Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Why don't we stand as the middle school students are slipping out? It's great. We're going to go to the Lord in prayer this morning.
[00:00:08] How many know that we're living in perilous times? Scripture even says that. Right? So it's just affirming it. But there have been worse times. Just don't panic. Right. But let's pray. Know, I was thinking about what's happening in the Nation of Israel right now, and I'm sure a lot of things are happening in your personal world, but I want to just share a little thought with you. I believe God wants to transform people's lives.
[00:00:33] Sometimes we take sides. Why don't we just pray for God's transforming grace to come and bring transformation in that region? I think that's the right prayer. I had the privilege of traveling to Germany a number of years ago, not that long ago, and I met a guy who actually was a terrorist. And it was an amazing story how he was actually assigned to assassinate one of the ministers in Israel. But before he could do that, he was struck down and he shared his story with me. And when he came out of the coma, he actually went into that coma as a terrorist and came out as a full blown born again Christian. Wasn't that amazing? And he shared his testimony with me. And I believe that God wants to transform people's life. If you say, well, that's not possible, I said, listen, if the apostle Paul, who was known as Saul of Tarsus, was killing Christians and then had an encounter with Jesus that transformed his life and made him become one of the great missionaries of all know, God wants to change people. God wants to change people who are involved in terrorism. God wants to set captives free. Let's just pray this today. Maybe you have a need as well. Let's just lift our hands to God. You have a need. Let's bring those requests before God today. So, Father, we thank you. You're in the transformation business. You're in the changing of heart business, Lord, and we recognize that today. And we pray for those around our globe who are angry and frustrated and responding with violence, Lord, and we recognize that so many people are wounded and injured and destroyed in the process. But we also know that you can reach into the hearts of individuals and transform them and turn them from a position of hurt, anger, and hatred into someone who knows you and loves you and begins serving out of love others. And we just believe that that's the kind of work you want to do, not only in our nation, but around our world. And particularly right now, as we think of the Middle East. We commit them to your grace. Lord, we bring about, we pray for a real transformation in that region, Father, and we just thank you for that. We pray for every need represented. Many of them are unspoken, but they're deep within our souls. Lord, we pray for your miracle working power, Father, you who created something out of nothing. Lord, I pray today, even as your word goes out, that you would bring healing into our spirit, souls and bodies. And we thank you for that in Jesus name and God's people said, amen. Amen. You may be seated.
[00:03:05] Number of years ago, Patty and I, I think probably one of our children was watching a movie called Simon Birch, and maybe you know the story. He was a little boy. He was born abnormally small, had an abnormally small heart, and they didn't think he would make it past 24 hours. But he surprised everybody and he actually lived to adolescence. He was relatively a disappointment to his parents and a target of many childhood pranks, first of all because of his miniature size and his Od sounding voice. And he would have every reason to question his sense of self worth and purpose for living. But rather than that, he embraced his condition and believed that God would use him in a unique way, possibly even in a heroic way. This was on his heart. Now, Joe, which was Simon's best friend, first of all, didn't believe in God. And not only that, he doubted that God ever had a plan for Simon. And Simon's schoolmates mocked him relentlessly, believing his assertions to be a kind of a hero, to be one more indication that this is a one weird kid, right? On one occasion, his Sunday school teacher hurriedly tried to hush him so he wouldn't frighten away the other children's with his thoughts. The small town minister also doubted that God would have a plan for Simon. In conversation with the minister, Simon says, does God have a plan for us? The minister hesitantly said, I'd like to think he does. Simon enthusiastically says, me too. I think God made me the way I am for a reason. And the minister said, well, I'm glad your faith helps you deal with your condition. This guy's not in touch. He's got low EQ, right?
[00:04:52] That's not what I mean. Simon said, I think I'm God's instrument and he's going to use me to carry out his plan. Dumbfounded by Simon's confidence, the pastor said, well, it's wonderful to have faith, son, but don't overdo it.
[00:05:08] Sometimes we need to pray for pastors, right?
