From back to the Gospel of John,
chapter 3, he must increase and I, that capital I, the most famous word in the alphabet,
I. It's a wonder we didn't start
with it. It's a wonder we didn't start the alphabet with I. But I must decrease. And that is a lifelong process. Decreasing. To grow in grace
is to decrease in self. Self and grace don't grow together.
They can't do it. And I want us to look at some
of these verses here. And I've learned over the years
the best way to preach is verse by verse, especially when you're
preaching to the same congregation like I do you every week. This
is how we can keep it in context and get the truth of what our
Lord is saying. Now in verse 1, only not verse
1, but it's verse 22, After these things came Jesus
and His disciples into the land of Judea, and there He tarried
with them and baptized them. He preached the gospel to them.
But after our Lord had gone up to Jerusalem to the feast of
the Passover, and after He ran the money changers out of the
temple, and after He had had that discourse with Nicodemus
about regeneration, about salvation. He went into the countryside
and he preached the gospel. He preached the gospel to them,
and them that believed were baptized. Now, over in John, in chapter
4 of this gospel, it says, Though Jesus himself baptized not, but
his disciples, his disciples did the baptizing. Our Lord did
the preaching, and they did the baptizing. But we see in these
verses 23-26, and it's so easy to read the Word of God and just
completely pass over important matters. We see here the proper
mode of baptism. And then we see also Satan working
through John's disciples trying to cause a division between John
and Christ. He tries to cause a division.
He's always at work. Always at work. He never stops. He never grows weary. Like you
and I, we have to take a rest. We have to go to bed at night
and sleep. He doesn't. While we're sleeping, he's not. He's
always like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, which one
of God's children he may devour. That's what he's after. And so
our Lord, He goes to the countryside and He preaches the gospel, and
those who believed are baptized. It says there in verse 26, And
John also was baptized in Enon near to Salem, because... there
was much water. Now, if you're going to just
sprinkle, you don't need much water. You just need a pan. Get you
a pan and fill it full of water and you just sprinkle it on somebody's
head and you can next and next. You know, you can do a lot of
people. But if you're going to immerse somebody. And that's
what it means in Greek, it means to immerse. It means to bury. You see, baptism is identification
with Christ. It's identification with His
death, burial, and resurrection. When you come up out of that
water, you're saying, first of all, you're identifying with
Him and His death, burial, and resurrection, but you're saying
that when you're raised that you're going to live in newness
of life. You have a new life to live now. You have a new life
to live. Our Lord taught us and the Word
of God teaches us that baptism is by immersion. It's the proper
way to be baptized. It's not sprinkling, but it's
to be baptized. You know, when you bury somebody,
you don't sprinkle dirt in their face. You bury them, don't you? You don't take dirt and sprinkle
it. You bury them. And that's what baptism is. It's
a burial. I've died with Christ. I've died to this world. Paul
said, the world is crucified to me, and I'm crucified to the
world. I'm dead to this world. I'm really dead to this world.
I don't live by the principles of it no more. I don't live by
the praise of it no more. We don't seek the praise of men
no more, or our peers. We don't seek the praise of our
peers. It doesn't matter. Here's what matters. What does
God think of me? What does God think of me? Now,
I want you to think well of me. I don't want you to go around
thinking bad of me, but at the end of the day, what you think
of me is not going to condemn me to eternal punishment. You
know that? You can think I'm the worst person
in the world. That's not going to condemn me.
But I tell you what, what God thinks of me, that's what matters. That's what matters. And so when our Lord preached
to them and those that believed, they were baptized, they were
immersed, and that's the proper way of confessing the Lord Jesus
Christ. We confess Him in believer's
baptism. We believe on Christ, we look
to Christ, and we follow Him in baptism. That's the evidence
of it. Now I know a lot of people can
be baptized, they have nothing to do with faith, they don't
believe at all. You know, I know one particular
person, they wanted to be baptized because they believed that was
salvation. Salvation was attached to it. No, it's not. No, it's
not. But it is the way that everyone
who does believe confesses Christ. That's the proper way of doing
it. Now, it says here that John preached there in that place
in Judea, in the countryside, and those who believed or the
Lord preached there in Judea, and those who believed were baptized.
