Just Like John the Baptist (Part II)

March/22/2010 01:32 PM

"He must become greater; I must become less." John 3:30

These are the words of John the Baptist. He could have been a name dropper. After all, he was a relative of Jesus. He was a cousin of the Son of God. Soon, Jesus would become a household name because of the miracles He performed, His teachings, and His acts of love and compassion. John the Baptist could have built a big ministry, gaining the fame and adoration of many. Instead, he pointed to Christ:

Luke 3:15-16 “The people were waiting expectantly and were wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. John answered them all, ‘I baptize you with water. But One more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.’”

As unusual and bold of a character as John was, he used these qualities to proclaim the good news and to prepare the way for Jesus. He knew the focus must be turned to the Savior in order for mankind to be saved. He purposely chose to decrease attention on himself and increase the focus on Jesus of Nazareth.

In the same way, we must live by the same principle; He must increase and we must decrease. Firstly, we realize and acknowledge the position of prominence and authority that Jesus holds.

Phil. 2:9 "Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name."

Col. 1:18-19 "And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Him..."

Eph. 1:22 "And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way."

Secondly, we realize we are not our own anymore, but we were bought with a price: the precious blood of Jesus! We are now just aliens in a foreign land whose true residence is in heaven. Our brief time on this earth is about carrying out God's will and not our own. By fulfilling God's will on earth,we don't only receive abundant joy and provision here, but we receive the greatest reward when we cross over to the other side! Eternal life with God!

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to follow in My footsteps he must give up all rights to himself, take up his cross and follow me. For the man who wants to save his life will lose it; but the man who loses his life for My sake will find it. For what good is it for a man to gain the whole world at the price of his real life? What could a man offer to buy back that life once he has lost it?” Matthew 16:24-26.

We have to come to a point of total commitment where we echo the words of Jesus when He prayed to the Father in Luke 22:42 "...yet not My will, but Yours be done."

Thirdly, we have to realize that the picture is so much bigger and greater than ourselves. Have you ever seen folks wearing a t-shirt that proclaims “It's all about me?” I realize that the person wearing this shirt is just poking fun at themselves, but that's the slogan our human nature or our flesh would have us live by! It truly is our perspective if God is not increased, or made big in our lives. If God is not truly on the throne, then with a surety, self is on the throne! So, one good way to decrease ourselves is to live in a way that “It's all about others!” We should think more highly of others and look for ways to serve others, to help them, to bless and encourage them. Every act of kindness or meeting someone's need fulfills the greatest commandment to love one another. In showing love to one another is how the world will know we belong to Christ.

Romans 12: 10, 13-14, 16: “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Share with God's people. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.”

Phil. 2:3-4 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."

Eph. 4:2 “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

Love is the key to living unselfishly. When we are unselfish, we are "selfless”; we are decreased. In I Corinthians 13, we see how love behaves. For the sake of time and space I will just mention a few ways that love shows up in our relationships with others. Love is patient, kind, never jealous, not boastful, proud, rude or selfish. It's not seeking its own or trying to get its own way. It's always thinking of the other person's feelings or needs first. Love doesn't get easily mad or offended and doesn't hold a grudge.

This love walk is a daily commitment! Every day we will all have an opportunity to walk in love. No matter how loving I feel today and how unselfish I have been, I have noticed that I have to consciously and purposely walk in love; because people are people! But, the more God increases and the more we decrease, the more love is manifested. The more we pray and get in the word, the more God is increased! Love is the way to victory. The Bible does say: now these three remain: faith, hope and love; but the greatest of these is love! 1 Cor. 4:13

There are rewards when we decrease! To our natural mind it doesn't make sense. The world's philosophy is "take what you can, can what you get and then sit on the can"! That is why tithing makes no sense to the unbeliever. We know when we give it is not taking from us but rather it increases the flow of blessings because God promised it so! Anything you give up for the kingdom's sake has a reward. He has promised if we put Him first, increasing Him, He will take care of all of our needs.

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33

Just like John the Baptist, the focus must leave us. Our lives should point others to Jesus. We will receive provision and fullness of joy on earth and reward in heaven! Glory! He must increase, we must decrease.

kimconnor@whwc.org