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you now you you you you you hi good morning welcome to free race baptist church and uh we have no announcements either just our usual we have a bible study uh prayer meeting on wednesday night uh coming coming up so with with that said let's turn our bibles and begin worship this morning uh by turning our bibles to psalm 45. psalm 45. psalm 45 to the chief musician set to the lilies a contemplation of the sons of korah a song of love my heart is overflowing with a good theme i recite my composition concerning the king my tongue is the pen of a ready writer you are fairer than the sons of men grace is poured upon your lips therefore god has blessed you forever gird your sword upon your thigh o mighty one with your glory and your majesty and in your mighty uh sorry and in your majesty ride prosperous uh prosperously because of truth humility and righteousness and your right hand shall teach you awesome things your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies the peoples fall under you your throne o god is forever and ever the scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom you love righteousness and hate wickedness therefore god your god has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions all your garments are scented with myrrh and aloes and casia out of the ivory palaces by which they have made you glad king's daughters are among your honorable women at your right hand stands the queen in gold from ophir listen o daughter consider and incline your ear forget your own people also and your father's house so the king will greatly desire your beauty because he is your lord worship him and the daughter of tyre will come with a gift the rich among the people will seek your favor the royal daughter is all glorious within the palace her clothing is woven with gold she shall be brought to the king in robes of many colors the virgins her companions who follow her shall be brought to you with gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought they shall enter the king's palace instead of your fathers shall be your sons whom you shall make princes in all the earth i will make your name to be remembered in all generations therefore the people shall praise you forever and ever amen well please turn with me in your hymn books to hymn number 27a we'll be seeing it to a different tune but the the hymn number is 27a as an admin i'll ask you to stand please foreign [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] my is [Music] jesus [Music] is [Music] is [Music] my face [Music] righteousness [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] well let's go to god in prayer our gracious and our loving heavenly father we come into your holy presence this morning through your son the lord jesus christ and thank you father we come not in our own righteousness for we have none but rather we come in that precious blood of the lord jesus christ we come in his righteousness to stand before your throne this day father seeking seeking an audience with the king on high thank you father you promised to dwell amongst your people and so we worship we worship you father son and holy spirit this day here in this place we thank you for the church of the lord jesus christ we thank you for this local body we thank you lord that we can come in out of the the coolness and the wind of today and have the the the pleasantness of this building to worship you in we thank you for your promise to present yourself where two or three are gathered together you promise to present yourself where you are sought after and so father we seek after you this day to worship you to adore you uh to to praise you uh for father you are worthy of all worship and all adoration all praise help us this day father we do pray to to to put away the things of the week past or the week ahead and we pray this might be a time to simply enjoy the presence of god almighty to enjoy your working in our hearts and our lives father how we praise you that you have caused us to believe in the lord jesus christ you've given to us a saving interest in the person of of your son the lord jesus christ thank you father you are worthy of our worship this day help us now in this place to to lift up our voices as one voice father in unity to praise you and to to adore you thank you you have not just saved us but you've adopted us as your very own your own sons and daughters that we can call you abba father here in this place this day father we pray that you would be pleased to to cause us to to be worshippers of you as we consider the the nature all around us it is doing what nature has been created to do uh even in its fallen state father it still worships you it it adores the the the with grander the grandeur the the great god that you are so fathers we cast our eyes this day upon the beautiful blue sky and the sun the snow-capped mountains around us and the clearness the freshness of the air father we we we desire to praise you along with the nature this day thank you lord that you've given to us that that that redeemed nature that uh that we know the god who has made these things the god who has who has redeemed his people so father we pray that as we as we enjoin together as one voice that you would that you would receive our praises that you would receive our worship this day father we are truly grateful for the fact of the lord jesus christ make us and mold us into the image of your son your dear son the lord jesus this day cause us lord to leave this place having met with you having learned from your word we pray lord that you would be pleased to sanctify us this day according to your holy word we thank you for that word father we praise you for that you have not left us to ourselves but rather you've given us the word of god which which is an inspired word father we believe every word of these six to six books that we hold in our laps and thank you given to us pastors and teachers that that can open these things up you've given to us the holy spirit where christ is preached christ is taught you promised to to to enliven that that teaching you've promised to to indwell it we pray lord that your blessing might be upon the word of god as it's opened up here in this place best bless our pastor strengthen him father give to him uh that unction from on high to to be to to declare uh faithfully and boldly uh the word of god here in this place this day and we do pray lord that said that you would be pleased to sanctify you we pray that you'd also be pleased to save and individuals here in this place uh physically or perhaps who may listen online that father they might that they might have that spirit of the living god come upon them and save them and give to them saving faith to believe in the lord jesus christ lord we pray for children here in this congregation as well we pray lord that you would be pleased to be at work in their hearts caused them father from an early age to to learn of god and that father you would make those things real in their in their hearts they would see their own sinfulness their own need of a savior and they would trust and believe in the lord jesus christ so lord we do we recognize that that we owe you all and we we come to you desiring that you would be pleased to to bless us with uh with with blessings from on high this day father we pray not just for ourselves we pray for other congregations here in chile where the word of god is preached faithfully we do pray lord that you would be pleased to bless those those those men cause them to be to be faithful with your word uh here in this place we pray for other congregations that we're more familiar with we think of pastor mike kirkpatrick and siri we think of ryan meljar's in in vernon this day we think of the group that is meeting the dryden father where again your word is seek they are seeking uh to be faithful men to declare your word and declare it faithfully we pray that you would help them give to each of these men what they stand in need of this day and we do pray lord the spirit of the living god might be there in their congregation and with them and and we do pray that great blessing might come as a result of spending time in your word and and and worshiping you we do pray continue to bless them father we pray you would save and add to their number as many as are to be saved in the days going forward as well give wisdom in regards to the congregation in vernon give wisdom in regards to congregation and dryden as well as we seek to be aid to them we pray lord that much wisdom would be given lord we do ask your blessing to also be upon the the pregnant ladies amongst us we thank you lord for the blessing of life uh truly lord you are that you are the god who who who's blessed uh these these ladies with the with with the life in their womb we pray that you would sustain them sustain the life of the of those little ones we don't take these things for granted and we do pray lord that in due time they might be given birth and that those little ones be welcomed into a world uh where they would be an end to a family where