Decrease
John 3: 30, “gHe must increase, but I must decrease.” [1]
I. Who
A. Jesus
B. John
II. When
A. Help
B. Hindrance
III. Why
A. Relationship
B. Real
Introduction: It is hard to believe that next Sunday is Easter. This is Palm Sunday morning already. Seems like just last week we were mentioning that it was Ash Wednesday. Welcome to Merry Oaks Baptist Church by the way. We are here in a church that is called Baptist.
The last few years have passed quickly and there has been much change for everyone. One of the largest changes has been in what people care to know. There has been much in our near past that maybe some would like to forget,
You might think that I would like to forget the health issues that I had starting last spring. You would be wrong. There has been much improvement in my health because of and not in spite of the things that God allowed. My weight and my resistance to catching viruses have improved because of what God brought me through.
Getting back to this being a Baptist church; if you were to ask why we refer to ourselves as Baptists, folks might not know about the man we are concentrating on in our message today. Just as Palm Sunday comes closely before Easter, John the Baptist came to prepare the way for Jesus to come and minister. We call him John the Baptist. Maybe it would be better to know him as John the Baptizer. That is what he did.
He was well known and loved by Jesus. John even baptized Jesus and God the Father spoke at the end of the baptism. The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove after John baptized Jesus. All three persons of the Godhead were present. Amazing!
John the Baptizer was beheaded before Jesus was crucified on the cross. He even led the way as he was sacrificed because of the sins of others. Though this man was greatly respected by Jesus and had disciples of his own, little of what this John said is recorded in the Bible. Why?
Maybe that is the greatest thing that we can learn from him. Last year during my time of recovery God brought to my attention many people who had an impact in my life. God allowed me to reconnect with many of them and it has had a profound difference in my way of looking at this life.
We should not leave people behind who God has graced us with even as we are led in other directions. Though we might not have the day to day relationship that we once did, we must pray for them that they are free to follow Jesus for themselves. He must increase.
Every once in a while God allows a reminder so that we can remember how He moved us and forged relationships with others. Those relationships come back to our recollection at just the right time when we might think it is time for us to retire; which was last Sunday’s message.
Today we will consider how to hold people in our hearts as we give them the greatest gift of all. To have a relationship with Jesus is why we are here and why we will be in heaven one day. We are not to take His place. We will live in each other’s hearts as we proclaim Him together.
Scripture: Today’s focal text is John 3:30.
Prayer: Let us pray. Be seated.
Message: In the outline on the back of your bulletin notice the first bullet is “Who.” There are two “whos” in this verse. He must increase. That is Jesus. John had a following of people before Jesus started His ministry. People would leave town and come out into the wilderness to be baptized by John. We know that there were crowds that came to repent of their sins but John was not our Savior.
Just Wednesday evening we were studying Daniel 9:24, “*Seventy cweeks are determined upon thy people and upon dthy holy city, ||to finish ethe transgression, and ||fto make an end of sins, and gto make reconciliation for iniquity, and to hbring in everlasting righteousness, and ito seal up the vision and †prophecy, and kto anoint lthe most Holy.” [2]
John came to straighten the path for Jesus. In Daniel 9:24 we see the progression of what had to happen before the people and Jerusalem would be reconfirmed as the chosen city. Complete the transgression against God, make an end of sins, make reconciliation for the iniquity they had done. That would bring an everlasting righteousness and seal the vision and prophecy to anoint the most Holy. John was there for all who would confess and ask for repentance. Yet John knew that it was not him but Jesus who would be anointed.
We all know John 3:16. John chapter three is a very important chapter in the Bible. Look now at verses 22 – 29.
"22 After these things came Jesus and mhis disciples into nthe land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and obaptized. 23 And John also was baptizing in pÆnon near to pSalim, because there was much water there: qand they came, and were baptized. 24 For rJohn was not yet cast into prison. 25 Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about spurifying. 26 And they came unto John, and said unto him, tRabbi, he that was with thee ubeyond Jordan, xto whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. 27 John answered and said, A man can ||yreceive nothing, except zit be given him from heaven. 28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, aI am not the Christ, but bthat I am sent before him. 29 He that hath the bride is cthe bridegroom: but dthe friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, erejoiceth greatly because of fthe bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled."
The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Jn 3:22–29). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
Jesus was with His disciples and they were baptizing. John was also baptizing in another place. He had not been beheaded yet so the ministries of John and Jesus were occurring simultaneously at that particular time.