[00:05:12] With that he waits for Simon to leave, shakes his head in disbelief, and with an air cynicism, God's instrument, right? Short time later, Simon's riding with his classmate in a school bus. He's heading down an icy road. Suddenly, the bus driver veers to avoid a deer, loses control. The bus plunges into an icy lake, and everyone in the front of the upright bus quickly evacuate out the door. But Simon and a handful of other students are trapped in the back of the bus. As the bus is now sinking, Simon takes charge, opens a window, commands his classmates to climb out, and last of all, he escapes through the window. And in the hospital, following the accident, Joe assures Simon, because he was saying, are the kids all right? He said, yeah, they're all okay. He said, did you see the way those kids listened to me? Because the way I looked. And Joe, with tears in his eyes, said, yeah, with satisfaction. Simon says, that window was just my size, extra small.
[00:06:10] A few seconds later, Simon passes away, knowing that God has used him. But what Simon does not know is that before he dies, because of his unwavering faith, his friend Joe now is a believer. 20 years later, the end of the movie, he's standing at Simon's gravestone, and Joe says, I'm doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice.
[00:06:36] Not because of his voice or because he was the smallest person I ever met, but because he's the reason I believe in God. What faith I have, I owe to Simon. It was Simon who helped me find my way to him. You know, the greatest joy and satisfaction in life can only be found in knowing God and knowing we have a God given purpose.
[00:06:59] You know, as we walk with Jesus, it's amazing what starts happening. We are freed from so much strife, stress, anxiety, disappointment, and discontentment. So what causes people to strive to labor in life? What's the motivating, compelling motivation? Why so many people? I'm not talking about believers now that don't know God. But even believers get into this trap, who allow their lives and attitudes to be shaped by their own human, sinful nature. It's often driven by a very terrible thing called envy. You say, well, why could we even say that? Because Scriptures teach us that in the book of Ecclesiastes, we find that the motivation factor to achieve in life, when especially God is absent in being the center of our life, is envy itself. Listen to what he writes. And I saw that all labor and achievement spring from man's envy of another.
[00:08:02] This, too, is meaningless in a chasing after the win. In other words, why we do some of the things we do is because we're passionate. We want to be like somebody else. We want to do what other people are doing. We want to have what other people have.
[00:08:20] Thomas Aquinas says envy is characterized by an insatiable desire. It's similar to jealousy in that they both feel discontent towards someone's traits, status, abilities, or rewards. The difference is the envious also desire. The entity and coveted envy can be directly related to the Ten Commandments. Specifically, neither shall you desire anything that belongs to your neighbor. Dante, who wrote in the Middle Ages, he's defined it as a desire to deprive other people of what belongs to them. Actually in his Inferno. In one of the Inferno is a long writing, especially in the purgatory part. He writes the punishment for the envious to have their eyes sewed shut with wire because they've gained sinful pleasures from seeing others brought low, kind of an interesting suffering.
[00:09:18] Aquinas describes envious sorrow for another's good.
[00:09:23] In other words, the person that's envious is upset at others'blessings. Then, rather than rejoicing and being happy for the person, they're actually saddened and basically are desirous of what that person possesses and many times are critical of that individual.
[00:09:42] It's interesting that in the Middle Ages, Envy was classified as one of the seven deadly sins. Matthew in his Gospel tells us that it was for envy that the religious leaders actually had Jesus put on trial and crucified. And it says that there in Matthew 27, verse 17, when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked him, which one do you want me to release to you? Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus, who is called the Christ? For he knew it was out of the NIV. The more recent one says self interest. But the older Niv, King James other translation uses the word envy that they had handed Jesus over to him. In our text today, we have the testimony of John the Baptist. It's a testimony regarding the person of Jesus. And what we discover in John is something so beautiful. Rather than being envious of Jesus, he is rejoicing in what's happening in the life and ministry of Jesus.