they would be loved and cherished and and uh and where they would be taught the scriptures and we pray lord that you would be pleased to to bless them with with an understanding of scriptures in the years and days and years to come we do pray we do pray lord your blessing upon john curry as he as he travels this week back down to honduras do bless him and as he travels give him safety along the way and and uh reunion with uh with with the church family down there we prosper we pray for pastor carlos pastor luis that they would be blessed by you this day as they bring the word of god and we pray that john would be an encouragement to them and to the congregation there we do pray lord that you would go with him and go before him and and hedge him in as as he heads down there bless that work that continues we thank you for the progress in the church building that is going on we pray that you would just continue to bless that church and cause it to be a place where the gospel would would be preached for for generations to come where where you would be pleased to save individuals and and assemble together a church that would be that would be worshippers of you the the true and living god there in that place and we pray lord your blessing to also be upon uh the the governing officials here in this nation of ours we you have you've told us to pray for those who govern over us they would govern as a as as those who have been given those positions of power from you and they will give an answer to you one day in terms of how they have governed we pray lord that you even though that many of them are unsaved we pray that you would give to them common grace that they would be that they would be wise in in their administration and uh father where there is sin we pray that you would remove that sin cause cause there to be a a an understanding even with calm and grace uh that they would they would allow the churches in this nation to be uh to be left alone to be able to worship in freedom and we do pray lord to that end that you would be pleased to continue to bless our churches uh here in our nation with uh with with wisdom as to how best to handle things as we move forward lord we pray against the sin of abortion we know this these things continue to go on uh it would appear just as unfettered day after day week after week month after month and lord how we pray that your will would be done on earth as it is in heaven where there is no murder uh where there is no discarding of the innocent lives of young ones or older ones as well lord again we pray against these things ultimately we know that you are the god who is able to to move in hearts and uh we do we do pray to that end fight you'd be pleased to to to to cause these things to to be spoken of as in the past and and not something we currently do truly it is a tragedy a tr a tragedy and a travesty against your holy law that we would take innocent life and lord forgive us we do pray lord we ask your blessing upon the persecuted church around the world as well cause them lord to know your help your your faithfulness your aid put a hedge of protection around them cause them lord to know your grace and your help those pastors who have been imprisoned we pray lord that they would be released that they would know that they would know uh freedom once again to be with their congregations to be with their families we think of the situation my mars we prayed in the last hour that you would continue to put a hedge of protection around peter and the compound there in myanmar we thank you that he has good standing with uh with with both sides of that of those warring factions we pray lord that he would continue to have uh have good standing with them and that he would be protected uh in this lore world as he seeks to offer aid and protection as well as the gospel uh to the children under under under his care so lord do bless uh bless that work and we do pray that it would be uh that that it would be uh that would continue in the days ahead uh unfettered from from the warring factions we do pray lord that peace would come to that nation so lord we just ask your blessing once again to be upon our time as we as we worship you again we pray that you would be pleased to to cause us to to be mindful of of the fact that we come before an audience of one this day and we pray that you would be our focus and that we would not think about the things around us things of the past or things of the future but rather this might be a day just simply to enjoy you to enjoy your grace to enjoy the bounties that you've blessed us with all the spiritual blessings in christ jesus and it's in his precious name we pray amen please turn your hymn books then to to hym number 150 153 and again i'll ask you to please stand oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] us [Music] oh [Music] [Music] to holy [Music] [Music] and please turn with me your bibles as we continue to read through the new testament consecutively to colossians colossians chapter 3. colossians chapter 3. just as you're turning i'll just make a comment at the beginning then and then i won't at the end but to know a little bit of grammar is maybe not a bad thing to understand i think what paul is attempting to say in this chapter of colossians 3 starts uh he starts um with it with the word if um which is kind of a connecting a connecting word uh the word if so what is he connecting if two well if we're with christ then in verse four then the this is true of of us um and uh therefore how we how are we to live uh is another adverb that is an adverb therefore is an adverb um uh verse five uh there therefore this is what we are to do uh verse 12 therefore this is how we are to act as as new as new testament believers so he starts with that first word if this is true in you if you are christ if you are a believer then this is true of you uh we will appear with him in glory we are believers and if that is true of us then how are we to live we've been saved from what and we've been saved to do what uh from verse 12 on how do we how how are we to act as new men in christ it does affect the way in which we live in our homes the way in which we interact with our with our spouses and with our children um so that's that kind of is grammatically uh perhaps how the uh how we might it might help us to understand this chapter so let's read colossians chapter 3 begin at verse 1. if then you were raised with christ seek those things which are above where christ is sitting at the right hand of god set your minds on things above not on things on the earth for you died and your life is hidden with christ in god when christ who is our life appears then you also will appear with him in glory therefore put to death your members which are on the earth fornication uncleanness passion evil desire and covetousness which is idolatry because of these things the wrath of god is coming upon the sons of disobedience in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them but now you yourselves are to put off all these things or all of these anger wrath malice blasphemy filthy language out of your mouth do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him where there is neither greek nor jew circumcised nor uncircumcised barbarian synthia slave nor free but christ is all and all sorry but christ is all and in all therefore as the elect of god holy and beloved put on tender mercies kindness humility meekness long suffering bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another even as christ forgave you so you also must do but above all these things put on love which is the bond of perfection and let the peace of god rule in your hearts to which also you are called in one body and be thankful let the word of christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing with grace in your hearts to the lord and whatever you do in word or deed do all in the name of the lord jesus giving thanks to god the father through him wives submit to your own husbands as is fitting in the lord husbands love your wives and do not do not be bitter toward them children obey your parents in all things for this is well pleasing to the lord fathers do not provoke your children lest they become discouraged bond servants obey in all things your masters according to the flesh not with eye servants service as men pleasers but in sincerity of heart fearing god and whatever you do do it heartily as the lord and not to men knowing that from the lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance for you serve the lord christ but he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done and there is no partiality masters give your bond servants what is just and fair knowing that you also have a master in heaven amen let's pray our gracious and our loving heavenly father we truly are grateful for the forgiveness of sins father we we read here in this passage of of our of our former lives we were born in adam's sin enemies of yours father far from you and you had to invade each one of our hearts father cause each one of us to to see our own sinfulness and see our own need of