MORE OF HIM, LESS OF ME

Introduction

-There was a Peanuts comic strip that featured Linus saying to Charlie Brown, “When I get big, I’m going to be a humble little country doctor. I’ll live in the city, and every morning I’ll get up and climb into my sports car and zoom into the country and start healing people—I’ll heal people for miles around.”

~Then Linus concluded by saying: “I’ll be a world-famous humble little country doctor.”

-Yes, there is great irony there—having a desire to be rich and famous, yet at the same time claiming to be humble. But that is something we all struggle with, even as Christians.

-We may truly have a heart to serve God and others, but there is this EGO, this SELF that gets in the way, desiring recognition, desiring the praises of others, desiring all eyes to see how great we truly think we are, desiring that things go our way in our timing—and yet we claim to do everything we do with a humble spirit and with a pure motivation.

-We call that a humble brag, don’t we? Something along the lines: I CAN’T HELP IT THAT GOD MADE ME THIS HANDSOME AND TALENTED AND LIKEABLE TO DO ALL THESE GREAT THINGS FOR HIM. {OK…whatever you say.}

-The problem is the self, and it’s a big problem. That is why on many occasions and in many different ways Jesus told us to die to self, to take up our cross (which is symbolic of an execution of our self-will and self-motivation and self-service and self-centeredness), and then we can follow Him properly.

-Yes, we have been called by God to be a part of His plan on this earth, but in fulfilling our role we are not here to promote ourselves or to shine the spotlight on ourselves.

-If we are to fulfill our God-given roles, our life and our church and our ministries need to contain less of YOU AND ME and it needs to contain more of HIM—JESUS CHRIST, for He alone is truly great.

-The disciples of John the Baptist needed to learn a lesson in this, and I think that it is a lesson all of us need to hear. May our lives, our church, and our ministries revolve around less of us and instead work toward making more of Him.

John 3:22–36 ESV

22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized 24 (for John had not yet been put in prison). 25 Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” 27 John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given 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 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.” 31 He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

-In this passage, John the Baptist’s disciples had been faithful to John’s ministry, assisting him in calling people to faith and repentance that is then symbolized through the baptism that they administered.

-They had been around long enough to know that John spoke often about this Jesus from Nazareth who had started his own ministry. But when they noticed that Jesus’ disciples were baptizing people and that Jesus was teaching people near where they themselves were working their ministry, a little ministerial jealousy seemed to have cropped up.

-They were not happy that someone else was siphoning people away from their own ministry. Their ministry was depleting while Jesus’ grew. But what they didn’t realize is that this is exactly what God had planned all along.

-John the Baptist knew that his ministry was never about himself at all. John was the fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 40:3:

3 A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. (Isa. 40:3 ESV)

-John was not preaching himself or preparing people for his ministry—he was pointing to Jesus the whole time. What John taught and said about himself and about Jesus is important for us to take to heart today as well—MORE OF HIM, LESS OF ME.

-First, we need to see that:

I) My place is in humble service

-let’s personalize this today—the call of a disciple is one of service to the master. And we are reminded of what Jesus said later in John 13:16:

16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. (Jn. 13:16 ESV)

-Jesus is the great one—not you and me. And while we may all agree to that theologically, we all do not live like that practically.

-And so in the passage we are given some reminders about why it is that we are humble servants, and so we need less of ourselves in our lives, church, and ministry, and need more of Him

A) I HAVE SPIRITUAL DEFICIENCIES (v. 25)

-In v. 25 John’s disciples have a debate with a Jew about purification (or ceremonial cleanliness). It amounted to an argument about how one can be pure and clean before God.

-This is a reminder to us that we are not right before God. The Jew in the discussion probably debated that following the law and giving of the sacrifices would make you clean before God. John’s disciples may have argued that water baptism would make you clean before God.

-But both of these explanations are incorrect and miss the whole point that we are just so sinfully wrong before God that there is nothing we can personally do to overcome it.

-So God Himself had to intervene and put on us a robe of righteousness by grace through faith and repentance in Jesus Christ.

-We ourselves can’t be too great if we can’t even clean ourselves up spiritually one bit. Because of our spiritual deficiencies, there needs to be a whole lot less of us and more of the one who can take care of these deficiencies.