It says in verse 24, For John was not yet cast into prison.
Or John... John was baptizing in Eden. I'm getting them both confused
here. John was baptizing in Eden because he was not yet cast into
prison. I'll get it straightened out. You know, I was listening
to myself. I preached a message here some
time ago, and somebody had mentioned it to me, and they liked it,
and I listened to it to see what I said. And I said, Herod said
to the Lord that, don't you know I have power to crucify you? Pilate said that. I thought, you're getting names confused.
But Pilate said that. And here, John was not cast into
prison. He was baptizing in Eden, and
he was not cast into prison yet, which means his ministry overlapped
Christ's ministry, but it was not contrary to Christ's ministry.
You see here, just a verse or two, they try to make a division
between the two ministries. It's the same. Our ministry is
the same, the same ministry the Lord had on earth. Same message,
we preach the same message. It says in verse 25, Then there
arose a question, that word means controversy. There was a controversy
between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying.
You know, there was a purifying that happened under the law of
Moses, then the tradition of the elders, they threw in some,
you know, it's like the Lord missed some here. That's what
it was. That's the tradition of the elders.
They had their purified. It's like, let's add this to
it. And who knows what they was arguing
about, which one it was about. But you and I know how we're
purified, don't we? We are purified through the blood
of Christ. Through the blood and righteousness of Christ,
we stand before God purified. And there's no argument about
that. We don't argue about that. And then John's disciples questioned
John about Christ and those who were being baptized by his disciples
in verse 26. It looks like it was the Jews
continuing on this argument, but really this is John's disciples
in verse 26. If you really read it and look
at it, John's disciples, they come to him and they said to
him, Rabbi, teacher, He that was with thee beyond Jordan.
You know, when the Lord said, behold the Lamb of God, or John
said, behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the
world. And the Lord came to him and was baptized by John. And
his disciples are saying, he that was with you beyond Jordan,
to whom you bear witness, you said, this is God's Lamb. Behold,
the same baptizes and all men come to him. Boy, can't you see
Satan behind the scenes on this? Trying to cause a division between
John and Christ, John's disciples and the Lord's disciples? We are not jealous. We are not
jealous of God's blessings on His preacher. We're surely not
jealous of God's blessing on His Son, to whom He's given all
things. We rejoice in that. And we're
not jealous of the blessings that God gives to other preachers,
because we are one body in Christ. We're one body. We're not divided.
Who is Paul? Isn't that what Paul said? Over
in Corinthians, they were saying, well, I'm of Paul. And the other
one says, well, I'm of Cephas. Peter baptized me. And the other
one said, well, Paul baptized me. Then you got the one that
said, well, Christ, we're of Christ. They trumped all of them. But Paul said, who is Paul? Who's
a minister by which you believe? We're just like John, we're just
a voice who carried the message to you. We brought you the message. He said, it is God that giveth
the increase. It's God that giveth the increase.
I am no better than another preacher who's preaching the gospel, and
another preacher who's preaching the gospel is no better than
me. We're just voices. Some may be able to present it
better, but it's not a better gospel. Some can preach it better,
but they don't preach a better gospel. Who am I and who is Paul? It's God who gives the increase. that was trying to hear Satan
using these disciples trying to cause a division. He's the
accuser of the brethren. He's always causing division.
But John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, he can take
upon himself nothing, he can take up no office on himself
except to be given him from above. And he's applying this to the
Lord Jesus Christ. As a man, he did not take upon
him the office of Messiah. He didn't take upon Him the office
of being the Lamb of God. He didn't do that. He didn't
take upon Him the office of being mediator. God put that on Him.