the savior the lord jesus christ thank you you have dealt with us not according to our iniquity but rather father you have you have dealt tenderly tenderly with us you've forgiven us our sin you sent the lord jesus christ as that as that propitiation that one who took our place uh uh upon the cross and died for our sins true lord we are grateful that you have saved us so with with with the blood of the lord jesus christ and you've not saved us to please ourselves we see very much here in this passage of scripture that you've saved us so that we might have uh lives that that reflect the image of the lord jesus christ forgive us even father of our sins this day where we have sinned against you where we have not been as we ought to be as we as is described in this chapter and cause us father to each and every day put on the lord jesus christ to to be made into that image of your son your dear son the lord jesus christ and we do pray lord that we would uh that we would be attempting to be sanctified to to see that that that working of the holy spirit each one of our lives sanctifying us and so that we would speak to one another uh in love and and and and generosity and that we would seek to keep the spirit of unity here in this place and we just thank you father you've laid these things out clearly for us and we just need that help of the holy spirit to to apply these things to each one of our lives so again we we look forward lord to listening to your word to sitting under your word we pray that your blessing might be upon our pastor strengthen him give to him that that soundness of doctrine that soundness of mind and that unction to declare uh in a declarative manner the word of god we pray that we would have uh that we would have minds and and hearts that we would receive it gladly and that we would be like the bereans we would seek to discover if it is true and that uh father your spirit would make these things to be real in each one of our hearts so lord we thank you for the blessing it is ours to be here in this place this day and we just worship you and continue to praise you now and it's in jesus precious name we pray amen well please turn with me in your hymn books to the last him before we go to the preaching and that is to him number 374 374 and once again i'll ask you to please stand [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] uh [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] please turn with me in your bibles to john's gospel we're in john chapter 3 as we're moving our way through this wonderful book concerning our lord jesus christ this morning we'll be on verses 22 to 30 but i do want to read the chapter to remind us of the context so john chapter 3 i'll begin reading in verse 1. there was a man of the pharisees named nicodemus a ruler of the jews this man came to jesus by night and said to him rabbi we know that you are a teacher come from god for no one can do these signs that you do unless god is with him jesus answered and said to him most assuredly i say to you unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of god nicodemus said to him how can a man be born when he is old can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born jesus answered most assuredly i say to you unless one is born of water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of god that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit do not marvel that i said to you you must be born again the wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes so is everyone who is born of the spirit nicodemus answered and said to him how can these things be jesus answered and said to him are you the teacher of israel and do not know these things most assuredly i say to you we speak what we know and testify what we have seen and you do not receive our witness if i have told you earthly things and you do not believe how will you believe if i tell you heavenly things no one has ascended to heaven but he who came down from heaven that is the son of man who is in heaven and as moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the son of man be lifted up that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life for god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life for god did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved he who believes in him is not condemned but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of god and this is the condemnation that the light has come into the world and that men are and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil for everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light lest his deeds should be exposed but he who does the truth comes to the light that his deeds may be clearly seen that they have been done in god after these things jesus and his disciples came into the land of judea and there he remained with them and baptized now john also was baptizing in aenon near salim because there was much water there and they came and were baptized for john had not yet been thrown into prison then there arose a dispute between some of john's disciples and the jews about purification and they came to john and said to him rabbi he was with you beyond the jordan to him to whom you have testified behold he is baptizing and all are coming to him john answered and said a man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven you yourselves bear me witness that i said i am not the christ but i have been sent before him 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 he must increase but i must decrease he who comes from above is above all he was of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth he who comes from heaven is above all and what he has seen and heard that he testifies and no one receives his testimony he who has received his testimony has certified that god is true for he whom god has sent speaks the words of god for god does not give the spirit by measure the father loves the son and has given all things into his hand he who believes in the son has everlasting life and he who does not believe the son shall not see life but the wrath of god abides on him well let us pray our father in heaven we thank you for this beautiful day we thank you that your glory and majesty are displayed or is displayed and the works of creation and providence and as well god on the lord's day we gather to celebrate that work of redemption the reality that christ jesus came into this world sinners to save as we consider this passage of scripture this morning we pray that your holy spirit would guide and lead us that he would direct us into all truth that you would edify and strengthen each one of our hearts and god for any and all who have come here this morning that are still dead in their trespasses and sins may your spirit come and may he cause sinners to be born again and may they by grace look unto the lord jesus christ in faith and have everlasting life forgive us all now for all of our sin and all transgression and everything that darkens our minds and we ask through jesus christ our lord amen well here in john chapter 3 we notice that jesus is in his public ministry and he's had dealings with nicodemus and essentially nicodemus comes to him not by or by night not because he's an actual inquirer seeking out information nicodemus ends well according to john's gospel but he doesn't begin well he comes on behalf of the sanhedrin jesus answers in verse 7 in a plural form jesus knows that nicodemus is not seeking out information and rather jesus reproves nicodemus because as the teacher of israel he should have known what christ was emphasizing concerning the new birth it is the reality that no one shall enter the kingdom of god unless they are born again that's not new to john chapter 3 deuteronomy 10 deuteronomy 30 the prophet ezekiel in ezekiel 36 at verses 25 to 27. i think that's the backdrop for christ's rebuke of this man nicodemus so jesus deals with nicodemus here and engages in a discourse concerning god's salvation so we have finished that particular section and now we come to the final testimony of john the baptist with reference to our lord as you may recall when we looked at verses 16 to 21 we noted or i observed that verses 16 to 21 some commentators take as a as a commentary by john the apostle remember the greek manuscripts didn't have punctuation marks they certainly didn't have red letters so this is an interpretative call that my translation the new king james is ascribing to jesus i preached it that way but when we come to this section in verses 22 to 36 i think john's testimony is verses 22 to 30 and then verses 31 to 36 is the commentary of john the apostle so i think the last recorded words of the baptist in this particular gospel narrative is what we find in verse 30. christ must increase but i must decrease i think that is a wonderful celebration of john's appreciation for the lord jesus christ so let's jump into verses 22 to 30. two considerations first there is a dispute concerning baptism in verses 22 to 26 and then secondly the testimony concerning the bridegroom in verses 27 to 30. so essentially