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John 3:22-36
John 3:22-36
The world today seems to run on competition, but if there’s one place where you should not find competition, it is the Church of Jesus Christ. All believers belong to one body, one temple, one family. We’re not competing with each other. We’re working together! And the thing that keeps us working together and walking together is our desire to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s what John the Baptist said in John chapter 3 verse 30 speaking about the Lord Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” The context here is very interesting. Some of John’s disciples came to him and said, “You know, the disciples of Jesus Christ are baptizing more than you are!” And that’s when John said, “Why, I’m not here to compete with anybody. I’m here to point to the Lord Jesus!” “He must increase, I must decrease.”
I like that statement that John makes. “A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven.” All that we have is God’s gift to us. By the way, that includes our success. If you are successful in your Christian life and ministry, give thanks to God. It’s His gift to you. But how you handle that gift is your gift to Him. If you take success and use it to promote yourself, then you are not going to glorify the Lord. But if we take what He gives us and use it for Him, then He will increase and we will decrease. Many of us don’t mind having Jesus increase as long as we increase along with Him. John the Baptist didn’t have that attitude. He said, “This my joy is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.”
What is our joy today? Is it our joy that Jesus is known? Is it our joy that others see the Lord Jesus Christ in us and in our work? Remember all that you have today is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift to Him. “A man can received nothing, except it be given him from Heaven.” Let’s do what we do for the Lord Jesus. We aren’t competing with each other when we do that. Let’s make Him the central One in our lives, in our ministries, in what we say and in what we do. The importance thing today is that “He must increase, but we must decrease.”
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By Back to the BibleJohn 3:22-36
The world today seems to run on competition, but if there’s one place where you should not find competition, it is the Church of Jesus Christ. All believers belong to one body, one temple, one family. We’re not competing with each other. We’re working together! And the thing that keeps us working together and walking together is our desire to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s what John the Baptist said in John chapter 3 verse 30 speaking about the Lord Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” The context here is very interesting. Some of John’s disciples came to him and said, “You know, the disciples of Jesus Christ are baptizing more than you are!” And that’s when John said, “Why, I’m not here to compete with anybody. I’m here to point to the Lord Jesus!” “He must increase, I must decrease.”
I like that statement that John makes. “A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven.” All that we have is God’s gift to us. By the way, that includes our success. If you are successful in your Christian life and ministry, give thanks to God. It’s His gift to you. But how you handle that gift is your gift to Him. If you take success and use it to promote yourself, then you are not going to glorify the Lord. But if we take what He gives us and use it for Him, then He will increase and we will decrease. Many of us don’t mind having Jesus increase as long as we increase along with Him. John the Baptist didn’t have that attitude. He said, “This my joy is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.”
What is our joy today? Is it our joy that Jesus is known? Is it our joy that others see the Lord Jesus Christ in us and in our work? Remember all that you have today is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift to Him. “A man can received nothing, except it be given him from Heaven.” Let’s do what we do for the Lord Jesus. We aren’t competing with each other when we do that. Let’s make Him the central One in our lives, in our ministries, in what we say and in what we do. The importance thing today is that “He must increase, but we must decrease.”