God made Him Messiah. God made Him the Savior of the
world. God made Him the Christ. God made Him the Lamb. This is
God's Lamb. God did this. That's why He sent
His disciples. God did this. This is the work
of God. It's the work of God. I'm not
jealous of Him. I'm not jealous of Him. Listen, the gifts and calling
that Christ was given as a man were of God, and they were without
measure. What I have is measured out. The gifts that I have are measured.
It was given to Him without measure by the Spirit of God as a man.
as a man. You know, everything we have
is given to us. Listen to 1 Corinthians 4.7,
For whom maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou
that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it,
then why dost thou glory as if thou didst not receive it? There
in 1 Corinthians 4.7. Everything you have you received
of God, and everything our Lord hath and possesses now, As mediator,
as surety, as head of the covenant, he received it from God the Father.
He didn't take it upon himself, he received it. And any man is
truly called to preach the gospel doesn't take it upon himself.
He received the ministry. As Paul said, God put me in the
ministry. John never claimed to be Christ.
He says there in verse 28, You yourselves bear me witness. You're
my disciples. You're with me. When the Pharisees
came and asked me, Are you the Christ? You're witnesses. I said,
I'm not the Christ. I'm sent before Him. He's the
Christ. Don't lose focus of that. He's
the Messiah. He's the Savior. He's the surety. He's the mediator. He's the high
priest. He's everything. He says, you're
my witnesses. You're my witnesses. Let's see
in verse 29. He that hath the bride is the
bridegroom. He's speaking here of the church
and the Lord Jesus Christ. But the friend of the bridegroom,
which standeth and heareth him, this was a tradition in that
day. The bridegroom would have his friend and the friend would
stay with him overnight. And the bride would have her
friend. And they would stay with him. And the friend of the bridegroom,
he stands with the bridegroom and he listens and he does what
the bridegroom says. Whatever the bridegroom says
to his friend, his friend does it. He does it. And his friend rejoices greatly
because of the bridegroom's voice. He hears the voice of the bridegroom
and he rejoices to do the bidding of the bridegroom. That's a true
friend, isn't it? That's a true friend. And then
John said, I'm a friend of the bridegroom. And a true friend
is not jealous. A true friend is not jealous
of the bridegroom. He's not saying, well, look at
all the attention he's getting here today. Well, it's His day. We're not jealous of that, are
we? We're not jealous of the attention the Lord is getting.
The Pharisees were. They said, if we leave Him alone,
everybody's going to follow Him. I would have thought everybody
did follow Him. It's like when John pointed him out and said,
Behold, the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world.
The disciples that were standing there with John left John and
followed him. That's what I want you to do.
You leave this John, and you follow Him. You know, I'll be
done with this in just a few minutes. And when I am, you leave here
following Him. You leave here following Him. Oh, John says, I rejoice. And
here's why he's saying, God's ministers are friends of the
bridegroom. I'm a friend of the Bridegroom
this morning. And I got into His Word and I heard His voice
and His Word, not an audible voice, you know that, but I heard
His voice and His Word and I rejoice this morning and I'm telling
you what He says. I'm telling you what the Bridegroom
has to say. I'm giving you the will of the
Bridegroom. And you're the Bride. You are the Bride. And you rejoice
at the voice of the Bridegroom also. And John says in verse 30 here, here is spiritual growth, here
is true spiritual growth, here is true evidence of salvation. Here is true evidence. He says
to His disciples, He said, He must increase. That one you're talking about,
that one you are jealous over, He's got to increase and I have
to decrease. I have to fade away to nothing.
He's everything. Jesus Christ is absolutely everything
to the believer, isn't He? Is He not everything to you?
He's not a part of my life. He is my life. He is my life. Jesus Christ is not a part of
our life. If you make Him a part of your
life, you've completely missed Him. But if He has given you
life, then you have everlasting life. And He's it. And He's first
and foremost in every part of your life. Every part of it. You don't, let's see, you don't,
how do I say this? You don't, you build your life,
this earthly life, around the gospel. You don't make it fit
yours. You don't make it, you don't
build it around what, your interest. You don't build it around your
so-called life. You build yours around the gospel.