there's some tension in the passage and these disciples complained to john and john resolves it by highlighting john john's appreciation for our lord jesus but let's notice first the dispute concerning baptism in verses 22 to 26. so in verses 22 to 24 we have the activity of jesus and then we have the activity of john and his disciples notice the lord and his disciples in verse 22 after these things jesus and his disciples came into the land of judea now jerusalem is in the land of judea and jesus has been in jerusalem he cleanses the temple he prophesies concerning the destruction of the temple and then he meets with this man nicodemus so some have posited that after he talked to nicodemus he returned to galilee and now he comes back to judea i don't think we need to emphasize or make that the ob uh the emphasis of the passage when it says the land of judea most likely more out in the wilderness not not jerusalem specifically or properly but rather in the outskirts out in the wilderness part of judea and then notice specifically that jesus is with his disciples and it says that they baptize now if you look at chapter 4 verse 2 it gives us additional commentary notice in 4 1 therefore when the lord knew that the pharisees had heard that jesus made and baptized more disciples than john though jesus himself did not baptize but his disciples he oversaw it he was the supervisor of it though he didn't actually dunk the people into the water he nevertheless was the one that was authoritative in the baptism of these persons then notice that it refers to john the baptist and his disciples and john the baptist likewise is baptizing imagine that that john the baptist would be occupied with baptizing that is precisely one of the reasons for which god sent him now notice in verse 23 now john also was baptizing in anon near salim because there was much water there and they came and were baptized now those of you who come to our church regularly know that i use commentaries in sermon preparation i use commentaries by men named john and one of those particular johns makes this observation concerning this statement he says from these words we may infer that john and christ administered baptism by plunging the whole body beneath the water now which john do you think that would be i think most of us would say john gill because he was a baptist and certainly john gill would take the opportunity to illustrate that baptism by immersion was the new testament practice but intriguingly it's a different john in this instance it's john calvin so john calvin says from these words we may infer that john and christ administered baptism by plunging the whole body beneath the water amen brother that's exactly what we maintain as baptists now unfortunately he goes on to say though we ought not to give ourselves any great uneasiness about the outward right provided that it agree with the spiritual truth and with the lord's appointment and rule now i ask the question why not john calvin is noted as a stickler with reference to the regulated principle of worship certainly when the mode is addressed in scripture we see that the word baptism immersion carries with it the understanding of how we engage in the ordinance or the sacrament of baptism but anyways back to verse 23 my little baptist tirade and my attempt to sort of give you some cause to reflect upon a pedo baptist by the name of john calvin who saw that plunging was the way that they did it but then notice the statement in verse 24 that john had not yet been thrown into prison now matthew mark and luke record this for us specifically in matt matthew 14 we know that john is in prison and we know that herod has him executed at the behest of his godless wife but even before that matthew chapter 4 when jesus embarks on his public ministry there is a statement that john is in prison i think i mentioned to you that the synoptics don't see an early judean ministry of our lord we see it confirmed here before jesus goes to galilee in terms of his public ministry john the apostle records for us that he had an early judean ministry prior to the imprisonment of john the baptist and we see that from this particular vantage point now notice this dispute over purification in verse 26 we don't know why and in fact we don't know if there were a handful of jews or if there was one jew the textual tradition one on the one hand indicates there was a plurality of jews another says just one jew but notice in verse 25 then there arose a dispute between some of john's disciples and the jews or a jew about purification again we don't know what they were talking about we don't know the nature of the discourse but i think that we can surmise that john's disciples were pretty fired up in other words they were ready to throw down they not only have this dispute with these jews concerning bap uh purification but now on the heels of that they address john concerning the lord jesus christ so let's look at what they say and let's look at how john answers this particular complaint notice they don't even name christ which is intriguing because prior they would have been with john the baptist when john the baptist made much of christ that's the whole purpose for which john came and that's what john's going to underscore further in his response to them it's not john the baptist that redemptive history is pointing forward to it wasn't the prophets prophesying concerning john the baptist as the focus of god's redemptive plan the baptist's disciples here evidence something of a party spirit and notice how they express themselves in verse 26 they came to john and said to him rabbi he who was with you beyond the jordan again not jesus not the one that you identified as the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world but rather they refer to him as this sort of innocuous he he who was with you beyond the jordan to whom you have testified behold he is baptizing and all are coming to him so they say that he is baptizing think about it from their vantage point the one that you baptized has now undertaken for himself to baptize others also they go one step further that he not only is baptizing but all are coming to him what is their fear potentially that if all come to the lord jesus christ then none will come to john the baptist they have as i said a party spirit john calvin again says the expression which they use all men are come to christ is the language of envious persons they have envy in their heart it's not good that all of them come to jesus because if they all come to jesus then they're not going to come to you rabbi he goes on to say and proceeds from a sinful ambition for they are afraid that the crowd will immediately forsake their master again in their minds this is a big deal and so it really sets the stage for how john answers this particular charge ryle says a humbling example of the petty jealousies and party spirit which may exist among professors of religion the spirit exhibited in this complaint is unhappily too common in the churches of christ the succession of these complainers has never failed there are never wanting religious professors who care far more for the increase of their own party than for the increase of true christianity and who cannot rejoice in the spread of religion if it spreads anywhere except within their own pail i think ryle's right there is this party spirit that has attached itself to the churches of jesus christ now brethren we certainly have a confession of faith we have the london baptist the second london confession of faith of 1677-89 we have an an identifiable identifiable body of christian doctrine that we subscribe but the argument is not everyone who doesn't subscribe is on their way to hell no when it comes to church life when it comes to interaction at the level of fellowship when it comes to the to the level of engaging in the public worship of god most high we think it's helpful to have a body of doctrine that we most surely believe so it's not exclusive it's not sort of you know introverted but rather it's simply definitional but that's a far cry different from having this nitpicking fault-finding mentality that goes around and tries to unchurch the people of god wherever they're found if this church isn't somebody's cup of tea that's fine that's perfectly acceptable praise god for the division of labor praise god that you have dutch reform praise god that you've got presbyterianism praise god that you've got all stripes of baptists praise god for that because as we know membership in churches is commanded but the church that you want to be members of that's up to you based on your conscience informed by the word of the living god so yeah theological debate is great we ought not to be such delicate snowflakes we can never interchange one with another on things we disagree with i know there are some committed to pedo baptists in here right now and i hope you know i wasn't trying to insult you with john calvin's statement concerning the plunging of sinners in terms of baptism there's no attempt to insult there's no attempt to de-disenfranchise there is every