Humility in Christ, John 3:25-36

John 3

John 3:25-36

Humility in Christ

Intro

Have you ever been embarrassed and humbled?

-We all have. We’d rather others not know about it.

Here are a few from history.

-Russia sold Alaska to the US for only 2 cents an acre. They thought it was just a useless tundra. -I’m 100% sure they would buy it back if they could.

-Looking back, That’s embarrassing and humiliating.

-Decca Records turned down a simple rock band because they didn’t think the group was good enough to make it. That group wound up being The Beatles.

-12 book publishers rejected this one books series because the story just wasn’t interesting enough. What series was it? Harry Potter.

-Embarrassing and humiliating.

-My embarrassing moments aren’t nearly as historic.

-The time I parked my car at the Columbia County Fair and rushed in to meet my young family who were already inside. After 4 hours of the fair I leave to go back to my car. Only to find my car still running with the keys still in it. Embarrassing & humbling.

Story Tell - Introduction

John the Baptist’s disciples come to John with a problem.

Part of their problem involved John losing followers and Jesus gaining followers.

John the Baptist’s disciples basically ask, Why are people leaving us and going to Jesus?

-All the disciples had experienced is attendance rising. When you are part of a movement that is popular the tendency is for your pride to get pulled too high.

-These disciples were embarrassed and were being humbled. In their eyes the ministry they were connected to was declining. What they didn’t now is that it was succeeding in the most wonderful of ways.

When John the Baptist’s disciples are asking about why all the people are going to Jesus instead of John the Baptist to be baptised.

John responds in this super broad way.

He gives a really broad truth that applies to his situation.

His response is in vs. 27 (x2)

Short answer pop quiz, “A person cannot even receive” Blank Blank “One Thing” unless it is given to Him by the Father.

I. My life and ministry is about exulting Jesus. vs. 25-36

-Anything and everything you have both physically, mentally, relationally, financially, spiritually, & in ministry … is from God and is for God.

Read James 1:17 “17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

-Every good gift comes from God.

-Which gifts are from God? Every single one.

This is such a hedge against our tendency to be prideful.

-We want to think that we made ourselves so great. We are not self made people.

You say, well, I developed the ability I had. I worked hard. Yes, you did work hard.

Who gave you the desire to get better?

Who placed in your life the circumstances or gave you the will to be motivated to develop yourself?

God did.

All good things you have are from God. Even your good desires & motivations.

And ultimately these things are for God.

-Do you fight off sickness easily? Or are you gifted athletically or artistically?

That’s not your doing. That’s God giving you the physical gift of strength & the motivation to use it.

-Are you especially intelligent or are there specific areas of life that you understand (you get) more clearly and easily than others?

That’s not your super amazing ability. That’s God given.

You didn’t produce that in yourself. God gifted you with that.

-Do you connect well with people? Do you understand them and keep friendships over time?

That’s not your incredible ability with people, not your self made attractive personality.

That’s an absolute gift that God gives you.

Most importantly - Spiritually

-Do you have the ability to see Jesus and respond to Him in salvation?

-Do you have a grasp of scripture. When you read the Bible or when you listen to it taught, are you able to “get it” and apply it?

-Do you have a sensitive spiritual Spirit?

-Does God give you urgencies or thoughts that you’ve learned to act on?

-Are you sensitive to sin in your life?

These are spiritual strengths that have been gifted to you.

-You didn’t create them in yourself. You are not self made.

-You have been blessed by God with a gift.

-All of God’s doing. Pause

-Your faith and trust in Jesus. Not your own ability.

I Corinthians 1:31 “31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.””

Why? So we would humble ourselves and exult Jesus in our life.

I Peter 5:5-6 “5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,”

John the Baptist humbled himself. All through history, he has been exulted. BUT he was exulted by God in God’s time.

When you humble yourself God will exult you. You will be exulted not in your time, but in the right time. In God’s time.

Listen to how John humbled himself in John 2.

Story tell, In our passage John talks about being the Friend of the groom vs. 29 & 30.

-In Jewish culture the Friend of the Groom (the best man) was the wedding planner.

Ladies, How many of your would trust a man to plan your wedding?

That’s how it was in Bible times.

During engagement the groom built and made ready a house for his bride.

The Friend of the Groom communicated between the bride and groom and planned the wedding & feast. The bride and the groom were not supposed to see each other.

The best man, the friend of the groom made sure all the details were in place. The groom was busy working and building a home. The Friend of the groom probably worked with the bride on wedding and wedding party details (wedding parties could last a week). The groom was responsible for the wedding and the week long party. The friend of the groom put it all together.

On the wedding day the Friend of the groom goes to the Brides home, gets her and with a group of friends, parades her to the groom and their new house. They go to get married.

How is John the Baptist the Friend of the Groom? How is He the best man.

Remember that in the Bible the Groom is a picture of Christ and the Bride is a picture of his people.

The Friend of the groom is John the Baptist.

As a great prophet, John the Baptist went before the Groom (Jesus) and gave a message of repentance to the Bride. - those who would believe in Jesus.

When Jesus appeared - came on the seen - John the Baptist showed the people who Jesus was.

John brought the groom and the bride together.

Once the groom and the bride have come together. The wedding planner fades away.