[00:10:39] John's whole purpose in his life was to point others to Jesus, and he felt like he was succeeding in doing that. The point of our text is not about the issue raised, which deals with the fact that more people were coming to Jesus to be baptized than John.
[00:10:57] Rather, it's the issue the Gospel writers want to portray to us, which is that Jesus is superior. It's the idea of showing who Christ really is. And what God has promised is now being realized in the person of Jesus Christ. And so at the conclusion of John Three, we discover John the Baptist final Confession regarding Jesus. And in his confession, I think we can learn three vital things about how we can experience life's greatest satisfaction. And the first one is simply to be content with the calling that God has placed on our lives. How many know we live in a world of dissatisfaction? Anybody recognize that? And I think that a lot of it has to do with advertisement marketing. They're always telling you you need something you don't need, right? And then a bunch of people buy it. And then you look at your neighbor and say, hello. If he's got it, I need it, that kind of stuff. So there's a lot of discontent in our world today. Everybody thinks they need more than they actually do. It's really interesting, but people are rarely content and often unhappy and lack real gratitude for, number one, who they are, and number two, what God's put inside of their lives.
[00:12:08] So often in life, we're not satisfied with ourselves. We're not satisfied with the fact that God made me this way. God put these certain gifts into my life. And a lot of times we want to be something that we're not. And when we try to be other than who God designed us to be, it creates a lot of frustration and dissatisfaction inside of our souls. Better to discover who you are, accept who you are, and embrace what God has called you and I to do.
[00:12:38] Now, how do we respond? I think we can discover our levels of contentment when we begin to respond to certain elements, and I'll give you some of those elements. How do we respond to challenges, criticisms, setbacks, and disappointments?
[00:12:55] How do we handle it when others are advancing and we seem to be stagnant staying in the same place? Why is it that that person's getting this? You see, we begin to evaluate ourselves and look at our lives in relationship to people around us.
[00:13:13] It's easy to compare ourselves with others.
[00:13:16] We can be easily envious of those who are doing better and critical sometimes of those who are doing worse. We know we want to make ourselves feel better, so we criticize other people. But all of those behaviors are sinful and unhealthy in our lives. We may even feel God's not just why didn't God give me a great voice? I've always wanted to be a great singer rather than to value someone who has a beautiful voice and just enjoy the gift that God's put in their lives rather than coveting it for ourselves.
[00:13:47] Maybe we need to decide, you know, God designed me, gave me a certain ability, and he's looking at how I'm going to utilize what I have in my life rather than trying to compete with other people. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, he talks about this behavior in two Corinthians 1012. He says, we do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. Now, that's not just talking about earthly wisdom. That's talking about they're not godly. That's not how you should operate. You should be able to recognize that God designed everyone differently and everyone brings something to the equation. I would even argue that the person themselves are the gift. We don't see it that way. But, you know, sometimes people feel like, well, you know, it doesn't really matter if I'm involved or not, or it doesn't really matter if I'm doing my little part. It just seems immaterial to the bigger picture. But you know, what happens when everybody understands who they are, is content in their hearts with the way God's wired them and gifted them, and is faithful to what God is calling them to do. It seems like not only in the church, like, does the whole church flourish, but it's true in society. But when people sit back and are busy comparing and envying and criticizing, it's very destructive and it's very unhealthy.
[00:15:17] Here we see the true character of John the Baptist as he can overcome the temptation of envy and jealousy because he understood what his mission was. And he rejoiced to see that Jesus was experiencing amazing success among the people. And we pick up that text in chapter three, verse 22. It says, after this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them and baptized. Now, John also was baptizing at Aeon, near Salem because there was plenty of water and people were coming to be baptized. Well, this was before John was put in prison. So we're getting a context of time here. An argument developed between some of John's disciple and a certain Jew over the matters of ceremonial washing. I'm sure that it probably had a lot to do with purification.
[00:16:09] Know, now they're baptizing, and there's purification concepts there with the Jewish people. And this person was arguing, one of the Jews was arguing with John the Baptist disciples.