attempt however to understand that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in christ jesus alone it's all about the gospel it's all about the sending of the son of his love it's all about galatians 4 in the fullness of the time god sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those under the law in other words christ came to live in obedience to the to the law of god most high he came to die as a sacrifice not an example not simply an illustration of his love but rather he is in fact a bleeding crucified savior who is the lamb of god that takes away the sin of the world he's the reason for the old covenant typological sacrificial system so that when the baptist sets eyes on him in 129 and he says behold the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world the baptist knows precisely what really matters so there may be differences among us in terms of christian doctrine there can't be at the level of or at the point of salvation by grace through faith in christ jesus that is absolutely crucial as well the nature of our triune god you deny the trinity you deny the bible you deny the father son and the spirit you don't have the true and living god so those are non-negotiables to be sure there's a lot of other issues that we may divide over we may rather disagree over but it ought not to divide us into party spirit where we often times condemn the work of god that is actual though it doesn't follow our particular narrow perception we need to make sure we're large-hearted we need to make sure that we are charitable we need to make sure that we don't imbibe a party spirit and brethren as one who knows how difficult it is we need to pray for god's grace and for the spirit of wisdom to be upon us so that we maintain that genuine biblical catholicity now notice the testimony concerning the bridegroom how does john respond to this they're terrified they're fearful all are coming to him and if all are coming to him master then none are going to come to you john answers with four statements in the first place he underscores the origin of his ministry some apply this to jesus i don't think they're right i think that john is showing his position relative to our lord jesus so verse 27 is a reference to john himself notice john answered and said a man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven what's he understanding well something we've already seen in the prologue in john 1 john 1 verse 6 there was a man sent from god whose name was john john understands the sovereignty of god john understands the sovereignty of god not only at the level of god's having sent him for a particular mission with reference to the announcement of jesus christ but he also understands the sovereignty of god in terms of the success of one's ministry remember they're fearful all are coming to him that's not john's concern john isn't about gathering up disciples for himself john is rather about deflecting those disciples and directing them to the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world so john gives cause to his disciples to pause for a moment this is of god this is according to his sovereignty this is about the one who paul will later write for what makes you differ from another and what do you have that you did not receive now if you did indeed receive it why do you boast as if you had not received it in other words paul to the corinthians says the same thing god is sovereign you know when it came to the prophet isaiah he's kind of one of the more disappointing prophets in the old testament in terms of success right in fact god announced at his call that you're not going to have success they're going to hear but they're not going to believe their hearts are going to be dull there's going to be a spirit of stupor that overtakes that so at the call to his prophetic ministry when the prophet raises his hand and says hear my send me lord the lord says okay but don't expect great success don't expect the multitudes coming to me don't expect a massive revival in terms of national israel and repentance and faith toward yahweh don't expect that and the prophet was okay with that see what happens with men in ministry ministries at times is that it becomes a numbers game now there's a sense in which we could consider be concerned with numbers numbers are humans right numbers are actually living souls we should want them to be safe we should want them to come to a saving knowledge of christ come out of darkness into marvelous light to proclaim his excellencies but there's another sense where this preoccupation with numbers is to disregard the sovereignty of god right again if a man is faithful if he is preaching the word of god if he is doing so by the aid of the power of the holy spirit then he leaves the results to god he's not preoccupied with that he's not obsessed with that he doesn't tweet every day we had 15 more decisions for jesus we had 18 more baptisms for jesus again not that we shouldn't praise jesus for the genuine work of jesus but so often it comes across as almost a numbers game almost a business report almost a justification of a man's celebrity status john the baptist he ain't about that the apostle paul will also underscore something concerning god's sovereignty he says so then neither he who plants is anything nor he who waters but god who gives the increase so with reference to this first statement in verse 27 john understands god's sovereignty john is okay with god's sovereignty and as a result he doesn't share the concern of his followers wherein they fear that all are going to come to jesus and they will not have any regard for you j.c reil says that the first thing jesus does is highlight the principle that acceptance with man is a special gift of god and that we must therefore not presume to find fault when others have more acceptance than ourselves oh it's oh woe is me you know our church is smaller that ought not to occupy the minister faithfulness isn't this paul's point in first corinthians 4 moreover it is required of stewards that they be found what successful celebrity no that they be found faithful see brethren if there was a sense where we could talk to every single man in every single church all throughout canada and to the uttermost parts of the earth the message will never change paul calls you to be faithful call paul calls you to be persevering paul calls you to be diligent in the task at hand and leave the results or the lack thereof up to god and you know brethren it's not an airtight proposition what happened to jonah jonah was a successful prophet and he was upset about that right when god explained or expressed mercy to that that that god-hating city of nineveh it frustrated jonah probably a bit of nationalism and pride in his heart he wasn't he wasn't thrilled that god was going to display that kind of mercy and so jonah cops an attitude with yahweh at the end of jonah chapter four and we have that exchange between god and jonah and god ends the book with that question should i not pity nineveh you've pitied a gourd you've pitied a plant you've pitied a a created object that doesn't bear the image of god you've pitied this particular thing that brought relief to your your your hot head i wonder if that was twofold in terms of its application but you don't pity this great nation of sinners uh uh that is filled to the brim with sinners now notice john's second answer verse 29 he highlights the purpose of his ministry verse 20 and sorry verse 28 he says you yourselves bear me witness that i said i am not the christ but i have been sent before him go back to chapter one again after the prologue we have the testimony or the ministry of john the baptist recorded for us notice in john 1 20 he confessed and did not deny but confessed i am not the christ and then dropping down notice at verses 26 to 26 to 34. john answered them saying i baptize with water but there stands one among you who uh whom you do not know it is he who coming after me is preferred before me whose sandal strap i am not worthy to lose these things were done in bethebara beyond the jordan where john was baptizing so he testifies concerning the savior concerning the messiah in verse 29 highlighting specifically the function involved in the salvation of sinners behold the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world he then concentrates on the baptism of our lord jesus and he summarizes his testimony in verse 34 and i have seen and testified that this is the son of god so in the first respect john understands the sovereignty of god in terms of the origin of his ministry but in verse 28 he understands the purpose for his ministry i'm not the christ i'm not the one that people should follow see he didn't have that in him where you know yeah it's good that you know jesus gets 10 followers but you know send two or three my way also no that's not what john does john deflects this john's not interested in this john's whole purpose is to announce the coming of the son of god and that's what he does in accordance with the prophet isaiah chapter 40 at verse 3. that's why john the apostle in chapter 