If the gospel was to leave here, you pack your bags, I'm telling
you the truth, you pack your bags and you go to where the
gospel is. You find the man where it's evident God's hand is on
him. You quit your job, you sell out,
you leave your family, and you go to your family. You go to
your family. That's the gospel. That's where
Christ is. You go where your Savior is.
Now that's easy to say, but now doing it's another thing. The
Lord told that young man, sell all you have, give it to the
poor, and come follow me. He couldn't do it because he
was very rich. And the Lord revealed to him
the covetousness of his heart. you don't realize how difficult
it is to leave your family, your earthly family, your earthly
grandkids, to leave a job, to quit a good job, leave and go
where the gospel is. That's not easy. He must increase, I must decrease. He must increase in my heart. Where your heart is, your treasure
is. I want Him to increase in my
heart to where I have no treasure, no treasure except Jesus Christ. I told my brother James the other
day, we were talking about inheritance, and I told him, I said, my inheritance
is in heaven. That's where it is. Where moth and rust does not
corrupt, and where thieves cannot break through and steal. My inheritance is in heaven. That's where it is. And that's
where my heart is. Where your treasure is, your
heart is. If your treasure is on your bank
account, that's where your heart is. If your treasure is on your
children, that's where your heart is. If your treasure is on your
job, that's where your heart is. If your treasure is on Jesus
Christ, that's where your heart is. And all these other things
will fall in place in their proper order. They'll be in their proper
place. He's got the increase in my love.
Peter, do you love me? That is something we can grow
in. You know that? We can grow in love. We can love
the Lord more and more. You know, the Lord can't grow
in love. He absolutely can't love me anymore. He can't do
it. He's loved me, it says, with an everlasting love. But I can
love him more and I can love you more. And my love to you,
listen, my love to you is a direct reflection of my love to Jesus
Christ. It's a direct reflection. The
more I love God, the more I grow in love to Christ, the more I
will love you and my neighbor, whether he believes or not. Then I must increase in faith. Increase in faith. To believe
God. To trust Him day by day by day. Whether I'm full or empty. Paul
said, I've learned in whatsoever state I am to be content. I've
learned this. I've learned how to abound. When
I've had a lot, I've learned how to handle it. And when I've
had nothing, I've learned how to handle it. To grow in faith. to believe
God, to take him at his word and walk in faith. I asked Henry
one time about a certain situation back home, and he said to me,
the path is not always clear. We don't have, you know, I don't
know from what started from point A, I don't know what point Z
looks like. He said, but all I can tell you
is this, When that stone comes up, step on it. And when the
next one comes up, step on it. Because it's only going to come
up one stone at a time. And if you don't step on it,
you're stuck. You're stuck right where you are. You want to know
why people don't grow in faith? They don't step on the next one.
They don't step on that next stone. They're stuck. They're
afraid to move. And then he must increase in
my estimation. Have you seen him whom my soul
loveth? In the Song of Solomon, the lady
said, what is your beloved more than the other beloved? What
is he more than any other beloved? And she goes, well, let me tell
you. And she starts to describe him from the top of his head
to his feet, she describes him. And she says, he's altogether
lovely. He must grow in our estimation,
because if He doesn't, something else will. And then He must increase
in my preaching. My, my, my. I would to God that
I could be stronger and stronger and stronger in preaching Christ.
To know Him and then come out here and just give it to you. And then He must increase until
He is all and in all. Nothing else matters. You're so focused on Him that
He's all in all. Every time you talk, you have
reference to Him. You may not say it out publicly,
but when you're speaking, In your heart and mind, you are
aware of Him. You're aware of your conversation. You're aware of your conduct.
You're aware of His presence. You're aware of Him. He must
increase until He's all in all and I am nothing. I'm nothing. Apart from Christ,
I'm nothing. Now in him, I'm a son of God.
In him, you and I are sons of God. But apart from him, I'm
nothing. And I'll go into nothing. Outer
darkness. He must increase, but I must
decrease.