[00:16:20] Then came. They came to John. After that argument. He said, rabbi, the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan, the one you testified about? Look, he's baptizing and everyone is going to, you know, you thought about what was the issue in the minds of John's disciples.
[00:16:43] I don't think it was so much theological as it was practical. They were probably thinking to themselves, you know, if John's ministry keeps going in this direction, there won't be anybody around here. They were thinking probably as much about themselves as anything else, and a lot of times that's what drives these things. People were leaving John to follow Jesus, D. A. Carton says. Carson says, apparently the debate with the Jude fostered further reflection among some of John's disciples over the durability of their master's ministry, especially in light of the rising popularity of Jesus. Although it is possible to interpret their words as a joyful declaration that their master's prediction regarding the supremacy of Jesus was coming to pass, it is far more likely that their words are resentful and embittered. And here's the reason.
[00:17:33] Otherwise, the tone of John's response to them in verses 27 to 30 is incomprehensible. In other words, he's going to correct them. Moreover, everyone is going to him as doubtless exaggeration, sponsored by resentment. SiNce John was still attracting considerable crowds in verse 23, even if they were now smaller than those attending Jesus, somebody rising above their rabbi in popularity with the people, I think they were battling jealousy and envy. How would this impact their future?
[00:18:08] What needed to change in their understanding so that they could begin to rejoice in the success that Jesus was having with the people, rather than be filled with envy? Let me move to the second thing, the confidence in God's calling in our lives. It's one thing to be content with it, but to have confidence in it. This is what God's called me to do. John understands what God was doing in his life. He understood that all that we have is actually a gift from God and was content with what God had done inside of him.
[00:18:43] When challenged about the people going to Jesus, John's response, I think, is not only instructive, it's insightful, and it's something that we need to pay attention to. There's neither envy nor jealousy, but a deep satisfaction that he was accomplishing exactly what God had called him to do. Listen to his response to this. John replied, a man can receive only what is given him from heaven. A person can receive only what God gives.
[00:19:14] Know, God gives us a certain body. God puts us in a certain place. God gives us certain gifts. We have to understand that all that we are and have is a gift from Almighty God. And by the way, God only gives good gifts. Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father in heaven. So every human being is actually God's gift to one another. And we need to see people that way. These are God's gifts to us. We need to celebrate them rather than be envious of these individuals. He says, you yourself can testify. And I said, I am not the Christ, but I'm sent ahead of him. He's reminding them of what his calling really was. Ken Hughes says, whether we are looking at ourselves or others, the proper way to evaluate success is to remember that we can receive nothing unless it's been given from heaven.
[00:20:08] So however you look at Your life, everything that's coming along, God is the one that's doing it. God's the one that's causing things to know. A lot of times we try to make things happen, and we do a lot of damage. There's a lot of damage involved in doing that. FF Bruce says, each man says, john has his allotted gift or ministry from God. His responsibility is to fulfill what God has put into our lives. John was appointed to be a herald, a witness of the Messiah. He might well be content to have fulfilled that commission. All gifts come from God, including the gift of serving him in this or that capacity. So we need to take a step back and say, number one, has God called me? Yes, he's called me to himself. You and I have responded. You and I have had a revelation. You and I have received Christ. God has put gifts in our lives. How are we using them? Are we using them for selfish purposes, or are we using them to bring honor and glory to the name of God? We have to take a look at that, because that's very critical. When we stand before God one day, we can be using the gifts he gave us for the wrong purpose. Am I using God's gifts for the right purpose?
[00:21:16] What are some of the ways that God has called us? What are some of the things that God has called us? To some of us who are parents, we are to model and instill in our children a Christian lifestyle and biblical values, that's a calling. And don't underestimate how powerful that calling is. You have no idea. You're investing, investing, investing in children. And you're saying, man, I feel like I'm giving my life away. I feel like I'm dying to myself and I'm giving my life away. And you are. And actually, I'm going to argue at the end of the message, that's exactly what God expects. That's what he wants to have happen, because in that process, you will be ultimately enriched.