1 does quote it and applies it to the baptist so the baptist was a forerunner an announcer one who heralded the coming of the king you see that in isaiah 40 verse 3 malachi 3 verse 1 malachi 4 verse 5 and then that interesting situation in matthew's gospel in chapter 17 at the mount of transfiguration they had seen what malachi had written of in his prophecy concerning the glory of the messiah but according to malachi's prophecy there would be a message that came first to herald his arrival so at that mount of transfiguration they're perplexed they've said they say to jesus we've seen your glory but doesn't the prophet say that there must first be an elijah to announce your coming and that's when jesus says that's john the baptist his role was preparatory a preparatory his role was one of announcing his role was as a forerunner and so in the second aspect of his declaration to them he understood that he was not the messiah as a result of that men shouldn't follow him see this is the problem with celebrity pastors celebrity preachers this idea where men have coffee cups with their faces on them or shirts that say pastor so-and-so is my homeboy brethren people are given to pride why in the world would we facilitate that one man in the history of the church had somebody come up to him after a sermon and say that was a wonderful sermon it was so excellent and he mused to himself saying yes the devil already told me that now there's a sense brethren where it's not wrong to tell a pastor that you've been helpful or whatever but why do we want to help a guy be proud and arrogant or should i say more proud and more arrogant than our default setting this obsession with celebrity is not good with reference to the church of the lord jesus christ christ was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief john the baptist dwelt out in the wilderness he didn't eat the sumptuous fair but rather he was eating locusts and honey he was not a man that was craving after celebrity he understood that he was not the object of faith that was messiah's prerogative and so he functioned to point sinners to that object of faith in verse 29 of chapter one behold the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world and that's why he was there now notice thirdly with reference to john's response you see how he's methodically dealing with their issue of verse 26 if all are coming to him then none are coming to you their complaint verse 26 is the very purpose for which god made john what they complain about is actually being fulfilled in and through the ministry of john the baptist but notice the joy connected to his ministry verse 29 he says he who has the bride is the bridegroom but the friend of the bridegroom this would be like a best man typically when people get married they have a best man or they have a maid of honor and i think it's supposed to function in a very practical way logistically the best man supposed to do things to help the the the bridegroom the or the groom the uh uh the the maid of honor is supposed to do things to try to help the the the bride prepare for the wedding well the friend of the bridegroom in this setting sort of took on both responsibilities and he had a lot to deal with in terms of orchestrating that wonderful fairytale day that everybody would remember for many many years to come so the friend of the bridegroom is how john sees himself who's the bridegroom it's the lord jesus christ we made that application in the changing of the water into wine at the wedding of cana of galilee the idea there is consistent with john 1 17. for the law was given by moses or through moses but grace and truth came through our lord jesus christ and so we see that new wine brought by the redeemer in this new covenant setting and this evokes a great deal of old testament sort of a a backdrop and background god was the the the groom to israel you see that in the prophet isaiah there's a whole book about it called the song of solomon i know that preachers today like to take that and sort of bring it into the context of the conjugal relationship of husbands and wives no it's better to be understood as god and his bride specifically prophetically concerning the lord jesus christ and his bride vis-a-vis the church hosea chapter 2 god responds to the nation of israel that he will betroth them so this is a rich image that the bible presents to us and we see that christ is the bridegroom in this particular situation now notice what john says he who has the bride is the bridegroom the church of course being the bride but the friend of the bridegroom notice who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled do you hear what the disciples are saying the disciples are coming to the best man at the wedding and they're suggesting you need to get up in there you need to get some of the attention at this wedding well that's unthinkable that's unconscionable i know that when you dear ladies get ready for a wedding you want to make sure you're not going to steal the bride's thunder right it's all about the bride and the groom it's all about that one and his beloved and so this concept where the disciples are suggesting that he's going to take from you privilege position perhaps prestige john says no all i want is to stand near him think about what the baptist is saying here it sort of again evokes the psalter i would rather be a a door keeper in the house of my god than dwell in the tents of wickedness right i'd rather just sweep the floors in the new jerusalem than rule in hell i'd rather just barely fall in because of god's grace and be given a broom and be tasked with sweeping those those golden you know roads and and the pearly gates and the whole spiel that john sets forth in john 20 and 21 then dwell in the the the wicked among the wicked john is content to stand in his presence and john is content to hear his voice as far as john is concerned everything has come to realization in the coming of the son of man the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world is here and notice how he ends verse 29 he says therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled you men think i'm going to be happy with more followers you men think i'm going to be happy taking away from them from the bridegroom you think that that you men think that i'm going to be the the center stage at this wedding feast he says no i just want to stand in his presence i want to hear his voice and in that context my joy is fulfilled he's like simeon in that song of simeon when simeon grabs the babe christ as joseph and mary bring him into the into the temple to be circumcised on the eighth day what does simeon do simeon grabs the baby talk about bold faith brethren i have never gone up to any of your wives and taken the babies out of their arms they might deck me they might punch me in the mouth think about simeon's faith he sees the lord's christ he takes the babe from her hands he cradles him in his arms and he says my eyes have seen your salvation he's ready to depart he's ready to go his ministry has been fulfilled everything has come to fruition and realization and simeon rejoices in in god's christ that's the mindset that's the attitude of john the baptist here he's not the best man that wants to come and stand at the feast and get all of the accolades for himself no john is simply content to be standing in his presence and to be able to hear the voice of the bride groom again the old testament background john knew this cyril of alexandria makes this statement he's personifying john the baptist he says after all he who has the bride is the bridegroom that is do not seek in me the crown of the bridegroom he says the psalmist is not dancing for me when he says listen daughter see and incline your ear forget your people and your father's house because the king has desired your beauty brother steve read that psalm at the outset of worship it is psalm 45 it is a wedding song and at one point the church is addressed the church is invited the church is called upon to commune with her king with her bridegroom cyril again personifying the baptist says he's not talking about me david under the inspiration of the spirit when he writes this song of love in psalm 45 the focus was not john the baptist cyril goes on the bride is not seeking my bedroom when he says or when she says tell me the one whom my soul loves where you pasture and where you make your flocks lie down at noon that song of solomon one seven he ends by saying she has the bridegroom from heaven so the disciples of john had missed this the disciples of john said no they're all coming to you and if they are all coming to him and if they all come to him then they're not going to come to you john says it's in that that my joy is fulfilled it's in that that i am delighted he was content to stand in here he didn't need to be the center stage he didn't need the accolades he didn't need the attention he wasn't somehow you know desperate seeking affirmation by the hordes around him no that's not it at all it was some what wasn't some you know chump that simply wanted people to follow