John 3:26-29 And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
In all things we do in life, we do them in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to glorify Him.
It always seems easy for us to say how much we love Christ, but how often do we really associate Him in our daily Christian walk? The truth is we tend to put the world or even ourselves first before Him. We are so busy promoting ourselves and indulge in the vanity of the world. Nevertheless, Jesus is the one that we should be promoting to the world!
Philippians 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
As Christians, if we’re being persecuted for our zealousness; other people’s gestures or even actions are intended to provoke a negative reaction in us. We should be happy because we will be heavily rewarded in Heaven knowing that we are being persecuted for Christ’s sake.
John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
For our sanctification, we should seek to advance our Christianity and the gospel of Christ, seek every waking moment to exalt and promote our heavenly Savior. As we should constantly be reminded that, true joy is all about putting Jesus Christ first, others second and ourselves last.
He is increased when the self is minimized
This is literally what John 3:30 means, we should be humbled by the mighty presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, for it is through Him that we obtain our values and our worth. However, we’re living in a time where people promote themselves more than anything else, that includes Christians who tend to put their nose in other people’s business. By belittling and demeaning the reputation of others, we are actually belittling our own testimony as Christians and demeaning our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of others.
He is increased when sin is mortified
We should be very quick to quench our fleshy desire and block ourselves from the temptations around us.
Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Colossians 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
We know that our righteousness can never be compared to our Lord Jesus Christ, but we should strive for perfection in our walk of sanctification. Jesus was so pure and sinless, yet when he died, he suffered a brutal crucifixion, not for his sins, but for ours. His death was to remind us of the wretchedness and sin we humans can be. We need Him as our intercessor and His most Holy blood to wash away all of our wrongdoings.
1 John 3:5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
So, one of the best ways to glorify our Lord Jesus Christ is to mortify our sins and be quick to put them to death.
He is increased when there is singleness of mind
Romans 15:5-6 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
All Christians should share the same mind, goal, and desire to serve our Lord Jesus Christ. Although we may be blessed with different talents, our ultimate calling should be to spread His gospel and winning souls for our Heavenly Father.
He is increased when the scriptures are modeled
This reminds us that we should be committed and devoted to reading, memorizing, internalizing, and applying the Word of God.
As Bible believers, we should take the word of God literally, trusting it as the final authority. We should live our lives through the lens of the Bible and not understand the Bible through the lens of the world.
Besides, speaking of singleness of mind from the third point, all Christians should also believe that there is only one version of the Bible that represents God’s words and instructions. There should not be multiple doctrines and denominations that can be widely accepted. God’s words should not be opened to interpretation.
Luke 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Quit quitting and start praying. Prayer is the one single most powerful weapon to help us understand the word of God, as well as His will for us. Whatever wisdom we need, we should be seeking it from the scriptures through strong and unceasing prayers.
He is increased when saints are multiplied
We should be urgent that we don’t have a lot of time left. We ought to use time wisely, to evangelize to sinners and save their souls for Christ. How much more can we glorify our Lord Jesus Christ and increase Him?
He died for us so that we can be pardoned from our sins and God’s wrath.
All we have to do is to believe and have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone.
The sermon is preached by Pastor Mike Schreib as Pastor Gene Kim was away during that Sunday.