He Must Increase...

Doxology:

This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!

Scripture Reference: John 3:22-30

Context

At this moment in our text, we have come to a pivotal moment. Up to this point, we have seen John the Baptist playing a major role, and he has played his role well. He was called and commissioned by God to be the forerunner of Christ.

His job was to usher in the Messiah, to point everyone to One greater than himself, to proclaim the good news of heaven, to proclaim the salvation of God through the Son of God.

His purpose was made clear from his very birth, when his father Zacharias prophesied such over him:

Luke 1:67–79 NKJV

67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: 68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, 69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, 70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, 71 That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, 73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: 74 To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. 76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Zacharias fully understood what was taking place, for God had revealed it unto him. He knew full well what his son’s role was to entail, and he also knew what this meant for the world.

The new covenant that God had promised would come in Jeremiah 31 has now arrived and Jesus of Nazareth is going to be the mediator of that new covenant. In Him, this new covenant would be established and secured. Praise God!

This text symbolizes the transition between the old covenant and the new covenant. We see this in how John summarizes his own ministry, as well as the ministry of Jesus, the Christ.

John 3:22–30 NKJV

22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized. 24 For John had not yet been thrown into prison. 25 Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!” 27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

Content

Jesus has left Jerusalem and has headed out into the hill country of Judea. Now Jerusalem is in Judea, but Jesus decided to get out of town. So Jesus and His current disciples are now doing ministry in the surrounding, less populated areas.

It tells us that they were baptizing people as they received the Gospel, so we assume that Jesus is somewhere North of the Dead Sea along the Jordan River.

The more Jesus teaches the Word of God, the more He grows in popularity. It also helped when John the Baptist called him out in the crowd saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God...”

John is also still baptizing, but he is several miles north of where Jesus is, also along the Jordan River.

So Jesus’ ministry is growing, but this creates a problem for some of those who are still following John the Baptist.

After Jesus began teaching, many people have left John’s ministry and have begun to follow Jesus’s ministry. So these disciples of John come to him and begin asking questions concerning Jesus.

John 3:26 NKJV

26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!”

Our lesson today revolves around John’s response to these disciples. He answers in a very humble way, but he also answers in a very direct way. He does not want his disciples to be confused on this subject, because if they get this wrong, then it will set them on a path of difficulty for the rest of their life.

I want to say the same to you here today. The importance of understanding this text and getting this right, is so important for you as a Christian. The importance of it cannot be stressed enough. I believe this text applies to every person sitting in this room, but I also believe it has a special interest to those who are called into leadership.

If that is you, I want you to take extra care to lean in close today to what John has to say.

There Is No Greater Place Than God’s Will

John 3:27 NKJV

27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.

The first thing John makes very clear to these young disciples is this: There is no greater place to be than in God’s will.

See, God determines the ministry that each one of us is to receive. And by ministry, I am referring to the calling upon your life. Pastors and Deacons are not the only ones who have a divine calling upon them. All Christians have been called into ministry.

1 Peter 2:1–5 NKJV

1 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

All Christians are called into ministry, but God determines the ministry to which you shall receive. Some will be called into the ministry of elder. Others will be called into the ministry of deacon. Others will be called into the ministry of exaltation through music, singing, or other form of art. Others will be called into the ministry of missions. Others will be called into the ministry of service.

To be called into the family of God is to be called into the ministry. If you are a Christian, then God has called you and gifted you for ministry based upon His own divine will.

John understood this truth better than most. When his disciples came unto him complaining that Jesus was becoming more popular than he was, he simply tells them, “Look. I’m ok with that. God gave me my ministry, and I have served within that capacity to the best of my ability. But God has called Him to be on a different platform than me, and I am ok with that.”

John knew that as long as he was in the will of God, there was no better place for him to be.

This mentality that these young men are bringing to John is not of God. It shows that they are being influenced of the devil. It was the devil who wanted more than what he had. He was jealous that God was exalted to higher position than his own and wanted what God had. It drove him to the point of trying to overthrow God, which ultimately led to him getting kicked out of heaven.

