here.
This is faith.
We care for nothing but His interest.
We should always say, .....Not I, not me, not my, not mine; but He, Him, His. He is the first and the last and everything in between.
Christ, only Christ (Darby)

Blessings and love to all dear readers

Julia

Search me O God, and know my heart......Psalm 139:23





Julia

Christ is all and in all Colossians 3:11

I will be satisfied when I awake with Thy likeness Psalm 17:15

Present your bodies a living sacrifice Romans 12:1

Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing, such an encouragement!

 

[jiggyfly]

Very Good posts Fragrant Grace. Reminded me of some good teachings from the past too and a simplistic look at the gospel. Yes indeed, is Jesus enough? Can we really rest in Christ's work at the cross to be all that is necessary to make us faultless before Father? These are good questions to ask ourselves especially during times when we feel obligated to do this or restrain from doing that with the thinking that Father will be more pleased with us.

The truth, if our right standing with Father is dependent by Christ's work at the cross with nothing added and we can't make ourselves any more acceptable, then how can we make ourselves less acceptable?

 

[amanda123]

Very Good posts Fragrant Grace. Reminded me of some good teachings from the past too and a simplistic look at the gospel. Yes indeed, is Jesus enough? Can we really rest in Christ's work at the cross to be all that is necessary to make us faultless before Father? These are good questions to ask ourselves especially during times when we feel obligated to do this or restrain from doing that with the thinking that Father will be more pleased with us.

The truth, if our right standing with Father is dependent by Christ's work at the cross with nothing added and we can't make ourselves any more acceptable, then how can we make ourselves less acceptable?

I believe we grow as Christians as we learn more if Jesus.
He increases and our worldly stains get less

 

[Fragrant Grace]

Yea, He is altogether lovely
Song of Solomon 5:16

Dear brothers and sisters, when we consider what Jesus has done for us.....
May our hearts truly say from utter amazement and devotion......Not I but Christ
Jesus is so lovely, so beautiful, so precious.....all else must recede

Oh, to be saved from myself, dear Lord,
Oh, to be lost in Thee,
Oh, that it may be no more I,
But Christ that lives in me.



A little Spurgeon below from 'The Best Beloved' sermon

O WORDS can ever express the gratitude we owe to Him who loved us even when we were dead in trespasses and sins:
The love of Jesus is unutterably precious and worthy of daily praise.
No songs can ever fitly celebrate the triumphs of that salvation which He wrought singlehanded on our behalf:
The work of Jesus is glorious beyond compare, and all the harps of angels fall short of its worthy honour.
Yet I do believe, and my heart prompts me to say so, that the highest praise of every ransomed soul and of the entire Christian church should be offered to the blessed person of Jesus Christ, our adorable Lord...
.....
..We ought to bless Him for what He has done for us as Mediator in the place of humble service under the law, and for what He suffered for us as Substitute on the altar of sacrifice from before the foundation of the world;
And for what He is doing for us as Advocate in the place of highest honour at the right hand of the Majesty on high:
But still the best thing about Christ is Christ Himself.
We prize His, but we worship Him.
His gifts are valued, but He Himself is adored.
While we contemplate, with mingled feelings of awe, admiration, and thankfulness, His atonement, His resurrection, His glory in heaven, and His second coming, still it is Christ Himself, stupendous in His dignity as the Son of God, and superbly beautiful as the Son of man, who sheds an incomparable charm on all those wonderful achievements, wherein His might and His merit, His goodness and His grace appear so conspicuous.
For Him let our choicest spices be reserved, and to Him let our sweetest anthems be raised.
Our choicest ointment must be poured upon His head, and for His own self alone our most costly alabaster boxes must be broken.
*******

I pray these words will be a beautiful blessing to all who read them here at Talk Jesus as you contemplate our beautiful Lord Jesus

Unto you therefore which believe
He is precious
1 Peter 2:7

 

[mackem lady]

I read this again and it never stops reminding me of how Jesus should be first.

The words are still as powerful as when I last wrote on the thead

Made me think of words of hymn

Werre the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul my life my all

 

[Fragrant Grace]

Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 6:1

He must increase I must decrease - J.R Miller - Ministry of Comfort 1898

One of the most difficult lessons to learn, is self-effacement.
It seems to us, that we have a right to put our name on every piece of work we do, and to get full honor for it.
We like people to know of the good and virtuous things we do—the kindnesses we show, our gifts, our sacrifices, and our services.

SELF always dies hard.

John the Baptist, in his life and ministry, illustrated the grace of self-effacement as few other men have done.
When he first began to preach, great throngs flocked about him.
But when Jesus came—the crowds melted away from John and went after the new preacher.
John rejoiced in seeing Jesus thus honored, though at the cost of his own fame. "He must increase—but I must decrease" was his answer, when his disciples grew envious of the Galilean Rabbi.
He understood that the highest use to which his life could be put—was to add to the honor of his Master.
He was glad to be unnoticed, to have his own name extinguished, that the glory of Christ might shine the more brightly.

Renunciation of self should characterize all who follow Christ.
They should seek only to get recognition for Him, willing for themselves to be unrecognized and unhonoured.
Yet not always are the Master's friends content to be nothing—that the praise may be given to Christ.
Too often do they insist upon having their own name written in bold letters on their work. It would be the mark of a higher degree in spiritual attainment, if we were willing to be anonymous in every service for Christ.

Not only should we do all our work for the divine approval—but we should not be seeking to get our own name on what we do.
If it is done solely for the honor of Christ, why should we be solicitous to have everybody know our part in it?
Should it not be honour enough—to have Christ accept our work and use it?

Only what we do for the honour of Christ—is really gold and silver and precious stones in the spiritual building; all the rest is but wood, hay, and stubble, which cannot abide.

Are we willing to do deeds of service and love, and then keep absolutely quiet about what we have done?
Is there not among us, too much of the spirit which our Lord so severely condemned—sounding a trumpet before us—when we are going out to do some deed of charity, some act of kindness?

Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth's sake.
Psalm 115:1

 

[Fragrant Grace]

He died for all, that they who live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him.
2 Corinthians 5:15

I was reading this lovely challenging old hymn written in 1874 by French minister Theodore Monod
The words very fitting with 'He must increase I must decrease'

O the bitter shame and sorrow,
That a time could ever be,
When I let the Savior’s pity
Plead in vain, and proudly answered,
“All of self, and none of Thee!”

Yet He found me; I beheld Him
Bleeding on th’accursèd tree,
Heard Him pray, “Forgive them, Father!”
And my wistful heart said faintly,
“Some of self, and some of Thee!”

Day by day His tender mercy,
Healing, helping, full and free,
Sweet and strong, and ah! so patient,
Brought me lower, while I whispered,
“Less of self, and more of Thee!”

Higher than the highest heavens,
Deeper than the deepest sea,
Lord, Thy love at last hath conquered:
Grant me now my supplication,
“None of self, and all of Thee!”

He must increase, I must decrease
John 3:30

 

[Fragrant Grace]

Greetings brothers and sisters Ive had the words of this beautiful old hymn on my heart for some days now.....and would like to share it again......prayerfully believing that the words will be a blessing to one or two here

This is the link to the first post in the thread with the words of the hymn

He must Increase ...I must decrease



Oh, to be saved from myself, dear Lord,
Oh, to be lost in Thee,
Oh, that it may be no more I,
But Christ that lives in me.