[00:21:55] And we'll see that we're to be faithful and honest employees. If we're in management, we're not only to provide a service, but also to care for those who work with us and those we serve. You know, when we go to work, this is what we need to think about. I'm not working for this person. I'm working for Jesus. And when I go to work, if I'm a carpenter, I'll give you that example, I should be doing the very best job I possibly could be doing. And when I leave that night, I can say to myself, I did the very best I can. And this not only provides a personal satisfaction, but ultimately it provides the satisfaction that I'm giving God the very best of my time and my energy and my resources. I'm giving God the best, not the leftovers of my life.
[00:22:48] The temptation is to allow sin to deceive us into thinking we're either better than we really are or worse than we really are. How many know? We either have an elevated view of ourselves, or we tend to depreciate ourselves. And Paul talks about that in Corinthians. He said, you can't say that you don't need these other members of the body, when in reality, we need the whole body. And you can't say I'm not valuable and I don't have any really great service to know. Listen, it says that the members that feel like they're unworthy, God says they're deeply worthy. God created all of us, and we need to understand it. Listen to what Paul says to the Galatians. If anyone thinks there's something when they're not, they're deceiving themselves. He says, each of you should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone. What does he mean by take pride in themselves? In other words, you understand that this is your contribution and you're doing the best you can. And with that, be satisfied with that, be content. I gave God my best.
[00:23:51] I'll tell you, over the years, I've worked with staff for a long, long time, and I've always said to myself, when I see someone doing the best they can do, I celebrate it. You cannot ask people to do what they cannot do. That's unfair. God doesn't even expect that. You and I should say now, it's one thing when you say this person's not giving the best, that's a different problem, isn't it? But when they're giving you their best, that's an amazing thing. We should be so thankful for that. Then they can take pride in themselves alone without comparing themselves to someone else. How many get the idea Paul doesn't want us to be comparing ourselves with others, for each one should carry their own load or their own responsibility. Goes on to say, let us not become weary in doing good. How many of you ever felt weary in doing the right thing? How about getting up every night when you have a newborn infant? You get weary of that. That gets old after a while. I'm just pointing out there are certain things you can get tired of doing sometimes. Maybe you're the one that provides most of fixing of the meals at home. You go, man, I just feel like that's all I do, is cook and do dishes. You know what I mean? You know what I'm saying? We can get weary of doing good. We can all get weary of going to work every day. I get it. But it says, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give know. Sometimes we go. It doesn't seem to make any difference that I'm pouring out my life. Nobody really seems what I'm doing. Nobody seems to appreciate it. I want to just remind you that Nehemiah felt that way in his memoirs. If you read the book in Nehemiah, at the very end he writes, God, please remember me. In other words, I'm doing a lot of stuff. Nobody sees what I'm doing, but I want you to know you see what I'm doing. Please remember the things that I've done on behalf of other people, because a lot of people are not appreciating it. And I think a lot of people in this room could say, amen to that. There's things that you do, and nobody appreciates what you're doing. But I want you to know God appreciates what you're doing. God is the one who's watching, and there's a day coming. God says, when you will be rewarded for that which many people do not see. Goes on to say, therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. It's very powerful.
[00:26:07] In other words, rejoice in how God has gifted you. Be faithful to the opportunities he's provided for you. That's how we are to be true to what God has called each of us. To D. A. Carson says, for John the Baptist to have wished he were someone else called to serve in a way many would judge, more prominent would simply be covetous by another name. In other words, I really would rather have that job. I really would rather be an eyeball than a little toe. You know, that kind of an idea. I'm not satisfied with my role.
[00:26:41] Don't go down that path. It creates great discontentment. No, you need to say, if I'm a little toe, I'm going to be the best little toe you've ever seen. If I'm going to be an eyeball, I'm going to be the best eyeball you've ever seen. I'm going to do the best.