He fades out of the picture.

What does John say about his roll as the wedding planner and best man in verse 30?

“He must increase and I must decrease.”

His job has been done. John the Baptist must fade away into the mist of history.

The Bright and Shining Star that was John the Baptist has begun to fade as The Son has begun to rise on the horizon.

“Jesus must increase and I must decrease.”

Isn’t this the call that God has placed on us as Christ Followers.

“He must increase and I must decrease.”

Transition - Like John the Baptist every Christ Follower has been given a ministry.

You are a minister in a ministry.

You are either a good and faithful minister or you are wasting your ministry.

As a disciple of Jesus, what ministry are you called to?

The first and most important place of ministry God has given you is to your marriage and family.

Your second place of ministry is at work or school.

Your third place of ministry is in the community or at church.

The attitude that John the Baptist shows us today about the ministry God calls us to is,

“It’s not about me - it’s about Jesus being lifted up.”

Within your marriage.

The first and primary reason that God gave you marriage was not to make happy, but to make you holy.

-Getting your needs met through your marriage is not your top priority.

-To grow closer to Jesus and encourage your spouse spiritually is the top priority in marriage.

-Allowing God to satisfy you while marriage sanctifies you is a high priority.

Illustration - Can I confess something to you? Several years into my marriage I began to have angst inside myself about my marriage. My marriage was not doing for me what I hoped it would do.

-I had believed a lie… that marriage and romance would satisfy the ache in my heart.

-I was expecting a person to satisfy a spiritual ache (a spiritual hole) that only God could fill.

-No person in the world can satisfy you spiritually.

-Jesus satisfies the hole in your life.

-Jesus comes first in your marriage.

How can I make Jesus first in my marriage?

Pray for your marriage. If you are single, pray for your future marriage.

Pray for your spouse and pray with your spouse.

Share with them what God is doing in your life.

Go to Sunday School together. Worship together. Serve and love your spouse.

-To make Jesus first in your marriage you will have to be like John the Baptist.

-In my marriage, Jesus must increase and I must decrease.

Marriage is your first place of ministry.

Your second place of ministry is to your family. With your children and grandchildren.

Illustration - I was speaking with a teenager I was discipling who had a very godly mom and dad.

-His parents had their daily time with the Lord in the same place at the same time.

-This young teenager said, Every morning I come down the stairs in my house and I can count on my dad being in his spot, Bible open, spending time with the Lord.

-I see it every day.

-What a powerful & impactful message daily injected into the heart and mind of a young person.

-Every day is begun with a surrender of our lives to God.

-Parents and Grandparents, Talk to your kids about spiritual things:

-Ask them what they learned in Sunday School, Childrens’ Church, and Youth Group.

-Don’t settle for 1 sentence answers.

-Pray for them. Pray with them at night. Pray with them on the way to school.

-Hold them accountable to read their devotion.

Point your children to Jesus.

-You must show your children that Jesus must increase and they must decrease.

One of our greatest places of ministry is in the home.

God has given you as a disciple of Him places to be a minister.

-In your marriage, in your family, at school, work and on the ball team, Jesus must increase & you must decrease.

-Will you make much of Jesus in your ministry?

Pause

Transition - The Apostle John and John the Baptizer were willing to decrease because they saw the unmatched greatness of Jesus.

Jesus is worth living for because of His unmatched greatness.

II. Unmatched Greatness of Jesus

(We are going to go fast.)

A. Jesus is above all. vs 31

Read vs. 31

-He has rule above all.

-He has authority above all.

-He has authority over every king and ruler in the world.

-He has authority over every demon including Satan himself.

-He has authority over you and your life.

-He has authority over your body.

-He gave you your body and out of His loving wise authority God assigned you a specific gender. Male or female.

-People use the unbiblical stance of “My body my choice.” when they want to get an abortion, medically change their gender, or avoid getting a vaccine.

-Your body is not yours, it is God’s and He has authority over you and your body.

-I Cor 6:20 tells the Christ Follower “for you were bought with a price [the blood of Jesus] . So glorify God in your body.”

-God has authority over you and all things because He is unmatched in His greatness.

B. He is true. vs. 32-33,

-You can trust what He tells you. He is God. He utters God’s words. Jesus only tells you what He hears from His Father.

While Jesus was on earth He taught truth.

He prophecied about His death.

How do you know God’s truth? You become a Bible reader. You get in the scriptures daily.

God’s Word shows Jesus Unmatched Greatness

C. He Exists in the Trinity vs. 34 & 35 we see the Father, Son, Spirit all mingling and working as one because they are one.

Jesus place in the Trinity as God reveals His Unmatched Greatness.

Because of Jesus Unmatched Greatness we can confidently humble ourselves.

We can gladly bring attention to Jesus and we can happily become less.

D. He has delivered Salvation. vs. 36

The Father willingly gave His Son up for the sacrifice of sin so that you could be forgiven.

-Will you believe in Him?

-Do not put it off any longer.

-Trust Him right now.

Will you happily receive Jesus and allow Him to be the greater in your life?

Christ Follower

Will you surrender the authority of your life to Him?

Will you engage in the ministry He has called you to?

Will you decrease and live your life in such a way that He increases?