B) I NEED DIVINE UNCTION (v. 27)

-In v. 27 John recognizes that no one can have the ministries that they have and the gifting to fulfill those ministries unless God is the One who has given those as grace gifts. If someone is going to do great things for God, it is because God (and not we ourselves) made it possible.

-What we do for God comes by divine unction—that word unction means an anointing and gifting that God gives, as well as His sovereign control over how someone uses that gifting.

-It means that God chooses who is going to do what in His kingdom work, and the setting in which they are going to do it.----John the Baptist was gifted and called by God to prepare the hearts of the people for the coming Messiah in 1st-century Palestine. If John had any success at it, it is only because God did it through Him.

-All of us born-again believers have been given a gift. God will then give us a passion in our hearts, and when we match the passion with the gift, we see where God is leading us to do His ministry.

-Yes, it is possible and often necessary to do some training and learning and discipling to hone our talents and gifting, but if we are going to do great things for God, we rely on Him for the direction. If we rely on our own wisdom and understanding, we will be frustrated. But when we rely on Him and recognize it comes from His hand (not our own innate talent and gifting) we will do great things for His glory.

C) I HAVE A SUPPORTIVE ROLE (v. 28)

-There is a story about a cultural magazine that was interviewing a great orchestra conductor who himself was able to play many instruments. The interviewer asked him what was the hardest musical instrument for anyone to play? The conductor replied that the hardest instrument for most people was to play second-fiddle.

-It is very difficult for us sometimes to not be at the center of everything, and receive all the praise and recognition that comes with it. But in our calling to service, that means that what we do is to be done in the background, in the shadows, where the one for whom we serve gets the recognition and credit. Our role in the church and in ministry is purely supportive.

-John, in v. 28, recognized that he was not the center of God’s plans. Jesus is the center of all that God does. John had a supporting role.

-And the same goes for us. You and I are the background characters in this drama of life that unfolds around us. Jesus takes center stage.

-And this is reflected:

D) I SHINE THE LIGHT ON CHRIST (vv. 29-30)

-In v. 29 John used the analogy of a groom and his friend—we’ll say the best-man. Jesus is the groom, John is the best-man. In a wedding ceremony, there are only two people who ought to have the light of everyone’s attention on them, and that is the bride and groom.

-John knew he was not the bride or the groom, he is the best-man. The job of the best-man is to make the groom look good, and to point people’s attention to the groom. The best-man (and all the other wedding guests) don’t take the spotlight.

-That is us. In this analogy, the light is not on us, it is on Jesus Christ. My place of humble service is that in everything that I do Jesus Christ has His moment to shine. We are the light of the world that points people to Christ.

-And that means HE MUST INCREASE, BUT I MUST DECREASE—our lives and ministries and church is less of you and me, and more of Him. So if our place is one of humble service, we see then:

II) Jesus’ place is of superior prominence

-Paul put it this way in Colossians 1:18—

18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. (Col. 1:18 ESV)

-Jesus has superior prominence in EVERYTHING. That means He has the prominence in your family, in your work, in your school, in your choices, in your sports, in your entertainment, in your church, in your ministry, in every aspect of everything.

-As Abraham Kuyper put it:

There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!

-Everything is His and everything is about Him, and that being the case, that means we need more of Him and less of me.

-And John the apostle picked up John the Baptist’s point and described why Jesus has this superior place of prominence.

A) JESUS IS OF HEAVENLY ORIGIN (v. 31)

-In v. 31 John reminds us that Jesus came from above, from a heavenly origin. And since He came from heaven, He is above all. Heaven is God’s throne room. Jesus is divine royalty.

-He says that which is of the earth is of the earth and speaks earthly. We are weak human beings from one small planet in a vast creation. We are more sinful than we dare think about, but we are more loved than we could ever imagine. But He, coming from above, is greater than us.

-Jesus is man, but He is no mere man. He is the only Son of God, who clothed Himself in humanity to save, but also to rule and reign. And He did it not only out of love for us, but also so that He would receive all the recognition.