[00:26:53] Right? You know, he goes on to say here, if the person he envied were the Messiah himself, he could have envied what Jesus was doing over there. He would be annulling the excellent ministry that God had given him. In other words, if I would rather be doing this, I'm diminishing what God has called me to do. I'm making it of no value. But when it has value, deep discontentment over God's wise, sovereign disposition of people and things would, in that instance betray not only unbelief and faithfulness, but the worst form of the perennial human sin, the arrogance that wants to be God and stand where God stands. Do you know what happened to the devil? He didn't start out that way. Most theologians believe he was the highest angel in charge of God's worship team. But he got envious of the fact that everybody was worshipping God and he wanted that worship for himself, and he fell.
[00:27:48] We have to be very careful that we don't do the same thing. Well, listen, I don't want to be God. I think a lot of people are being God. You see? How do people be God? Pastor, every time we say I want to do my will rather than God's will, we're playing God. We're taking the prerogative only God has. See, we need to understand something. You and I were designed by God for God, for his glory, and for his purpose. And if we don't do that, what we're really doing is saying, I want to play God. I want to make decisions for my own life. I want to usurp God's purposes, giftings for my good. I want to do this for my aggrandizement, my promotion, my preeminence.
[00:28:32] John goes on to give us an analogy from the wedding tradition of his day. He said, the bride belongs to the bridegroom the friend who attends the bridegroom, waits and listens for him and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. This is actually the best man. THAT JOY IS MINE, ANd IT IS NOW COMPLETE. So John the Baptist saw him as the best man in the wedding ceremony. Now, for many of us, we don't understand maybe exactly what he's saying here, but the Jewish wedding custom fills us in. A Little INsIght Here. William Barclay says this regarding the Jewish wedding. He says, the friend of the bridegroom, the Shabin, has a unique place at a Jewish wedding. He acts as a liaison between the bride and the bridegroom. He arranges the wedding. How many brides would not appreciate if the best man was arranging their wedding? That PRObaBly Wouldn'T Fly Too good, Right? He ARrANgeD THE WEddING. He took out the invitations. He presided at the wedding feast. He's the master of ceremonies. He brought the bride and the groom together. AND He HAD ONE SPECIAL DUTY. It was his duty to guard the bridal chamber and to let no false lover in. HE WOULD ONLY OPEN THE DOOR WHEN IN THE DARK. He heard the bridegroom's voice and recognized it. And when he heard the bridegroom's voice, he was glad, and he let him in, and he went away rejoicing, for his task was complete. Wow. That's John's comment to his disciples. THAT'S MY JOB, HE SAYS, my JOb IS NOW COMPlETE. I'VE DONE WHaT I NEeDeD TO DO. MY JOB WAS TO BRING THE NATION BACK TO ITS RIGHTFUL GROOM. The nation of Israel was considered God's bride, and he saw that as his role, bringing them to the rightful groom. ISAIAH SAYS IT THIS WAY, NO LONGER WILL THEY CALL YOU DESERTED OR NAME YOUR LAND DESOLATE, BUT YOU WILL BE CALLED HEZBOLLAH, AND YOUR Land Bula, for the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married. As a young man marries a young woman, so will your builder marry you. As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. And finally, we come to the heart of the issue in verse 30. He must become greater. I must become less.
[00:30:39] That's the heart of the issue regarding the battle that's going on within all of our souls. It's the battle of supremacy.
[00:30:47] Who will be supreme in my life, Christ or me? If Christ is to gain the ascendancy in my soul, I must become less, I must decrease in order for Christ to increase. I must yield my will daily to allow Jesus to rule in my know. That's one of the reasons why I think I said this on numerous occasions, how important it is to literally pray the prayer Jesus taught his disciples. And he begins by one of his statements in that prayer is simply, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. But in my life I've personalized that prayer. And when I prayed in the morning, I say, God, I pray your kingdom comes today. And I pray your will will be done in and through my life today. That's my desire.