It was also the devil who influenced Adam and Eve in the garden. He tempted them with being like God, which led to them getting kicked out of the garden.

This mentality of needing more is not of God. God puts you where He wants you, and as long as we remain in the will of God, we will have His support and His blessings.

Now we do need to discuss the difference between having contentment in ministry and being lazy in ministry.

Many times, people will say things like, “Well if God wants me to be a preacher then He will just send someone along to ordain me.” “If God wants me to give out of abundance, then He will send more my way.”

These conditional clauses that people place upon God are simply not biblical. Matter of fact, very rarely does anyone understand God’s will in their life without getting busy for God to start with. It is in our effort to serve Him that God begins to narrow down His will in our life. We start as babes in Christ, but as we grow in Christ a greater understanding of what He has called us to becomes clear.

Notice in this text, that John is not sitting on the sidelines. He was working hard before Jesus came into the ministry, and he is still working hard when many of the people left to follow Jesus. Regardless of the crowd, the popularity, or the notoriety, John keeps pushing forward into what God has called him to do. Why?

Because he was not doing it for the people to start with. He was doing it for God. And as long as we are in the will of God, there is no greater place to be.

Adrian Rogers tells a story about himself from early on in his ministry.

He was in school at New Orleans and was pastoring a small church there.

He gets two letters in the mail from two different churches, both wanting him as pastor.

He declines them both.

One of those churches sends him another letter.

He accepts their offer to come, but tells the church first.

Before telling them he accepted, he gets a call from the First Baptist Church of the largest county in Florida, also asking him to come be their pastor.

He said, “God won’t let me talk to you.” and hung up the phone.

Regardless what giftedness God gives you or what ministry He calls you to, as long as you stay in His will, you are right where you are supposed to be.

There is no greater place than the will of God. Also.....

There Is No Greater Purpose Than Presenting Christ

John 3:28–29 NKJV

28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.

The second point John makes is that there is no greater purpose than presenting Christ.

John tells them, “You have heard my testimony, that I am not the Christ. You have heard me say that God called me to go before Him, to pave the way for His ministry. To tell others of His coming and the salvation that He brings. Listen guys, I am not the one to be exalted, He is.”

That was my purpose. That is what God called me to do, and I have had no greater joy than to present Him to you and everyone else. There is no greater purpose in life.

John now uses an illustration of marriage to further explain this fact. He says that Jesus is the bridegroom, and that it is the bridegroom who has the bride. The church is the bride of Christ.

He says that he is the friend of the bridegroom, not the bridegroom Himself.

The friend of the bridegroom is what we would call the “Best Man” today, but back then he carried more responsibility. The friend of the bridegroom would go and get the bride that morning and make sure she made it to the ceremony safely. He would safeguard her throughout the day, up until the wedding ceremony. He would be the one to send out invitations and orchestrate the finer details of the wedding. He was in charge to make sure the bride and groom were able to get married without any complications. He would even walk her down the aisle and hand her off to the groom during the ceremony.

John says, look I did my part. I went and gathered the people. I sent out the invitations. I walked her down the aisle, and now it is time that I hand her off to the groom.

This does not make me jealous, it fills me with joy. I could have served no greater purpose.

Do you know we have all been called to that same purpose? We have all been called with the purpose of presenting Christ to the world.

Presenting Christ to the world is done through preaching and teaching the Word of God, but it is done on a much larger scale by how we live our lives every single day. It is done by how we model Christ to others in our actions and yes, how we communicate Christ to others in our conversations.

There is no greater joy in the world than presenting Jesus Christ.

If your joy is placed in budgets, buildings, organizations, numbers, honors, or any other thing, you will sooner or later be disappointed and discouraged. All of those things are not the source of our joy, they are the result of our faithfulness. God blesses us with numbers, or buildings, or money as we faithfully serve Him, but those are not the source of joy.

If you want to have contentment as a christian, fall in love with Jesus. Lean into your purpose of sharing Jesus with the world. If you get discouraged, go tell someone how good Jesus is. If you get disappointed, go tell someone how much God loves them.

When this becomes your greatest purpose, your joy will remain full.

John 10:41 NKJV

41 Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.”