him no he's about pointing sinners to our lord and savior jesus christ now then notice how he ends the priority in john's ministry verse 30 he must increase but i must decrease so again they're complaining and what does he say this is the purpose this is the focus this is what it's about this is the scope of the whole as it were god's salvation in christ jesus and if we're paying attention what john the uh the baptist says here in 3 30 summarizes what we've already seen up to this point go back to john 1 17. i cited it earlier it bears repetition well verse 16 and he and of his fullness we have all received and grace for grace for the law was given through moses but grace and truth came through jesus christ doesn't mean there was no grace and truth at the time of moses doesn't mean there's no law at the time of jesus it just means when you look at the old covenant the primary feature is law again not that there's no grace not that there's no loving kindness come on a wednesday night sometime as we study the old testament you will see a very patient a very gracious and a very loving god displaying those perfections to a recalcitrant incorrigible incorrigible people called israel so it's not that there is no grace in the time of moses it's not that there's no law at the time of jesus but in terms of covenant you think of old covenant typically you think of law you think a new covenant typically you think of grace and again that is just bringing it down to its bare bones essence but then notice as well john chapter 2 verses 1 to 12. again the emphasis in the passage and i made this observation then is that the bridegroom at the feast is representative of our lord jesus christ again it's a nature miracle the lord jesus takes water and he makes it into fine wine really good wine excellent wine such the master of the feast is able to come to the bridegroom and say oh man every time everybody has a has a wedding they serve the best wine once everybody's pretty well lubricated then they bring out the swill he says you've done it just the opposite way you've given us the best again the spiritual observation and it's not you know jim butler making this up there is a stream of interpretation that jettisons this point that it's christ bringing that new wine of new covenant blessing to fulfillment and to fruition and then notice in verses 13 and following he goes in to cleanse the temple why because it was bad it was in bad shape it was messed up they were prostituting the very worship of god almighty and on the heels of the cleansing of the temple jesus announces destroy this temple and in three days i will raise it up that caused them perplexity what do you mean it took us 46 years to build this temple you're gonna you're gonna tear it down and raise it up in three days the apostle john the theologian tells us he was speaking of the temple of his body so what we have in christ is fulfillment what we have in christ is realization what we have in christ is that the new covenant and its verities and blessings must increase we must have more of that power of the spirit upon us now john doesn't say i want to elevate my role i want to continue to announce i want to continue to foreshadow i want to continue to forerun no jesus is here jesus is present and while jesus is present here on and going forward he must increase and i must decrease it is a most blessed response that the baptist gives to his disciples that were concerned perhaps about his delicate psyche in not having all of the same followers because now they're going after the lord jesus christ it is a most excellent response to a party spirit and i would hope and pray that those men saw it and those men too went and were baptized by jesus and his disciples such that they would follow him and him alone now in conclusion i don't want to moralize the passage but i'm going to moralize the passage moral is moralizing is bad it takes redemptive history and you get five lessons you know moralization is seen you know in in the valley of elah in 1st samuel 17. what are the giants that you need to deal with in your own life what are the giants that you need to vanquish when it comes to your own life let's go see david in the valley of ela and he'll teach us about slaying our giants that's not the purpose of the valley of elah in 1st samuel 17. it's that israel and that all the earth may know that there is a god in israel that's the point of first samuel 17. now john's purpose is to magnify christ john's purpose is to point people to jesus john's purpose in john 1 29 the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world if you are a sinner and you have not come to the lord jesus christ you have not believed in him you have not tasted and seen that the lord is good listen to the baptist behold the lamb of god who does what he takes away the sin of the world so you've got bigger problems today than the pandemic you've got bigger problems today than the government you've got bigger problems today than your your empty bank account you've got bigger problems than any broken relationships that you may have horizontally if you are in your sin your problem is with a just and a holy god the westminster catechism asks the question what does every sin deserve every sin deserves god's wrath and curse both in this life and that which is to come listen to john the uh the apostle in 3 36 he who he who believes the son has everlasting life but he who does not believe the son what he doesn't have life but the wrath of god abides on him so listen to the baptist if you're not saved get to christ believe on christ and then jesus moving forward the the particular emphasis points to that serpent in the wilderness in john 3 14 with nicodemus he says just as moses lifted that serpent in the wilderness so must the son of man be lifted up what was the point in the lifting up of the serpent in the wilderness numbers 21 the people of god or the professing people of god the nation of israel were whining and grumbling against yahweh all of his provision all of his kindness all of his mercy all of his grace and how do they respond to him but by whining and murmuring so he sends these fiery serpents and they they get bitten and then he gives the instruction to moses make a brazen serpent put it on a pole lift it up in the wilderness and when those people look they'll live the most beautiful and sublime thing he doesn't say crawl on over there kiss the pole worship the no you look and you live well just as moses lifted up the serpent so must the son of man be lifted up that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life john 3 15. so if you are not a believer listen to the baptist his words ring true today just like they did then there is one lamb of god there is one means by which sin is taken away it is blood atonement wrought by that lamb of god when he lived for us when he died for us and when he was raised again for us look to him in faith believe the gospel and the promise of god's word is you shall be saved so john has a message for unbelievers but john also has a message for believers and it is to value to prize and to supremely adore the lord jesus because in the language of the song of solomon christ is altogether lovely christ is the chief among ten thousand not john not the baptist not a missionary not a minister but rather the only begotten son of god almighty so john as we read through this passage would certainly want us to make much of the savior that he himself proclaimed but however and however i want to see how john deals with that perennial problem of pride that perennial problem of a lack of humility among god's people so let's look first at the humility of john the baptist notice in the first place his understanding of god's sovereignty is the basis for his humility it typically works just the opposite for a lot of us right when we understand god's sovereignty when we embrace the doctrines of grace when we confess the reformed faith does it usually humble us no it makes us proud and arrogant and those kinds of people that are obnoxious on facebook that's not good brethren a proper understanding of god's sovereignty should be the basis for our humility notice secondly his acceptance of his god-given role is the context of his humility verse 28 i'm not the christ i was rather sent by god in order to prepare the way for the christ in other words plant where you are or or thrive where you have been planted do what god has called you to do and don't complain that he hasn't called you to do other things there is such a discontentedness among the people of god well if i had this wife if i had this husband if i had this thing if i had more money if i had no no god is sovereign he has put you where you're at and you need to thrive and flourish in that capacity third his joy as the friend of the bridegroom is the demonstration of his humility see verse 29 john's not saying oh i know it really bums me out it's really bad i got i got dealt a bad hand you know my job was to to announce his coming and i tried to be faithful in doing that and now that he's come there's no more attention for