[00:31:41] Your kingdom and your will be done. When you start praying, that prayer changes you. Who do you want to have supreme in your life, yourself or Christ? The final thing we can learn from John's confession is a conviction that Jesus is preeminent. What comes from above is above all, what originates in heaven is greater than anything on earth.
[00:32:04] Therefore, what Jesus had to say is greater. His personhood is greater. We need to hear his message, which some have rejected. But to those who receive it, the result will be eternal life. We need to be reminded over and over again that eternal life is not a forever life. That's how we always think about know I'm going to live in all of eternity. Eternal life is actually a quality of life. It's the life that Jesus gave to us the moment we received him into our lives. The Bible says he who has the Son has eternal life. That life begins the moment you become a follower of Jesus. And this eternal life is the life that Jesus promised. I've come to give you life and that more abundantly. It's a quality of life. It's a life that's lived to bring glory and honor to God. It's a life that actually you start to fulfill God's purpose and plan for your life. What he designed you before the foundations of the world when he decided to create you and put you in this time zone and give you these abilities and this gift. You and I enter into that plan and purpose of God, which God says even after we're saved. He says, for the good works I've prepared for you to do. Isn't that beautiful?
[00:33:21] We get to experience that, and that's in a wonderful thing. John goes on to tell those who are following him regarding the supremacy of Jesus. The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful.
[00:33:51] For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God. For God gives the Spirit without limit.
[00:34:00] Ff. Bruce says, there is no suggestion of evil in being from the earth, but it's one of limitation.
[00:34:07] See, all of us have been born on this planet. We don't know what heaven's really like. We can talk about it, we can read a little bit about it, but we don't really have a deep understanding of what heaven's like. Jesus left heaven to come to earth. He knows what heaven's like. That's why what he has to say is above anything you and I can come up with down here. Even John's witness, excellent as it was, was subject to limitations.
[00:34:32] Because while he was a man sent from God, he did not come down from heaven as the Son of man did. So he knew Jesus was superior.
[00:34:42] Jesus'own witness is of supreme validity, because when he speaks of heavenly things, he's bearing witness to what he has seen and heard in the heavenly sphere. So let me give you two reasons why John is talking about Jesus as being supreme. First reason John gives of the supremacy of Jesus Christ is that he originates from heaven and knows heavenly things. The second reason John gives for the supremacy of Christ is that he's been given the Spirit without measure, whereas each of us, though filled with the Spirit, have been given a measure to accomplish the task that God has given us. To us there is a limitation.
[00:35:27] I could say there are moments in our lives where we receive deeper measures or fuller measures of the Spirit, but it's not a complete measure, not like Jesus had. Think of that amazing statement. Jesus was given the Spirit without limit. In reading verse 34, it states that the one who God sends speaks the word of God, for the Spirit is given without limit. We know from the Old Testament that God's Spirit came into people's lives to accomplish certain tasks, but the Spirit of God did not live within them. Now, in the New covenant, God's Spirit does live inside of our lives. We recognize that to accomplish what he's called us to. Now we see here that Jesus has been given the Spirit. It says without limit. This idea seems to be supported by the context of the passage. John the Baptist has been saying that Jesus is the anointed one, the Messiah. Now we come to verse 35, where the Father himself testifies of the Son. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.
[00:36:32] Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. But whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them. You know, some would argue that in Christ we have been given the Spirit without measure. The focus, usually when that's set, is on the human instrument. And how many know we have a tendency to idolize people? Anybody know that's true?
[00:36:54] How many know that's true? See, you know what happens is we see somebody, we call it. They have charisma, but that word means they've been gifted by God. We tend to focus on the gift instead of realizing that they have limitations. And we know that that's true for every human being. We all have limitations. The Holy Spirit as a later edition in the Nicene Creed states, I believe in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
[00:37:24] You may not know this, but one of the great Church controversies was over that very statement. The Eastern Church actually believes that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. The western side of the Church says, no, he proceeds also from the Son. I actually believe he proceeds from the Son as well because Jesus said it's needful that I go, that I'll send the Spirit. So he proceeds from Father and the Son. Now why am I saying all of that?