John did no miracles. Think about that. John never opened blind eyes. John never parted any waters. John never raised anyone from the dead. John performed no miracles.

Luke 7:28 NKJV

28 For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

Though John performed no miracles, Jesus claims that among those born of women, there is not a greater that John the Baptist.

John could have gotten discouraged and said, “What about me? How come God did not let me do these amazing things? How come God didn’t bless me with all these supernatural abilities?”

John stayed focused on one thing, presenting Christ to the world.

There is no greater place than God’s will. There is no greater purpose than presenting Christ.

There Is No Greater Peace Than Seeing Christ Magnified

John 3:30 NKJV

30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

We get discouraged in life when our fulfillment is placed upon achievements and possessions rather than Jesus. John said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

That is not false humility or being overly modest. That is truth.

There is no greater peace in all of the world to a christian, than to see Christ magnified.

John is telling his disciples, if everyone is still focused on me, then they cannot be focused on Him. If I am drawing more attention to myself than I am bringing attention to Jesus, then I have missed my mark. This is exactly how it should be. It’s not about me. It’s about Him.

Let me be very honest with you for a second. Not everyone in life is going to appreciate you. It’s unfortunate, but it is the truth. Not everyone in life is going to appreciate the work you put in behind the scenes, the amount of time, energy, and effort you put into serving God, the number of sacrifices you make so that Christ can be glorified. Not everyone will appreciate you, but you are not doing it for them.

You serve an audience of one. Your peace comes from Christ being magnified. Your peace does not come from you being magnified. If your peace is based upon how others honor you, exalt you, or notice you, then your peace will be as unsteady as a boat on water. Every time another wave comes, your peace is going to be bouncing all over the place.

Life is full of uncertainty. It is full of obstacles and hurdles. It is full of hard times. It is full of difficulty.

The only way to find peace in such a world as that, is have the source of that peace founded upon something that is constant. The only thing that is constant is God’s love for you. That is how Christians, who are going through some really tough times, are able to make it through with their heads held high, because their peace is filled from a cup that never runs dry.

If you are in the dark, just keep speaking the name of Jesus.

Keshia signed us up several weeks back to take a tour of Lost Creek Cave. So we went on Friday and took a guided tour through the cave. It was pretty amazing.

My favorite part was on our way back out of the cave. The tour guide had us stop for a few minutes in this one spot and sit down on some rocks. He had every person turn off all of the lights, so that we could experience complete darkness. It was just that. It was complete darkness. You could not see the hand in front of your face. There was nothing to reference. It was dark, it was almost disorienting, which is why he had us all sit down.

The tour guide was a Christian, and since we were with a Christian homeschool group, he took the opportunity to talk about how in life you are going to go through some dark times. You are going to have obstacles, like the rocks in the cave that have to navigate around. There are going to be times when you are so broken, or tired, that you have to crawl on your hands and knees to get through to the next chapter of your life, just like there were parts in the cave where we had to get down and crawl on hands and knees to get to the next corridor of the cave. In the process of all of this, you are going to get dirty. We came out of that cave looking like someone had just rolled us around in mud. We were nasty.

But you know what, we made it out. We climbed out of a place that was almost 200 feet below the surface. Do you know how we made it out? Do you want to know what made it possible for us to get out of that whole in the ground?

It was the light that we each had. Each of us was carrying a light. That light did not light up the whole cave, but it did light up enough so that we could see what our next step needed to be.

None of us had ever been in that cave, but the tour guide had been. He knew the best way to go to avoid hard climbs. He knew the best route to take to ensure everyone’s safety. As long as we followed the guide, we were on the best path. It was the path of least resistance.

Jesus is our tour guide through life. He knows which route is best. The light that He has placed within each and every christian allows us to see what our next step should be. We may not be able to see everything, but we can see enough.

As long as we had that light, we had peace. We knew we would eventually make it out of that cave, as long as there was a light shining around us.

There is no greater peace in the world that to see Christ magnified. As Jesus is lifted up, His light shines out for all to see.

So let us bring honor and glory to Christ in all that we do. Let us be remembered, like John, as the ones who presented Christ to the world.

Commitment