me that's not how he that's how he functions he says i'm just happy to stand in his presence i'm just happy to hear his voice i'm just happy to have seen the coming of the son of man in order to save his people from their sins what a blessed job john had and what joy it brought to his heart in having completed it and his priority regarding the increase of christ is the natural result of his humility right see proud people don't say what john says here he must increase but i must decrease proud people say it's okay if he increases but i have to increase a bit too but that's not what john says john doesn't say he must increase and i must stay the same he must increase and i must increase just a tad bit no he must increase and i must decrease you need to forget about the baptist you need to be preoccupied with the savior you need to see him as the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world and you need to be content to stand in his presence and to hear his voice and in that your joy will be fulfilled john is a wonderful example to the church of the lord jesus christ secondly as we apply this to ministers now there are persons that have aspirations for ministry we ought to encourage them we ought to pray for that we are presently in the midst of a church plant situation in vernon god willing in northern ontario we've got the situation in honduras that we rejoice in not really our church plant but we're certainly happy to to be a part of their their uh church fellowship and the the the context of their their uh uh camaraderie with the other people of god and of course the work in surrey and then brethren if you haven't noticed there's a lot of pastors and a lot of churches all over the earth and the one thing that all of us as pastors or men who has fired a gospel ministry must pursue is this kind of a mindset notice we are not called to greatness but to faithfulness that's it that's it oh wow your church is tiny after 24 years that's god's business that's god's work for the men being warned off from planting churches where if you didn't have a you know 100 or 150 extra people by the end of the first year you know just just forget it really whose metric is that who who came up with that is wall street defining how we operate in the church of the lord jesus christ the man is faithful he's preaching the truth he's seeking to minister to the saints of christ shouldn't he keep going shouldn't he keep doing what he's supposed to do why is it that if there's not this many then stop it's not about greatness it's about faithfulness we are to engage in a ministry marked by joy i'm preaching to at least one specific pastor here i know that most of you know that you can read me like a book i can come in here and people say what's the matter because i don't hide it well one of the things that oftentimes i need to encourage myself with is the joy associated with gospel ministry there's a lot of non-joy i don't want to just let you know a little secret there's a lot of non-joy associated with gospel ministry as well but there's a lot of joy standing in the presence of the bridegroom and hearing his voice that is thrilling that is encouraging that is stabilizing that is blessed and as well with reference to ministers of the gospel above all they are to make much of jesus christ that's the job right that's the issue go to john 12. john chapter 12 this particular statement found its way to many a reformed pulpit a little bit a little uh placard or a little uh saying fast into the pulpit notice in john 12 20 now there were certain greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast then they came to philip who was from bethsaida of galilee and asked him saying sir we wish to see jesus see why older men that were preaching the gospel and by older i mean you know a few hundred years ago would have that on their pulpits it was on in order to remind them of the job it's not to preach you it's not to talk about you it's not to talk about you know once in a while a bit of autobiography can illustrate a point but we know nothing nothing about elijah the tishbite except that he just shows up at the behest of yahweh to deal with the ahab problem we know he's a tishbite but we don't know if there's a mrs elijah we don't know if there's a few baby elijahs we don't know if he's a goat herder i mean some of those particular apostles give us a bit of you know information amos for instance he was a sheep breeder there is a bit of detail here and there i've heard some preachers brother and i know more about their lives than i've ever heard them explain from the gospel of our lord jesus christ when the people of god come to church they want to see jesus again pray for pastors because it's tough to make that emphasis in the midst of the world in which we live not impossible but it can be challenging now in terms of an application to all god's people the people of god must be humble it's easy to say right yeah brother we need to be humble typically people think i need to go out and be humble that usually doesn't work too well because if you ask them what they're doing they like to tell you well i'm i'm trying to be humble and as far as i'm concerned you've just done done it the better pursuit is to kill pride see when you kill pride what's left in its wake humility but when you seek earnestly to cultivate humility you could look like the pharisees remember jesus warning to his disciples when you fast anoint your face with oil put on a smile why do you think he said that because when the pharisees fasted you knew it they looked sad they looked hungry they perhaps whined and if you ask them what's the matter they would probably readily announce i'm fasting well brethren that betrays the act of fasting for humility a.w pink makes this observation in principle this is inseparably connected with what he had just said in the previous verse in terms of jesus must increase but i must decrease pink says the more i decrease the more i delight in standing and hearing the voice of that blessed one who is altogether lovely and so conversely the more i stand and hear his voice the more he will increase before me and the more i shall decrease i cannot be occupied with two objects at one in the same time to decrease is we take it to be less and less occupied with ourselves the more i am occupied with christ the less shall i be occupied with myself humility is not the product of direct cultivation rather it is a byproduct the more i try to be humble the less shall i attain unto humility but if i am truly occupied with that one who was meek and lowly in heart if i am constantly beholding his glory in the mirror of god's word then shall i be changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the spirit of the lord it's a great emphasis the more we stand in the presence of the bridegroom the more that we hear his voice the more he increases and the more we shall decrease it isn't just pastors who have the perennial challenge of pride in the heart it is all of us and it gets the best of us at times so by god's grace let us strive to do what pink says that john said christ must increase but we must decrease that's the axiom that's the pursuit that's where we as the people of god need to be headed especially again in divided days in which we live we need to be gracious we need to remember there's a romans 14 we need to understand there are things that we don't understand every jot and tittle of we need to be large-hearted and we need to be charitable and we need to optimize this particular principle where christ increases and where we decrease and being content was standing in the voice of standing in the presence of the savior and hearing his voice may god increase our joy when we get into that posture and that disposition for john the baptist it was everything for us as followers of jesus but those who see that john sets forth a good example we follow in his train and we say with him that he must increase but i must decrease well let us close in a word of prayer our father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for the clarity that we find in the baptist's response to his disciples question and god help us to appreciate your sovereignty help us to see the necessity of embracing the vocation that you've given to us and may we have that that joy the joy connected with being in the presence of jesus and hearing his voice and may we emphasize the increase of christ and the decrees of ourselves and we ask this for his glory for his honor and for his praise and we pray in his most blessed name amen we'll stand and take your hymn book and turn to 568 568 we'll close our service by singing the doxology of praise to our triune god [Music] is [Music] [Music] the grace of the lord jesus christ and the love of god and the communion of the holy spirit be with you all amen god help us today to sanctify the day help us to call it a delight to find great blessing in your presence and with your people and god be glorified in and through this local church go with us now we pray in jesus name amen we'll please be seated for a brief time of meditation you