| Our verse to DATE the Word on March 30 (3/30) is John 3:30 |
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| John 3:30 says, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” |
| It is to be ALL about HIM! Our verse to DATE comes from the lips of John the Baptist. John the Baptist is the FORERUNNER to Jesus. John the Baptist was the voice in the wilderness and was assigned the task of PREPARING God’s people for the soon coming of the Messiah and then ANNOUNCING the ARRIVAL of the MESSIAH. In preparing people for the coming of the Messiah John himself began to have a following as well as having disciples. Yet JOHN never ever forgot what His purpose was and when his disciples started wondering about who Jesus was and what Jesus was doing (and why Jesus was becoming more popular) John made it clear that he was not the bridegroom but rather the friend of the bridegroom. Notice how the story unfolded: John 3:26 And they (John’s disciples) came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified — behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!” 27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 “You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29 “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore, this joy of mine is fulfilled.” Now comes one of the great statements in all the Bible as John the Baptist declares “HE MUST INCREASE, BUT I MUST DECREASE.” For John, it was ALL about JESUS!! He was not the way. He pointed people to the WAY. He was not the Messiah! He pointed people to the Messiah! For John the Baptist it was MAKING IT MORE ABOUT JESUS and LESS ABOUT HIMSELF! We live in a world that is about INCREASING. It is about getting to the TOP. It is about WINNING. It is about ACHIEVEMENT. It is about SUCCESS. The world says CLIMB THE LADDER. Now let’s get personal. As Christians living in this world, we are easily drawn into the vicious mindset. It is even found in Christian ministries. It is found in those who are Christian ministers. Hmmm. We are not so different from the disciples of Jesus who wanted the chief seats. Jesus addressed those worldly desires and in doing so gives us some insight into how to DECREASE! To the one attempting to DO SOMETHING FOR JESUS remember John 15:4-5 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” To the one who wants to be FIRST remember Mark 9:35, “And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” To the one who wants to be IT (it being THE PERSON) remember Philippians 2:3-5, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,” Verse to DATE the Word on March 30 (3/30) is John 3:30. It says, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” When you DEPEND on Jesus you are decreasing! When OTHERS go first you are decreasing! Continue STRONG by the decreasing of self so that there might be the INCREASING of the SAVIOR! And remember to DATE THE WORD |