To balance between leading and pulling is difficult. Even John had questions as well and He knew Jesus. He was related physically to Jesus. It is not wrong to pray that those who you know are safe with God are OK. John knew who Jesus really was. He heard of Jesus raising a widow’s son from death. John knew yet John wanted to really know. Listen to John’s appeal in Luke 7:19, “And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?” [3]
There are times in life when relationships return. It happened to me in a great way last year and it is still happening. God often reminds us how we have been used by Him in the lives of others. That is a very good thing. We should not retreat from a friend when they need us. I have done that. We also should not attempt to replace Jesus as the one who leads. To understand when to be there and when not to requires prayer.
We want to know that those who we have given over to Jesus are in good hands even though we know that there are no better hands. It is so wonderful to know that Jesus can not only be trusted with your life but with the lives of your loved ones as well. Here is Jesus’ response to John’s question of His authority. Luke 7:22-23, “Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. 23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.” [4]
When is it the right time that holding on is helping and when is it time to let go? There have been so many people who have had great need of love after a terrible event in their life. To be left alone by a Christian who is afraid to get too close is a horrible thing. The Christian in that case is more concerned about his/her own reputation to allow love of God to shine through them and irreparable harm is done. Instead of looking to the church often people look in the wrong direction and it takes a long time before they come back to Jesus if they ever do. When heartache strikes someone, we should not consider our feelings above a need for compassion. This is speaking from experience. That is when we must help by allowing God’s love to shine through us.
So is there a time when too much help becomes a hindrance? We watch and we see people who have been there thinking that they know best about the needs of others. Been there done that too. Firefighters and first responders go into terror to rescue people. It is hard to leave someone in the hospital knowing that the next time you see them might be in heaven.
Some mom’s might have more trouble with this than some dads. The nurturing nature of a mother will sometimes cause her to hang onto a child who is in need of falling so that they will learn how to trust Jesus to pick them up. Hindering The Holy Spirit’s way will not help the fallen one. Watching and waiting is the most difficult thing for a parent to do but you must get out of the way and let Jesus be Savior. If you don’t decrease Jesus cannot increase.
The final question is “why?” Why must we decrease? When someone sees a Christian that can’t let go, that person sees a Christian of little faith in Jesus. How can you expect someone else’s faith to grow when you won’t allow your faith to let them find the true redeemer? If your relationship with Jesus and your faith in Him is less than real, people will see that.
Will you do it? Can you decrease? If you can’t you will not only prevent the faith of others to falter, you will never realize who you can trust.
Prayer:
Invitation: God had to watch His Only begotten Son as He was crucified. God the Father went through that pain because He knew it was necessary for our sake. Jesus even felt betrayed for a while as He was on that cruel cross. He cried, “Why hast though forsaken me.” God the Father endured that because He loves us that much.
God the Father was there at the right time. He was there for the baptism. He spoke to the three disciples on the mount of transfiguration. God is there. Jesus is there with Him making intercession for you.
We think that we must always be there but often we need to trust that God knows more than we do. When is the right time not to be there? I don’t know. Neither did John the Baptist. He had to ask. So will you. Pray about it. Never ever let anyone out of your heart; out of your love. You are always His and He will always love you. You can trust that!
Consider and respond as we sing…
g See Matt. 3:11.
[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Jn 3:30). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
* [They begin from the 20th of Artaxerxes]. Comp. Neh. 2:1. [See Num. 14:34. Ezek. 4:6].
c Comp. Lev. 25:8 with ch. 10:2, 3. So Luke 19:44. 1 Pet. 1:11.
d See Neh. 11:1. & Song 5.
|| Or, to restrain. Hag. 1:10 (Heb.).
e ch. 8:13. Comp. Ezek. 35:5.
|| Or, to seal up.
f ch. 8:23. Comp. Lam. 4:22.
g Ps. 78:38 (Heb.). So Luke 24:47. See Jer. 31:34. & Heb. 2:17.
h Comp. Isai. 53:11. Jer. 23:5, 6. Rom 1:17. & 3:25, 26. Heb. 9:12. Rev. 14:6.
i Comp. Luke 22:37.
† Heb. prophet.
k Ps. 45:7. Isai. 61:1. So ver. 25, 26. See Acts 4:27. Comp. Isai. 10:27.
l See Mark 1:24.
[2] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Da 9:24). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[3] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Lk 7:19). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[4] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Lk 7:22–23). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