[00:37:49] I think that what we need to realize the focus should not be on the individual people.
[00:37:56] There's our problem. We focus on the Spirit inside the person. Maybe that's the reason why there's so much spiritual competition and tension that happens in so many people's lives. As believers, unlike John, we've lost the sight of the preeminence of Christ.
[00:38:11] He must become greater while we become less. It is not about us, it's about Christ. When Christ increases, for that to occur in our lives we must what decrease?
[00:38:28] And envy has no operating space in there. The psalmist reminds us all that glory and honor belong to God alone and God will not share his glory with any human being. Listen to what the Psalmist says. Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory because of your love and your faithfulness. When William Carey, the founder of modern missions, was dying, he turned to his friend and said, when I'm gone, don't talk about William Carey, talk about William Carey's savior. I desire that Christ alone may be magnified.
[00:39:04] It is only fitting that we magnify Christ because ultimately our greatest satisfaction from life comes from stand.
[00:39:14] You know, as I was thinking about this message, I was know. So how does this apply to us today?
[00:39:21] How does this apply to me right now? And with every head bowed I'm just going to ask the question.
[00:39:26] I know right now that there's some people in our congregation, you actually have depreciated yourself.
[00:39:36] You don't feel like you have much to contribute. And I want you to know right now that you do.
[00:39:42] And you need to hear this. It's not about you. You see, when we elevate ourselves when we ought not to, and when we depreciate ourselves when we ought not to, we're still making it about ourselves.
[00:39:55] And what I'm trying to get across this morning is you and I need to, in one sense, forget about ourselves and put our eyes on Jesus and recognize that what you and I are comes from him.
[00:40:10] You and I are God's masterpiece.
[00:40:14] I don't believe God creates junk.
[00:40:17] I believe every one of you is God's masterpiece. And he's designed and created each one of us uniquely different.
[00:40:26] God is an amazing person.
[00:40:29] His ability to create diversity and uniqueness in all of our lives. And so instead of negating what God's done inside of us, let's open our heart and say, Lord, forgive me that I have not appreciated what you've done inside of my life. Maybe some of us need to ask God to forgive us because we've depreciated who God designed us to be. And maybe there's some of us here today we're saying, I'm not content with who I am. I'm always trying to be somebody other than who I really am.
[00:41:00] Why don't you just be the best person God designed you to be? There's such a freedom in that. You don't need to copy anybody else. You don't need to be anybody else. You need to be the best you that you can possibly be. And the only way that's going to happen is if you say, Lord, I want to surrender more of my life to you. I want to yield my life daily to you to allow the supremacy of Christ to rise up within me. I want Jesus to increase in my life. But for that to happen, Lord, I must decrease. And it's not putting myself down. It's just that I'm saying it's not about me anymore. And I get it. It's not about what I want. I get it. It's not about my agenda. I get it. It's about your will be done in me and then through me.
[00:41:49] How many are just spirit of God, you're speaking to you this morning and you're hearing God speak to you and say, you know what? I want you to lay this down. I want you to rest and be content. Now I want you to stop being envious, stop criticizing, stop comparing yourself with other people. I want you to accept yourself for who you are, but be the best who you are you could possibly be. By yielding to me. Are we hearing God's voice speaking to you? I trust that you are. Let's open our hearts to him. Let's lift our hands and say, Lord, I surrender. I yield to you. This morning, I lay down my agenda for yours. I'm embracing who I am. I'm not need to compare myself with anybody else. I am uniquely fashioned and made in your image. And you have a specific task in mind for me to do. And whatever that task is, be it large or small, be it hidden or out in the open, regardless of what that task is, Lord, I want to do it to the fullest expression of my being. I want to be all that you want me to be. I want to be faithful to the calling of God in my life. So when I stand before you in all of eternity, you could say, well done, thou good and faithful servant. And I thank you for that, Father. In Jesus name, amen. God bless you as you leave this morning.