-Who are we to take away the glory that rightfully belongs to Him. As He warned in Isaiah 42:8

8 I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other (Isa. 42:8 ESV)

-We are not from above. We are not heavenly. He will not allow us to take His glory from Him.

B) JESUS REVEALS GOD’S WORDS AND WORKS (v. 32)

-Human beings are so dense and so sinful that we would not be able to know God in the state that we are in. According to Paul in Romans 1, there is more than enough evidence in creation that God exists, but we willingly suppress that evidence.

-So God had to supernaturally reveal Himself to us, and He did that in Christ, who is the Word made flesh.

-According to v. 32, Jesus gives a testimony of God’s words and works and ways. Being God the Son He has seen the Father act and heard the Father speak, and since we humans could not live through a direct revelation from God, Jesus took on humanity to tell us in His teachings and demonstrate with His life who God is, what He has done, and what He desires to do. It is through Jesus that we that we know God. And with that:

C) JESUS DEMONSTRATES DIVINE TRUTHS (v. 33)

-According to v. 33, when someone receives Jesus and the testimony of God that He teaches and demonstrates, then you also receive divine truth.

-It has been said in theological circles that all truth is God’s truth, because it is God who created reality and His very nature is that of truth. In Him is no falsehood at all.

-But this is a far cry from a world that says there are absolutely no absolute truths, or says that you can create your own truths. There is only one truth, and God is it, and Jesus testified to this one truth, and that truth is recorded for us in Scripture.

-Since Jesus gives truth, we must beware of making up our own truths that are based on our own wisdom of how to do things. We also must be very careful that we do not cloud the truth by our words or actions, but allow the truth to shine in our lives and testimonies. When dealing with truth, He must increase and we must decrease.

D) JESUS EXPERIENCED THE LIMITLESS HOLY SPIRIT (v. 34)

-According to v. 34 He received the Holy Spirit without measure. Since Jesus had a human nature (with His divine nature), He was indwelt and filled with the Holy Spirit just like we can be.

-However, unlike us, He had no sin that grieved or quenched the Spirit in His life and ministry. The Holy Spirit had complete freedom in empowering Jesus to do everything He did, and Jesus followed the leading of the Holy Spirit perfectly.

-It is sometimes difficult for us to hear or follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit because we have distracted ourselves away from such a walk of life, and we treat our sin so lightly that the Holy Spirit is continuously quenched and grieved.

-We can look at the gospel accounts of Jesus’ life and see what a perfect life of a Holy Spirit-filled walk can be like, and hopefully it spurs us on to desire the same thing. But since we are so weak in our spiritual walk, and His was perfect, there needs to be more of Him and less of us.

E) JESUS RECEIVED ALL AUTHORITY (v. 35)

-v. 35 tells us that God the Father has placed all things into the hands of Jesus—meaning, that Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and earth.

-Jesus is Lord over every aspect of creation, and He rules and reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords.

-We are not the final authority. We rule over nothing except that which God gives us. Jesus rules over each of us as a loving, merciful King.

-But for us to successfully follow His rule, we must submit. However, too often we become passive aggressive, and even though we pay Jesus lip service, our attitudes and choices reflect something different, and then things go wrong and we can’t seem to figure out why.

-It is because we usurp His authority. This has been man’s problem since the fall. Adam and Eve, by eating the tree that they did, tried to determine for themselves what is right and wrong, and we’ve picked up the baton ever since then. When it comes to who is in charge, it is all of Him and none of us.

Conclusion

-Jesus has supreme prominence in everything, including salvation. John concludes the passage:

36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (Jn. 3:36 ESV)

-To be saved from sin is all of Him and nothing from us. By grace are you saved through Jesus Christ our Lord. If you have trusted in yourself to get to God, it says the wrath of God remains on you. But if you trust that Jesus died for you, you are saved. During the invitation come forward and trust Him today.

-Christian, maybe you have gotten in the way of God working in your life. Your EGO and SELF has been too strong. I invite you to come to the altar and allow your SELF to be crucified that your life may be more about Him and less about you.

-I invite you to come to the altar and pray that our church would be a reflection where JESUS MUST INCREASE, AND THE REST OF US MUST DECREASE….