Philip James Elliot (October 8, 1927 – January 8, 1956)

Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, Peter Fleming, Nate Saint, Philip James Elliot Not adventurous F1 drivers but Christian missionaries to Ecuador, where they were killed by Huaorani Indians

One Great Purpose

He was handsome, engaging, intelligent and genuinely talented….. No doubt he could succeed even in a difficult profession….. But he had other things on his mind… the ultimate purpose

His mind was fixed beyond the immediacy of teenage attractions on the future, to a time when God might ask more of him. This meant he was wary of anything, that might distract him from God’s unfolding purpose for his life. As a teenager he carried a Bible along with his textbooks and spoke freely about what it contains…….

He took college seriously. He looked on the college years as years of preparation for the Lord’s Plan. This attitude called in for a discipline in every aspect of his life. He is known for his one track mind. No doubt some of his peers saw his single mindedness as an eccentricity to which they can’t relate. He remained clearheaded, focused, and kept his eye on his goal. He remained clearheaded, focused, and kept his eye on his goal.

His question “ What’s your verse for the day?” With few words, he could make a student feel that he or she had already failed the Lord for that day Developing his spirituality was of his utmost importance.

In his mind he was not working towards a degree B.A but a degree of A.U.G “approved unto God” Did he enjoyed wrestling? It must have been a fun to frustrate a national champion, But this is only secondary for him For him Christianity is a real, living and daily experience. Even his academic pursuits came second to his spiritual development.

He was staggered by the statistics 1700 languages did not have a word of the Bible translated. 90% of the people who volunteer for missions never get there. 64% of the world had never heard of Christ people die every hour. There is one Christian worker for every 50,000 people in foreign land while there is one to every 500 in his home land.

But he was convinced that justifying a life in his safe haven home land was a too great task, he headed for foreign mission. He was an intelligent man, physically fit, who could have chosen to pursue any career he wanted. He was an intelligent man, physically fit, who could have chosen to pursue any career he wanted.

January 29, 1949 “God I pray, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn up for thee. Consecrate my life, my God, for it is thine. I seek not a long life but a full one like Yours, Lord Jesus” “Father, take my life, even my blood, if Thou wilt, and consume it with Thine enveloping fire. I would not save it, for it is not mine to save. Have it Lord, have it all. Pour my life as an oblation for the world. Blood is only of value as it flows before thine altars”

I hope earnestly I have not grieved the Holy Dove in all this. I really feel happy in my soul, yet dare not trust this treacherous heart. O father, if I am not pleasing Thee, give me unrest and deep conviction. I feel now that our love is truly ‘in the spirit’, but I would not have false peace, not even if I got her, Lord! Lead on Lord, if none of these is your plan, your revelation must be seen.

One does not surrender life at an instant – that which is lifelong can only be surrendered in a lifetime. I can only surrender to the will of God as I know what that will is. This may take years to know. His fun did not distract him from his ultimate purpose.

God, preserve me from living a life which conforms to the general pattern. To whom shall I go for counsel for a way of life? To whom for example? To thee Lord? Yea, I come to Thee. Oh lord, You see the places secret in me. If you see anything in me that is holding back the clear revelation of your will about Ecuador, uncover it to me, I pray.

His talks : He had long time of Bible study, and reflection. Despite the solid frameworks of his talks, He was the worst critic of his own preaching. He thought that he was not earnest enough in the way he handled the word of God. He chastised himself in his journal entries. His parents believed his gifts of Bible teaching and preaching were unusual gifts, and he would be very effective in fueling the passion for missions among other people who would go. But he wrote a letter to his parents rebuking their reluctance to see him go.

In his view, letting God lead was far better than pressing for his own dreams.

God is looking for more than giftedness; He's looking for people who will commit to His calling and His will.— Ron Mehl “Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be in the will of God.”—Jim Elliot “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose.”— Jim Elliot

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose